Review of parliamentary constituencies

The Boundary Commission for England has published proposals for new parliamentary constituency boundaries.  The proposals relating to the south-east region are available for inspection at the following locations in Portsmouth:

• The Election Services Office, 2nd Floor, Civic Offices, Guildhall Square, Portsmouth
• Cosham Library, Spur Road, Cosham 

Purpose of the review

The Boundary Commission for England are responsible for the periodic review of parliamentary constituencies in England.  On the basis of new rules laid down by parliament, the 2013 review will reduce the number of constituencies in England from 533 to 502. 

These rules also set out a statutory electorate range for parliamentary constituencies based on an electoral quota of 76,641.  This means that all constituencies must be between 72,810 and 80,473 (within plus or minus 5% of the electoral quota). 

  

Proposals

The Boundary Commission have proposed significant changes to the constituencies in Portsmouth and propose a split into two new constituencies: Portsmouth East and Portsmouth West. 

Consultation period

The publication of the proposals on Tuesday 13 September marked the beginning of a 12-week consultation period which ends on 5 December.  

The Boundary Commission is holding five public hearings in the south-east region and one of these hearings will be held in the Guildhall in Portsmouth on Thursday 27 and Friday 28 October. 

For further information go to Boundary Commission consultation or Boundary Commission proposals.

Boundary Commission for England - A guide to the 2013 Review

Boundary Commission - Summary of proposals

It’s bin changed – from October

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From Monday 3 October, the day and time of rubbish and refuse collections will change for most households in Portsmouth.

This is because there will be a new waste collection contractor, Biffa, who have worked out an improved collection system which will save money.

Unlike a lot of councils, there will still be a weekly rubbish collection and the recycling collection will remain fortnightly. 

The changes affect houses only – there will be no change to communal collections for blocks of flats.  

You can find your new collection day by:

• looking out for the new collections calendar leaflet which will be delivered to all households in September
• using the postcode search facility at http://www.portsmouth.gov.uk/waste/21935.html
• or attending one of these information roadshows 

Date	Venue for roadshow
20-Sep	Waitrose Southsea
24-Sep	Commercial Road, Cosham High Street and Palmerston Road
26-Sep	Morrisons - Anchorage Park

Joined-Up Working of Community Wardens and Housing Estate Services Officers

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Proposals are being considered to join up the working arrangements of Portsmouth City Council’s twenty nine Community Wardens (who operate across the whole city) and twenty nine Housing Estate Services Officers (who currently operate only on local authority housing property).

It is envisaged that the new joined-up (but as yet unnamed) service should commence in autumn 2011.

The main proposals are:

The waste & recycling wonder open days

This is part of a national initiative organised by Veolia ES UK to educate and inspire local residents about what happens to their waste.

Open days in the Portsmouth area are scheduled for the following dates:

• Portsmouth Energy Recovery Facility (ERF) - Tuesday 20 September Advert
• Little Bushywarren composting facility - Tuesday 25 October Advert
• Alton Materials Recovery Facility (MRF) - Thursday 27 October Advert

Portsmouth City Council delivers its refuse to the Portsmouth ERF, its recyclable material to the Portsmouth MRF and its compostable material to Little Bushywarren (via a depot in Fareham).  Unfortunately, the Portsmouth MRF is not suitable for public visits, hence the invitation to Alton MRF instead. 

If you would like to attend, you must pre-book in advance by calling Veolia on 01962 764083.

Safe Shopping Area to Launch

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It has been found that people with learning disabilities are often faced with challenges when shopping. 

At the Portsmouth City Council trading standards service we believe consumer rights should be rights for everyone to enjoy and with this in mind we are launching a Safe Shopping Area in the City Centre in October of this year.

A drop-in session at Commercial Road will take place on the 27th September between 10.30am and 2pm. This will be in partnership with the Hampshire Fire Service’s Community Contact Point.

Community Resilience Event 6th October 2011

The first ever event bringing together the Hampshire & Isle of Wight Local Resilience Forum and members of community groups from across the county.
Community resilience is about communities and individuals harnessing local resources and expertise to help themselves in the event of a civil emergency, in a way that complements the response of the emergency services.

Details at the following link:

Community Resilience Event 2011

The waste & recycling wonder open days

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This is part of a national initiative organised by Veolia ES UK to educate and inspire local residents about what happens to their waste.

Open days in the Portsmouth area are scheduled for the following dates:

• Portsmouth Energy Recovery Facility (ERF) - Tuesday 20 September Advert
• Little Bushywarren composting facility - Tuesday 25 October Advert
• Alton Materials Recovery Facility (MRF) - Thursday 27 October Advert

Portsmouth City Council delivers its refuse to the Portsmouth ERF, its recyclable material to the Portsmouth MRF and its compostable material to Little Bushywarren (via a depot in Fareham).  Unfortunately, the Portsmouth MRF is not suitable for public visits, hence the invitation to Alton MRF instead.

