Cosham Ward Report

Ian 'Tiny' Morris:

00:00:14.21 - 00:00:27.1 

 And welcome to our second to last episode Before Christmas I have battled my way back from it was either Ebola man flu or a heavy cold So forgive me if the voice is sounding just a touch husky

Ian 'Tiny' Morris:

00:00:27.35 - 00:00:46.529 

 today But before we indulge ourselves next week with our own version of a Christmas Carol this week we've got our latest Ward report And one which is very pertinent for myself and Simon as we are both residents of Koshi So we are We are blessed and joined by no less than all three of our Koshi Ward councillors Welcome counsellors

Cllr Mary Vallely:

00:00:47.159 - 00:00:47.93 

 Hi

Cllr Asghar Shah:

00:00:48.459 - 00:00:50.259 

 Hello Uh

Simon Sansbury

00:00:50.389 - 00:01:18.419 

 good evening So I'll give a bit of introduction to um to the ward Uh and then to our councillors And then should we crack straight on with with the questions here Let's do it OK so uh Cotham is one of the three Portsmouth wards not on the island It's still part of Portsmouth But you can fight You can fight in the comments about that if you want to um with Ports Grove to the West and Drake and Farmington to the east It stretches from the top of the hill um in the north and to ports Bridge Creek in the south It's an area with thousands of residential houses

Simon Sansbury

00:01:18.73 - 00:01:44.309 

 Uh mostly uh pre World War Two to the east of the high street and post um post the Second World War to the to the west with the Isle of Wight and Wimmin Estates It's home to Highbury College Cosham High Street Q a hospital the council owned Lakeside Office Park and King George the fifth playing fields Um and enjoys easy connections by car train or bus into the city and out to the neighbouring towns and beyond So there's our advert for cosham

Simon Sansbury

00:01:45.069 - 00:01:54.54 

 Mm Um uh um we're joined today uh by all three of the caution ward councillors So we're really lucky And thank you all three for giving us your Sunday evening

Simon Sansbury

00:01:55.239 - 00:02:02.099 

 So we're joined by Councillor Matthew Atkins Uh uh Councillor Ashgar Shah and Councillor Mary Valley So welcome Very much to the show

Simon Sansbury

00:02:03.069 - 00:02:28.619 

 Um bit of a quick history Uh Councillor Atkins joined Portsmouth City Council in 2019 as one of the three conservative councillors Uh for the ward at the time He's the opposition spokesperson for Planning Policy and City Development Uh Councillor Shah joined the council in uh 2022 as the first Labour Councillor in Kham since 2002 Uh and he's the opposition spokesperson for environmental services and for resources

Simon Sansbury

00:02:28.94 - 00:02:39.029 

 Um and Councillor Valeri joined the council in May this year Um bringing the labour councillors in cost to two Mary is the opposition spokesperson for culture leisure and economic development

Simon Sansbury

00:02:39.72 - 00:02:42.77 

 There we go Hopefully I've got all of that right Indeed

Ian 'Tiny' Morris:

00:02:43.289 - 00:02:56.559 

 Marvellous So if we start with our questions and I guess uh you know I if there is such a thing um what does a typical day as a cum counsellor look like And can I ask that first to Matthew please

Cllr Matthew Atkins:

00:02:57.21 - 00:02:59.199 

 Uh sure Yeah Um

Cllr Matthew Atkins:

00:02:59.83 - 00:03:28.509 

 I think um there are some misconceptions about councils which I can clear up quickly though Probably most of your listeners are are aware Um so we're not full time so I have a day job Um certainly I know Counsellor Sha does I I don't know what the council we suspect She does as well So um I worked out at the university Uh but days where I'm doing a lot of council work I I tend to come home in the evening every evening and check my email so that that's kind of regular Do regular casework via email

Cllr Matthew Atkins:

