Step forward Labour candidate for Easton Mohammed Arif who along with his agent Terry Cook has spent the day delivering a leaflet around the ward with a headline: “Bristol-Bath Cycle Path: Labour action, Lib Dem excuses”.
The story finds Labour taking credit for saving the Railway Path from becoming a BRT route and is accompanied by a photo of Arif, his councillor colleague Faruk Choudhury and an unidentified group of campaigners.
Alas, it seems the pair of spivs Arif and Cook are a pair of stupid, insensitive twats too. For starters the photo features Greenbank environmental campaigning legend Pete Taylor, who sadly died a few weeks ago and – to say the least – was no fan of the Labour Party.
Others in the photo include the Green Party candidate for Easton, Katie Buse, a major challenger to Arif, while the rest are from the ‘Keep the Bank Green’ group who have been fighting the Labour administration’s efforts to sell off protected park land on the Railway Path to property developers.
The photo has nothing to do with BRT on the Railway Path and is full of people who loathe Bristol Labour and the local businessmen, slum landlords and property developers it now stands for.
Oh and it’s called The Bristol and Bath Railway Path not Bristol-Bath Cycle Path as the former Cycle City Champion Terry Cook has called it. Cretin.
I think most people know where the parties have stood on the path but no lie is to gross for this lot.A bit like Bushrat Ali in Lawrence hill.
To use Pete in the photo though plumbs new depths even fot this lot. He did a huge amount of work on “don’t choke Bristol ”
Meanwhile.
The threat to the railway path remains real. A reservation (for future BRT) condition was put into the planning permission approved recently.
Jon Rogers and I have informed officers that –
the decision on the lease of land will be taken by the cabinet in public-
the access to the site from the path will be examined in an online consultation-
we intend to change the proposed condition on the lease that would have made the land available for BRT in future with one that requires conservation.
The way that this was previously handled when under the control of Labour was a disgrace.
Let us also be clear that ,although if we had been designing the development it would have been different we do not seek to stop the develpoment as overall it is much better than a derelict factory.
We belive that it is possible to have the factory site built on and preserve the integrity of the path both as a cycle route and a “linear park” and make it impossible for a future Labour or Tory administration to take the BRT plans down from the shelf.
Who is the bloke in the bike clothes with the beer belly on the right? He looks like some kind of subversive. And he is riding round the city without any high-viz clothing, unlike Rowland Dye on the left hand side
Can I add that it is actually nice to remember peter by distributing a photo of him across the ward. I don’t know what it will do for the election, but at least everyone gets a reminder of the work that he did.
Pete Taylor was in favour of knocking the factory down and building a park, but there’s no profit for crimson trousered merchant venturers in that is there? – How many luxury flats in Bristol have been built in the past few years that are still empty?
People have tried to do things via the consultation to make this developement acceptable to locals, if the present administration or the one that takes over after June 4th fails to deliver, I expect people may be forced into taking direct action to protect the path.
I had the pleasure of meeting Pete while campaigning on another issue (Grove Wood). He was a great guy, and we respectfully signed one another’s petitions. Didn’t realise he’d died. What a shame.
Pete died a couple of weeks ago, his family says
“Hello, my name is Mark and I am the next of kin of Peter Taylor. The arrangements for his funeral are as follows. Monday 8th June at 9.30am, Canford Crematorium, Canford Lane, Westbury on Trym. All those who wish to attend the funeral are more than welcome. It was felt a Minister would not be appropriate to undertake a formal religious service. Therefore, anyone who would like to say a few words in celebration of Peter’s life and his dedication to his environmental campaigning is more than welcome to do so. Anyone who may wish to say a few words then I would suggest you contact the crematorium direct on 0117 9038280. It has also been expressed to not send flowers. However, a thought may be to accept donations on behalf of an environmental campaign group, again any suggestions on this would be much appreciated. Following the funeral, arrangements are being made by Peter’s niece and nephew (Genevieve and Matthhew) to hold a ceremony to scatter the ashes in a location they feel is most appropriate, again all are welcome. Further details of this ceremony will be posted shortly.”
There’s also plans for a tree planting on the railway path, more on that when the details are confirmed.
There’s a certain embankment by a certain disused factory near where Pete lived that might be an appropriate place.
Pete would like that (along with the battle to save it …)
There is already also a sapling that locals have planted in memory of Phil Hendy, allotment rep at Packers, who was murdered. This tree, like all the others that are growing along this side of the path, is under threat from Squarepeg, so I’m sure that Pete would very much appreciate this opportunity for “raising the profile” of this vital hedgerow and stretch of greenway and highlighting the importance of protecting it.
On the subject of election leaflets, I picked up one of Cameroon’s “vote for change” blurbs floating around outside one of these upmarket new developments in Greenbank. It has been personally addressed to an individual there.
The rest of us plebs have not received such attention from the Conservative Party, or any attention at all for that matter as far as I’ve observed.
It could indicate the social divide between the old housing and the new developments that are being engineered into place under these densification schemes.
Peter Taylor was a great guy and even looking at the pic you can see how he persuaded others to his cause. The Labour people in the pic are taking his petition to Council I read about it in the Post. And Peter was generous enough to help deliver leaflets for the Gaza March. He was interested in a lot of issues and oddly enough he and I and others – the Labour MP and, I think, the current Easton Labour candidate – were at the launch of the “Thank you for not driving campaign” at the City Academy. He will be missed.
Thank you Labour for distributing a photo of him across the ward at least everyone gets a remember how well he got on and his transparency of the work that he did and photo clearly indicates this regardless of which party.
If selected im sure the Easton Labour candidate will carry on Peter’s legacy of bringing people together.
Peter will be deeply missed especially his “humour to make people smile”, his funeral is being held on Mon 8th June at 9.30am at Canford Crematorium, Canford lane, Westbury On Trym – Hope to see you all there.
Lastly i am extremely pleased to hear of the Tree planting in the Railway Path in memory of Peter.
Labour can’t stop lying and spinning for a minute. Shame on Labour.
On June 4th!
Labour hacks were hurriedly pounding the streets of Easton tonight with their brand new shiny leaflet. This one replaces the clusterfuck that was their last leaflet, where they desperately tried to exploit a mislabeled photo of a candidate from another party and a dead man who can no longer answer back.
http://tinyurl.com/n2plfu
Interesting what they say about “That Cycle Path” as they call it:
“It’s a little known fact that the idea of putting buses down the cyclepath began when the Lib Dems were in charge.
BUT let’s get this absolutely clear – the proposal to put buses down the cycle path is dead.
Like Monty Python’s ex-parrot it is deceased, it has expired, it is no more.
The Lib Dems by raising this bogey once more are just scaremongering.
Council policy is to do nothing which would alter the character of the cycle path. Fact.”
So far so tactless.
I am afraid that the BRT down the railway path is not yet dead and buried. (sorry Pete but this is the clearest way to express this )
Why did Lab/Tory produce their wrecking ammendment at the full council meeting.
Why were reservation rights ,a hangover from the past,included and accepted by planning for the chocolate factory on 1/4.
Why is it still in the WOE options.
It is still on the shelf and whilst our administration has no intention of progressing the option-
it should be ring Rd and M32-
we need to take steps to make it as difficuilt as possioble for a future administration to revive the idea.
By the way the Labour leaflet confirms that this ward is a straight fight and who people bel;ieve on this issue is critical.