If you would like to attend, you must pre-book in advance by calling Veolia on 01962 764083.

Training to be a chairperson

Rod McLean, the Council's Community Support Officer, is looking to run a couple of Chair training courses in early October.

The course will run for around 4-5 hours during the day.  It will cover all aspects of the role of chair particularly relating to working with committees. 

The course is designed to enable participants to understand the role of chair. Experienced chairs are encouraged to attend to share their good practice. Committee members who wish to understand the role of chair are also encouraged to attend.

These are the provisional dates -

Wed 5th October 9:30am - 2:30pm

Fri 7th October 9:30am - 2:30pm 

Please would you indicate which of these dates you may be able to attend. 

Notify:-  Rod.McLean@portsmouthcc.gov.uk 

Rod McLean

Community Support Officer

Portsmouth City Council

Civic Offices

Guildhall Square

Portsmouth

PO1 2AD

(023) 9268 8238

0776 415 0972

Vote for your Political Hero

In the run up to Local Democracy Week, you can vote for your political hero at your local library.

Tell us about your political hero A person from the past or present who you admire from local, national or international politics. We want to hear your reasons and why they are important to you personally.
What qualities or attributes do you admire in this person?
We will collect the answers on our blog and try to build a picture of the city's thinking.

And/or Pose a question Put a question to our Question Time Panel taking place on Friday 30th September. We will have local politicians and experts ready to answer your questions. They can be about human rights related issues or wider politics.

Can't make it to a library? click here to vote online

Want to email us a question: takepart@portsmouthcc.gov.uk

The ballot boxes will be in libraries for the next three weeks, so be quick!  

Further details of other events and activities taking place for Local Democracy Week will appear on

http://portsmouthlocal.blogspot.com/p/local-democracy-week-10th-16th-october.html

Tell councillors what bugs you about life in Portsmouth so they can review it!

Councillors want to know what bugs people about life in Portsmouth so they can possibly look into it.

Councillors on Portsmouth City Council’s scrutiny panel will be meeting shortly to consider what topics should be scrutinised or reviewed by councillors in the following months.

People are asked to get in touch via the council website, email or in writing by Friday 9 September September ahead of the meeting on Tuesday 13 September.

Recent topics considered by scrutiny have included: an investigation into the council’s handling of icy pavements which resulted in improved information for residents and increased storage of salt; a review of the way the council allocates housing; and an investigation into the emergency response to a serious power failure in the city in June 2010.

Councillors from the scrutiny management panel want people in Portsmouth to suggest which services provided by the council and other organisations could be improved.

The reports and recommendations then have to be formally considered by decision makers at the council so it is a real chance for improvements to be made. Policy recommendations can also be put forward.

Councillor Michael Andrewes, chair of the scrutiny management panel, said: “We are here to make sure the services provided by the council for Portsmouth residents are as good as they can possibly be and encourage other service providers to improve their services so it’s important they tell us which services they think we need to take a closer look at with them.

"We all fume about something in our lives - our train or bus is late, we can't find the information we are looking for, is there anything that can be done about noisy neighbours? Some of these things are the irritations of everyday life. Others could be improved more generally. Or we may say ‘that's really good - why can't it be applied more widely?’

“I think Portsmouth is a great place to live. And two in three people think it is better than 10 years ago but nothing is perfect and everything can be improved. I, along with my committee, want to know what people in Portsmouth want us to look into to try and improve.

“We can't solve individual complaints but we can look at structures, systems and policies. We can invite companies and organisations to come along and answer questions and we can ask questions of the council, help develop its policies and make recommendations. So if you have a good idea or have ever said to yourself ‘why can't they do that in Portsmouth?’ - let us know."

Topics that are chosen to be ‘scrutinised’ will be looked at by a panel of councillors from different parties. The councillors will assess how the council is performing in that area to see whether we’re providing the best possible cost-effective services for people in the city.

The panel's findings will be reported to the cabinet and may result in changes to the way in which services are delivered.

Suggestions for scrutiny are welcomed by the council at any time.

If you would like to make a suggestion, contact the scrutiny support team at city.helpdesk@portsmouthcc.gov.uk.

You can also write to: Democratic and community engagement, Civic Offices, Guildhall Square, Portsmouth, PO1 2AL.

What's in the Box?

Now appearing across our library network in Portsmouth the "Have Your Say" Ballot box. What's in the box? Well...
We want you to:

Tell us about your political hero
A person from the past or present who you admire from local, national or international politics. We want to hear your reasons and why they are important to you personally.
What qualities or attributes do you admire in this person?
We will collect the answers on our blog and try to build a picture of the city's thinking.