00:03:28.71 - 00:03:57.49 

 um correspond with residents correspond with with officers Um when there is uh Ward case work to be done in person You know we have meetings arranged during the week potentially or or at the weekend with residents uh attending local community events Um sadly of course the the Christmas lights switch almost cancelled this week but we were all geared up I expect to attend that on Thursday night Um before it was suddenly cancelled Um and then um

Cllr Matthew Atkins:

00:03:57.66 - 00:04:27.35 

 so So there's there's there's that side of it then uh half the job So half the job is dealing with kind of residents Ward casework and email casework Um uh person attending sort of local events meeting local community groups Then the other half is central council stuff So meetings that we attend in council uh probably have one or two of those a week Um maximum depending on our our meeting loads where we go in and uh say shadow Our mine is about

Cllr Matthew Atkins:

00:04:27.54 - 00:04:55.63 

 planning policy Like the local plan Uh city development Like big major projects going on in the city Not particularly Croom specific but obviously affects cost Um heavily Um might be on the planning committee Might be on one of the other committees in council Um and then um uh so sort of the sort of two halves of the job one's case where one's one's uh uh uh One's uh set up in the council So

Cllr Matthew Atkins:

00:04:55.79 - 00:05:12.44 

 um misconception We might be sort of fat cut government people as well We uh we have all three of us in opposition Um and and it's a mostly voluntary role We get about a £10,000 allowance topped up by uh small banks We do So um

Cllr Matthew Atkins:

00:05:12.72 - 00:05:36.649 

 uh we do our council work in council We do case work as we count for the ward and we best advocate for the ward as we can But our probably our primary job is actually representing those individual residents where they have issues with their council services So um you know dealing with those emails to going and seeing residents uh and going to community events is is probably the main The main function of a local councillor I would say

Ian 'Tiny' Morris:

00:05:37.269 - 00:05:46.829 

 perfect Thank you Matt And and Sha How does uh how does your day look Are you juggling uh AAA job and council work as well

Cllr Asghar Shah:

00:05:47.14 - 00:05:51.019 

 Thank you I um actually my day is um

Cllr Asghar Shah:

00:05:51.41 - 00:06:20.269 

 there is not much difference But first of all obviously I am a spokesperson in two portfolio and is environmental services and resources I'm also a member of the Planning Committee and Licencing Committee as well I'm uh standing deputy for Employment Committee as well So I got I think more uh rules So I'm obviously busy in the council almost every week I do have at least a meeting a committee meeting Um

Cllr Asghar Shah:

00:06:20.829 - 00:06:32.98 

 and um I'm also out on from morning to evening Fridays my day to go out and to see uh my residents meet them I have four

Cllr Asghar Shah:

00:06:33.489 - 00:06:45.489 

 uh week uh for monthly Um uh local surgery So every Friday from 11 till 12 I have surgery in different locations

Cllr Asghar Shah:

00:06:46.059 - 00:06:53.39 

 And after these surgeries I do go out and meet my residents face to face in person

Cllr Asghar Shah:

00:06:54.57 - 00:07:04.029 

 over the phone Yes but face to face I do more I like to go to see my residence This is on a weekly basis on regular basis

Cllr Asghar Shah:

00:07:04.79 - 00:07:06.82 

 Um I have my full time job

Cllr Asghar Shah:

00:07:07.529 - 00:07:09.72 

 and I have my young family

Cllr Asghar Shah:

00:07:10.75 - 00:07:17.29 

 Um I do do food hub as well for the last good few years And I do organise

Cllr Asghar Shah:

00:07:17.799 - 00:07:42.089 

 uh Christmas hampers which is again for the last few years Um Christmas meal Another project I added to my portfolio my my residence portfolio Call it nut council portfolio as a community volunteer and New Year meal is another one for this year So there is so much Actually uh I'm I've been doing for the last good few years now and I

Cllr Asghar Shah:

00:07:42.67 - 00:07:43.73 

 I do enjoy it

Ian 'Tiny' Morris:

00:07:44.149 - 00:08:03.69 

 Oh it sounds Sounds like a lot of work Sha I think you'd have to enjoy it So So Mary is the as the newbie to the team Um how how are you finding uh balancing the demands of of work and council life Well is there anything in there that um that surprised you Or did you uh did you get the the inside track before you signed up Well

Cllr Mary Vallely:

00:08:03.7 - 00:08:07.76 

 a bit of both but don't tell you the full story in case you don't go for it You know what I mean

Cllr Mary Vallely:

00:08:08.079 - 00:08:32.28 

 So um my portfolio is cultural leisure and economic development of which there's a lot involved and then planning wise I'm in planning or committee wise I'm in planning I'm in education young people scrutiny panel I'm in the management scrutiny panel um standing deputy for governance audit and standards Uh say that quickly

Cllr Mary Vallely:

00:08:32.64 - 00:08:48.669 

 Langston Harbour I'm on the board for that And I'm also on the push partnership for South Hants And of course we're all involved in the local plan Um so yes quite busy And two part time jobs Yeah

Cllr Mary Vallely:

00:08:49.549 - 00:08:54.7 

 So there's never a typical day but I have uh several meetings in a week without doubt

Ian 'Tiny' Morris:

00:08:55.2 - 00:08:55.989 

 Thank you

Simon Sansbury

00:08:56.909 - 00:09:15.82 

 OK so um we um just so our viewers can understand We've randomised um Who we're coming to first for each question just to give everyone a chance to to come first Um so um staying with uh staying with Mary Um what are the issues Residents are raising the most with you Well I I

Cllr Mary Vallely:

00:09:15.83 - 00:09:19.9 

 forgot to mention that of course in amongst all that committee work And um

Cllr Mary Vallely:

00:09:20.65 - 00:09:26.57 

 the priority is actually the case work um working with the residents is our main priority

Cllr Mary Vallely:

00:09:26.78 - 00:09:55.39 

 and I try to do every Friday with Sha Um it's difficult because my portfolio often meets on a Friday morning but we usually get the afternoon and early evening to do this So meeting with residents is really important The things that they mostly talk about are traffic issues Um parking permits things like needing double yellow lines removed or added um needing a traffic island because the traffic is really bad especially murmuring

Cllr Mary Vallely:

00:09:55.89 - 00:10:12.69 

 um the other things that are really important to people are housing issues Um and I suppose the other thing that we look at are sometimes issues with antisocial behaviour Drugs in the area Um

Cllr Mary Vallely:

00:10:13.21 - 00:10:20.809 

 yeah so those are the main things and obviously the cost of living is everybody's issue at the minute Um people are really struggling really struggling

Cllr Mary Vallely:

00:10:21.32 - 00:10:22.369 

 and that's both sides

Simon Sansbury

00:10:22.53 - 00:10:32.059 

 But it was interesting You you you you mentioned that Do you Would you say there's there's two There's there are two costumes Effectively Is there Is there that kind of divide Does that exist Or

Cllr Mary Vallely:

00:10:32.4 - 00:10:36.14 

 the obvious difference is that there's more council housing

Cllr Mary Vallely:

00:10:36.75 - 00:11:04.989 

 uh in one side than the other And I think that we're really lucky to have council housing because actually lots of councils have sadly sold off their council housing So we are lucky to have that Um the benefit of having a council house is that when things are really difficult financially the council will help you If there's a hole in the roof you'll get it fixed If you own your house and it's wear and tear at the minute people are struggling to get things fixed You know they're putting up with the damp

Cllr Mary Vallely:

00:11:05.299 - 00:11:10.89 

 um doing jobs themselves that necessarily aren't the best way of doing things But

Cllr Mary Vallely:

00:11:11.849 - 00:11:13.679 

 yeah there's a struggle financially

Simon Sansbury

00:11:14.15 - 00:11:18.109 

 Thank you Sharp Anything more to add on that What are what are people saying to you