Pose a question
Put a question to our Question Time Panel taking place on Friday 30th September. We will have local politicians and experts ready to answer your questions. They can be about human rights related issues or wider politics.

Can't make it to a library? click here to vote online

Want to email us a question: takepart@portsmouthcc.gov.uk

The ballot boxes will be in libraries for the next three weeks, so be quick!

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It’s bin changed – from October

From Monday 3 October, the day and time of rubbish and refuse collections will change for most households in Portsmouth.

This is because there will be a new waste collection contractor, Biffa, who have worked out an improved collection system which will save money.

Unlike a lot of councils, there will still be a weekly rubbish collection and the recycling collection will remain fortnightly. 

The changes affect houses only – there will be no change to communal collections for blocks of flats.  

You can find your new collection day by:

• looking out for the new collections calendar leaflet which will be delivered to all households in September
• using the postcode search facility which will be available from 17 September at http://www.portsmouth.gov.uk/waste/21935.html
• or attending one of these information roadshows 

Date	Venue for roadshow
03-Sep	Commercial Road, Cosham High Street and Palmerston Road
08-Sep	Sainsbury's Farlington
13-Sep	Co-op North End (ex Somerfield)
15-Sep	Sainsbury's Portsmouth
17-Sep	Commercial Road, Cosham High Street and Palmerston Road
20-Sep	Waitrose Southsea
24-Sep	Commercial Road, Cosham High Street and Palmerston Road
26-Sep	Morrisons - Anchorage Park

Solent NHS Trust is looking for members like you…

Are you interested in healthcare? Would you like a say in your local NHS Trust?

If you answered yes to the above questions, then membership is for you. 

Solent NHS Trust is your local provider of community and mental health services. Their services include health centres, children’s centres and care in people’s homes. By becoming a member you will be able to help shape local services in your area. 

You can decide how involved you would like to be. You might choose to receive updates, you might like to comment on our plans and take part in events. You may even consider standing for election as Governor on our Council of Governors.  

The choice is yours!  

To find out more and to become a member visit www.solent.nhs.uk/membership.  

Hilsea Community Drop-in

Last Friday (19th August) saw the hosting of a community drop-in event outside the Co-Operative store on London Road in Hilsea. The event was supported by city councillors and members of Portsmouth COPS (Council of Portsmouth Students), facilitated by the council's community engagement team.



The drop-in gave residents and shoppers the opportunity to discuss local issues, as well as tell us about problems on their doorstep. We also challenged those who dared to take the "Pompey pound challenge" which asks them to decide neighbourhood priorities and indicate where they think resources should be allocated.



We also used the event as an opportunity to promote our activities for local democracy week in October. This includes "Political hero"- asking people to name a figure from local, national or international politics (past & present) as well as the qualities they admire in our elected representatives.



There was also a chance to post a question for our question time radio debate which will include Cllr Mike Hancock CBE MP, Cllr Simon Bosher and George Brown from the British Red Cross. If you missed that chance, why not email us at takepart@portsmouthcc.gov.uk



If you are interested in future events of this kind in your area, please get in touch. We have also had some interest in restarting the Hilsea Neighbourhood Forum and would like to hear from you if you are keen to be involved with shaping this going forward.



Our thanks once again to Southern Co-Operative for their support in the running of this event.



We will shortly upload an actions sheet highlighting the issues raised and our progress in resolving them.



More images



Actions Sheet

Still struggling with the big society?

Where are we? and what is it now?

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Date: 21^st September

Location: The View café, 5^th Floor, Civic Offices, Portsmouth

This first event is designed to generate discussion, questions and debate around where we are with the big society and it’s progress in Portsmouth. 

• What potential obstacles are there in progressing this agenda at the local level?
• What do we still need to know about the big society?
• A broken society? How do recent events inform this agenda? 

Attendees will need to register for the event through Eventbrite

Eastney Pumping Station - Update

The following is an update letter from Southern Water about works at Eastney Pumping Station.

I am writing to update you on the ongoing work that Southern Water is carrying out to make improvements to Eastney Pumping Station. Representatives from Southern Water, including myself, met with local residents in June to listen to their concerns, in particular regarding odour and noise. Since then we have carried out a number of improvements and more work is scheduled to take place in the coming months.

Since the meeting we continued to review the performance of the existing odour treatment plant. We have reinforced a “closed door policy” at the pumping station to contain odours and have recently installed a new odour suppressant system at the site. Daily readings from the odour plant are logged and are made available to the City Council’s Environmental Health Officers.

We are carrying out an investigation to look at how we can reduce the amount of smoke emitted from the diesel pump exhausts. A successful trial has recently taken place and work is continuing. We have also fixed the weekly diesel pump testing to Thursday mornings to avoid unnecessary disruption to local residents at other times.