Cllr Asghar Shah:

00:11:18.809 - 00:11:41.469 

 Yeah I think I think what my colleagues said is mainly we got traffic issues like double yellow line Uh traffic island There are few sports actually very hot spots in kosam Uh so we are working on them to have island there Uh residents permit Parking is another one which some residents they didn't like But I think they are coming towards

Cllr Asghar Shah:

00:11:41.69 - 00:12:07.309 

 inclined to have residence permit parking And it's again another hot topic at the moment in our board Uh we are working on that And since I got elected last year I've been working on traffic calming measures for uh like daily basis Uh do you see my residence And the traffic issues are the main one And obviously housing we can say is the second one

Cllr Asghar Shah:

00:12:07.559 - 00:12:11.5 

 uh housing You would find every ward but I think traffic coming measure is very

Simon Sansbury

00:12:13.02 - 00:12:19.82 

 OK That's lovely Um and last but not least um Matthew What's the what are people coming to you about

Cllr Matthew Atkins:

00:12:20.179 - 00:12:45.859 

 Sure Um yeah I I think um antisocial behaviour is is worth emphasising I think that so I don't fully agree that there's there's two questions I don't think Mary said that there is definitely two questions but um I I think that there are issues that are universal to the ward And then there's specific area issues and um antisocial behaviour is universal to the to the whole area of the ward Um

Cllr Matthew Atkins:

00:12:46.07 - 00:13:12.229 

 uh all the areas of both sides of of the High street we were in the Hibri estate Uh they're all concerned about um about uh and social behaviour and house burglary And that's why You know we've been organising uh police meetings where we can We've been uh trying to uh uh the police and crime commissioner is opening a new police desk and there's the work going on to uh to to build the new police station in COSHAM So I think there is

Cllr Matthew Atkins:

00:13:12.44 - 00:13:41.94 

 some good work being done there I think that is a uh a key issue across the ward Uh traffic The issues are different in different areas So the speeding particularly a Medina road issue near the primary school Um and uh a Highbury estate issue I think um and uh you know form council basically And I tried to you know get the the the the vehicle activated signs set up Um those are still in the works Those are approved Um it's taking an annoying length of time

Cllr Matthew Atkins:

00:13:42.13 - 00:14:06.869 

 to get them Um I don't know My two colleagues weren't necessarily sure about that idea and asked for further investigation but it's taken quite a bit of time to to get them installed Um but those are in the works as well So I think those are two sort of um big issues going on at the moment Um the the traffic zone area the parking zone

Cllr Matthew Atkins:

00:14:07.039 - 00:14:30.57 

 I I get most complaints about parking from the hospital area where they have a a parking zone And that has always been the case And it's it's very unfortunate Patients doctors nurses uh leaving their cars because enforcement is such a a difficult issue We get a lot of casework where you know I I I'm passing on the number of the uh the traffic enforcement team and say you know when there's a car outside in your parking zone without parking

Cllr Matthew Atkins:

00:14:30.849 - 00:14:56.619 

 uh permit The best thing to do is is call enforcement and hope they have someone free to come and uh come and investigate Um so I I think um uh obviously th those are two major issues Um uh I think uh there's there's still concerns coming in quite regularly around the the KG five development the the the FIFA Excellent sensor and the effect that has had

Cllr Matthew Atkins:

00:14:56.83 - 00:15:22.64 

 on the playing fields in terms of their tidiness in terms of of whether the when it's going to finish and whether the site is going to be rectified and and uh made attractive as it should be Um and over the last year there's still a residual and I know we've got a question coming on it later uh concern around development in the centre of town Um and I think that's that's uh I'll I'll discuss that more later more on hold now than um than it was And certainly

Cllr Matthew Atkins:

00:15:22.809 - 00:15:45.95 

 um uh I worked very hard alongside former colleagues at current Collin to get the uh the number of flats down there And um there are no imminent plans for development there but we'll discuss that later Um so I think those are Those are the three most common issues that that we do here about the centre of development the traffic and the antisocial behaviour Lovely Thank

Simon Sansbury

00:15:45.96 - 00:15:46.049 

 you

Ian 'Tiny' Morris:

00:15:46.809 - 00:15:52.65 

 So we look at the political element So the current council has to make up with 18 liberal Democrats

Ian 'Tiny' Morris:

00:15:52.919 - 00:16:13.33 

 Eight conservatives seven for Labour six for Pip and some other folk I'm not can't do the numbers in my brain that quickly So I guess I in terms of trying to hold a minority administration to uh to account and to ensure that the voices of your residents are heard

Ian 'Tiny' Morris:

00:16:13.5 - 00:16:21.65 

 H How do you make that work you know with with both of you you know both sides being in minority parties And can I ask that first to Sha please

Cllr Asghar Shah:

00:16:22.049 - 00:16:25.609 

 Um I think I I may be a little bit different

Cllr Asghar Shah:

00:16:26.13 - 00:16:27.239 

 Um

Cllr Asghar Shah:

00:16:27.82 - 00:16:37.14 

 whenever we need to challenge the administration we do And I think a recent example is for the um

Cllr Asghar Shah:

00:16:37.71 - 00:16:40.76 

 uh stroke recovery Uh services

Cllr Asghar Shah:

00:16:41.719 - 00:16:45.239 

 We did challenge the administration and we got the services back

Cllr Asghar Shah:

00:16:46.32 - 00:17:09.64 

 but mostly we and especially myself When I'm talking about myself as a community volunteer Um I do want to work with all the parties and obviously my colleague I met he does know me very well And I do want to work with each and everyone for the best of my community for the best of my residents So whenever challenge is required yes I do challenge And when

Cllr Asghar Shah:

00:17:10.04 - 00:17:23.959 

 uh needs to be work friendly for the best to get the best for my uh residents And yes we do work together I do try to work with all parties and this is obvious I think from my dealing with all other groups

Ian 'Tiny' Morris:

00:17:24.099 - 00:17:31.079 

 Perfect Thank you And can I ask the same question to Mary How are how are you getting the voices of your residents amplified

Cllr Mary Vallely:

00:17:31.4 - 00:17:35.819 

 Um we have our feet in the ground all the time So um

Cllr Mary Vallely:

00:17:36.069 - 00:18:05.55 

 we can prove a need um with surveys or whatever we have So we actually have people's voices as fact You know um knocking on doors regularly going out talking to people in groups um getting surveying what people need think want So yeah I mean we obviously have We can bring motions and things like that Um but actually the stuff on the ground is the most important thing Feeding that back challenging questioning

Ian 'Tiny' Morris:

00:18:05.829 - 00:18:21.26 

 And so I guess finally not lost But by namely Matt how do you uh how are you finding life now in in you know in opposition rather than there was a few years when the conservatives led the council Is it harder to get things done

Cllr Matthew Atkins:

00:18:21.76 - 00:18:34.81 

 Yeah So sadly I I wasn't part of the group when the council we we lost administration in 2018 and I was led in 2019 but um uh So my experience has been a bit of opposition Um I think um

Cllr Matthew Atkins:

00:18:35.069 - 00:18:36.14 

 I

Cllr Matthew Atkins:

00:18:36.829 - 00:18:49.31 

 council show is right that the first approach to working with uh working administration is always that um you would try and II I vocal in council and I'm criticised publicly but I think there is a problem

Cllr Matthew Atkins:

00:18:49.5 - 00:19:18.76 

 Uh that is actually that's not what I do first What I do first is I go and talk to the cabinet member I have usually given fair warning behind the scenes and had the long discussions with cabinet members You know when it came to the the fireworks issue for example which didn't work out very well for the north of the city this year as Councillor basically I had kind of predicted um we had had long discussions with officers long discussions with cabinet members uh trying to uh get them to um