A survey has been completed that looked at noise from the site and we are now designing noise reduction measures. In addition to this we have started a programme to refurbish the three final effluent pumps, which pump the treated wastewater out to sea via the long sea outfall. This will help reduce noise and odour. This work has started but we can only work on one pump at a time, as the site must be able to operate effectively at all times.

In the coming months we will also be replacing the low level pumps to reduce noise and vibrations further and additional odour suppressant will be installed.

We are committed to making improvements at Eastney to ensure it works effectively and to ease the impact on residents living nearby. However it is a complex site and we cannot make these improvements overnight. It remains a priority for us and is an important part of our overall investment in Portsmouth over the next five years.

I hope that this has provided you with a useful update on the situation.  We will also be writing to local residents to keep them informed about our progress.

Please don’t hesitate to contact me if you require any further information.

Yours sincerely

Stewart Garrett

Wastewater Area Manager (West)

Southern Water

Stewart.garrett@southernwater.co.uk

Loan Shark Advice

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Please don't be tempted to use a loan shark!

• They can be expensive and dangerous;
• You could pay them back for years, with no dent in the original loan;
• They won't just harass you, they'll target your family and friends too.

Loan sharks may be operating in your area - illegal money lenders who don't have a Consumer Credit Licence.

From 2-4pm on Tuesday 16th August, advice will be available in ASDA (North End) car park with support and reassurance for residents.  Come and say hello!

Outreach Librarians

Portsmouth City Libraries has appointed Outreach Librarians to cover three areas of Portsmouth and their attendant libraries. www.portsmouth.gov.uk/learning

Their role is to increase the footfall and number of active users at the city’s nine libraries. 

If you have any events where it would be appropriate for them to promote the library service please let them know

Their names and contact details are:

Linda Collins

Outreach Librarian North

North End Library

Gladys Avenue

Portsmouth

PO2 9AX

T: 07960960585

E: linda.collins@portsmouthcc.gov.uk

Responsible for Paulsgrove, Cosham and North End Libraries

Patricia Garrett

Outreach Librarian South

Southsea Library and Customer Service Centre

19-21 Palmerston Road
Southsea
Hampshire
PO5 3QQ

T: 023 9268 8039

E: patricia.garrett@portsmouthcc.gov.uk

Responsible for Southsea, Alderman Lacey and Beddow Libraries

Penny Bremer

Outreach Librarian Central

Central Library

Guildhall Square

Portsmouth

PO1 2DX

T: 023 9268 8065

E: penny.bremer@portsmouthcc.gov.uk

Responsible for Central, Carnegie and John Pounds Centre Libraries

Tom Williams

Outreach Librarian Central

Central Library

Guildhall Square

Portsmouth

PO1 2DX

T: 023 9282 2581

E: tom.williams@portsmouthcc.gov.uk

Responsible for Central, Carnegie and John Pounds Centre Libraries

Sherry-Ann Kelly Parsons

Outreach Librarian

Central Library

Guildhall Square

Portsmouth

PO1 2DX

T: 02392688066

E: kelly-parsons.sherry-ann@portsmouthcc.gov.uk

Available for all areas

Free Community Toolkit

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Community Toolkit is a FREE information resource for people who want to get involved in organising smaller, straightforward community activities.

Developed by Zurich Insurance plc, in association with specialists from legal, health and safety, risk management and volunteering backgrounds, Community Toolkit aims to make volunteering more simple by providing some information and guidance for individuals and small groups who want to do more in the places where they live, for their own benefit and for those around them.

M275 Tipner interchange scheme

The city council needs your help!

Please complete the survey at  http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/Tipner to help secure the funding from central government to regenerate Tipner.

The M275 Tipner interchange scheme (comprising the new junction, a southbound bus priority lane, and park and ride) is one of 45 major schemes currently being considered by the Department for Transport for funding.  

Portsmouth City Council is now required to submit a Best and Final Bid (BAFB) for funding by 9th September 2011. 

The Department does not expect that all 45 schemes will be funded.  All bids will be scrutinised very carefully and promoters will be challenged to demonstrate high value for money as well as significant savings on cost.  They will also look at a range of other criteria and will seek the views of interested parties including members of the public.  The process is competitive and those schemes that do not reach an acceptable standard will not be funded. 

If the council are to be successful in securing funding for the above transport improvements, it is vital that it is demonstrated to the Department for Transport that the scheme is supported by those living, working and visiting in Portsmouth - full details of the plans and the survey are on the city council website at http://www.portsmouth.gov.uk/living/8781.html 

Or contact the planning team

• call 023 9268 8205
• email tipner.projects@portsmouthcc.gov.uk
• write to:
Tipner Interchange Scheme,
Portsmouth City Council,
Highways and Coastal Services,
Guildhall Square,
Portsmouth,
PO1 2NE.