Cllr Matthew Atkins:

00:19:18.979 - 00:19:46.699 

 uh prepare properly for that to put in place the right measures warning them this was going to be an issue that resulted out of the development Um and the reason for the public criticism I've I've given of of of uh the administration in public is because the you know warnings and advice were not heeded in private so but a lot of the time a lot of that work goes on uh more privately in private discussions and there isn't a need to have a kind of public holding to account or or opposition And um

Cllr Matthew Atkins:

00:19:46.979 - 00:20:02.839 

 when we talk about the the the the development of possible flats in the city So I use that as an example of where in the end um the administration and and and the officers worked with us um I would highlight the role of a councillor particularly as you spent a bit more time on the council

Cllr Matthew Atkins:

00:20:03.04 - 00:20:22.53 

 Um in dealing with with officers as well because so much of our casework it's not worth taking to a an elected Cabinet member You actually take it to a relevant officer be that a director or a case worker So if we get a housing query someone feels their housing accommodation is inadequate or antisocial behaviour

Cllr Matthew Atkins:

00:20:22.77 - 00:20:40.915 

 issue around the housing I I'm not gonna take that straight to Darren Sanders the Cabinet member I'm going to go via the officers I'm gonna get their um their case reviewed I'm going to uh advocate for them where they you know might have issues that mean there combinations not suitable because of AAA child

Cllr Matthew Atkins:

00:20:40.925 - 00:21:06.39 

 you know a disability their child has or something like that that is it's much more common than I'm working with officers Or when we planned the the exercise equipment in CS Park It was that was you know me transformation and the officers in parks working on that and the officer for our S money working on that um and and really that's about you know reminding reminding the officers Crooms here and and if you want the project accomplished you have to

Cllr Matthew Atkins:

00:21:06.589 - 00:21:34.27 

 you know stay on top of it week to week Keep those emails going in asking for status updates Uh and that's not because the officers don't want to help The officers are really useful and uh they've They've worked very hard on a lot of projects for caution over the years but it's their caseload is so heavy the workload that they're doing you have to keep caution at the top of the agenda if you see what that means So um that building relationship with officers know knowing who does who does what and um encouraging them to

Cllr Matthew Atkins:

00:21:34.51 - 00:21:56.16 

 keep on top of the projects that are slowly making their way through for for cost of infrastructure That's that's I think a big part of how you know we we make sure that our our ward is well serviced Yes there is the the public debate and and that tends to be on the higher level issues You know the the spreading across the city the council tax the big developments planned Um

Cllr Matthew Atkins:

00:21:56.469 - 00:22:02.42 

 if you want to get a a smaller thing done it's probably better to work through the offices as best you can first

Ian 'Tiny' Morris:

00:22:03.089 - 00:22:15.04 

 No no it sounds like uh it sounds like some of those uh some of the council meetings which can sometimes get a little bit playful Um there's much more collaboration goes on behind the scenes than perhaps uh

Ian 'Tiny' Morris:

00:22:15.349 - 00:22:18.28 

 most most people see Would that would that be fair I

Cllr Matthew Atkins:

00:22:18.29 - 00:22:32.469 

 think that that is fair I think there's often been extensive discussion uh behind the scenes of a lot of of these issues And it's where you know we we have a different opinion We haven't resolved that it comes out um in in the meetings in in public

Simon Sansbury

00:22:34.119 - 00:22:38.04 

 Ok um and then beautifully segues into our next question

Simon Sansbury

00:22:38.619 - 00:22:41.13 

 Um which um

Simon Sansbury

00:22:41.81 - 00:22:55.079 

 which is how how does cosham and and the and the rest of the the North of the city um compare to other wards uh for things um like um infrastructure investment Um and if I can ask that first to Mary please

Cllr Mary Vallely:

00:22:55.76 - 00:23:10.189 

 Um it would seem when you first look at it that actually the south gets everything Um that's the common perception but actually Cooper has more industrial units than anywhere else in the city

Cllr Mary Vallely:

00:23:10.78 - 00:23:17.38 

 Um we have Q a um you know we have we have things that you wouldn't necessarily think

Cllr Mary Vallely:

00:23:18.67 - 00:23:23.01 

 about Um but obviously in the south

Cllr Mary Vallely:

00:23:23.66 - 00:23:27.77 

 there's much more around culture which um

Cllr Mary Vallely:

00:23:28.4 - 00:23:46.339 

 you know it's difficult because they have both the theatres you know they have the art spaces they have things um more cafe culture You know the whole shopping areas are bigger Um and I think that's something that we can work on Um for for caution

Cllr Mary Vallely:

00:23:46.55 - 00:24:00.56 

 Um maybe improving the shopping offer making sure that we fill those spaces in the high street Um maybe working on some of the planters making it look a bit better But actually I don't think we do

Simon Sansbury

00:24:00.569 - 00:24:06.02 

 Too bad Thank you And I'll go to Matthew next if that's alright So

Simon Sansbury

00:24:06.319 - 00:24:11.79 

 um how do we compare to the to the to the south is Is the North getting a raw deal or or or

Cllr Matthew Atkins:

00:24:12.099 - 00:24:23.069 

 not Um I think what the South gets that the North doesn't get is that kind of ongoing regular attention those I mean

Cllr Matthew Atkins:

00:24:23.079 - 00:24:39.839 

 there's an attempt to organise events in the north of the city But the events in the south of the city this year have worked out and the events in the north of the city particularly in caution have not gone the way that we would have hoped or expected Um and I think that kind of there's there's regular cultural stuff there There's um

Cllr Matthew Atkins:

00:24:40.01 - 00:25:07.5 

 uh that kind of beautification of Of the South that goes on I think that's why you can kind of feel that the North gets a bit of a raw deal Um sometimes our our our road surfaces seem to be quite neglected in the North Some of the road surfaces I think that are allowed to go on in whing um in Poulsbo as well and whiter state and and at times even in the High State I think I think uh if those road surfaces were seen in South Sea I think uh there would be

Cllr Matthew Atkins:

00:25:07.719 - 00:25:19.31 

 um quite a lot of consternation So I think that there's kind of regular council service questions I would say overall investment I think if we were there's two aspects to it One

Cllr Matthew Atkins:

00:25:19.839 - 00:25:47.619 

 caution received quite a lot of attention in I guess the purchase of Lakeside Um if if we call that a council investment that's a big investment Um and also in relation to this new FIFA Fair play Centre And now I know that's not actually necessarily great for the residents of caution But for the if you talk to you know Steve P if he was here to be fair to him well he would say that was AAA big investment in caution that the council has made alongside you know football England Um

Cllr Matthew Atkins:

00:25:47.979 - 00:26:16.41 

 what I would say is that it's it's there's there's other investment that's come in the north of the city Whereas the South recently has been quite unsuccessful in its its funding bids for um its government for really for for various things I don't think the the person in the South made any successful uh funding applications to government at all Um last year whereas um through penny more we've seen investment come into the hills Clio

Cllr Matthew Atkins:

00:26:16.56 - 00:26:44.88 

 Um the the the obviously the closure of C Health Centre was very controversial But after in the wake of that Penny M went up and spoke to the health Minister and made sure that the funding for a new GPA GP surgery at the old PC M I site so north of the town centre was green lit So the funding has been green lit for that funding is you know currently building a new A&E at um at uh at Queen Alexandria Hospital So I actually think um

Cllr Matthew Atkins:

00:26:45.06 - 00:27:11.579 

 there's been a reasonable amount of government funding come to the north of the city in the last couple of years We just haven't actually seen it hit yet And as I already mentioned the new blue lights the fire station the police said uh station that the police and Crime Commissioner Donald Jones is working on So um I think if we look overall there is some good investment coming but it's in the pipeline and some of the short term things have been quite bad Like obviously the closure of the health centre and the problems that the associated

Cllr Matthew Atkins:

00:27:11.76 - 00:27:40.68 

 uh GP closure Um though the the other two GP surgeries that the um Ocean Park house and the trade and surgery have really stepped up I think in the wake of that I know their service is not perfect but they have They haven't resolved the the patients well And that process in the end um was resolved I think without too many people having major problems Um So um while I think there's there's been some issues with with councils the council services sometimes forgetting gloss Um

Cllr Matthew Atkins:

00:27:40.91 - 00:27:50.03 

 the overall picture over the last few years Um particularly when you take into account other sources of funding Um hasn't Hasn't been too bad Thank

Simon Sansbury

00:27:50.04 - 00:27:54.01 

 you Um Sha did you have anything to add on that one What were your thoughts

Cllr Asghar Shah:

00:27:55.209 - 00:28:04.069 

 Um I think I mostly I agree with both of my colleagues but I think a couple of things which I want to mention and add actually just to

Cllr Asghar Shah:

00:28:04.93 - 00:28:25.489 

 um and what they said I agree with them I don't want to go in more details but a few things which in the north in the south of the city I think they got leadership The MP is spending more time in the city And um I think he got more activities Uh with the residents in the south of the city

Cllr Asghar Shah:

00:28:25.93 - 00:28:36.31 

 Um also um I think uh cycle lanes in the north of the city I think of South is better than the north of the city

Cllr Asghar Shah:

00:28:37.78 - 00:29:04.8 

 Um yes we do have better facilities Like kiwi we got in Koshi is in the north of the city We got um K GB in the north of the city Um but a couple of things which I just mentioned about bikes and I think we need more activities in the north of the city But obviously um I know Penny got so much to do as well but we need more I mean someone to lead the north of the city so we can get

Cllr Asghar Shah:

00:29:05.16 - 00:29:13.13 

 uh better Like in the south They are I would say a bit better Not that much A bit better because they got the leadership Thank

Ian 'Tiny' Morris:

00:29:13.14 - 00:29:13.449 

 you

Ian 'Tiny' Morris:

00:29:14.229 - 00:29:43.39 

 Now let's let's focus on the north South divide and something which is uh which I think has caused some consternation Um so obviously the fireworks that King George the fifth had to be moved We were told there would be a one in the south and one in the north Uh North was said definitely going ahead definitely going ahead then was cancelled And then this week the Christmas lights switch on at Cosham I think Matthew alluded to it earlier

Ian 'Tiny' Morris:

00:29:43.569 - 00:30:09.15 

 Um it it looked like it was going ahead And then the message came through Somebody who took the bins down in my shorts and t-shirt I couldn't quite see it So you know how can we you know is is there something to this or you know how can we avoid the the perception that the events that the nice events rather than the financial event in the north

Ian 'Tiny' Morris:

00:30:09.3 - 00:30:16.209 

 tend to be cancelled at the last minute What What can be done to make that better And can I ask that first to Mary please This is a

Cllr Mary Vallely:

00:30:16.219 - 00:30:23.77 

 really difficult one and everybody was so disappointed Um you know especially um at Halloween I think Um

Cllr Mary Vallely:

00:30:24.839 - 00:30:52.81 

 so indoors in the council we have experts If we don't listen to them what is the point of them Um this I was actually in the council on the third floor when Steve had made the decision and because they weren't sure because you know things can change with the weather so easily They left it to the last so that hopefully Children wouldn't be disappointed But of course that didn't happen

Cllr Mary Vallely:

00:30:53.26 - 00:31:10.229 

 The difficulty we have is that if people get injured they go straight to the solicitor these days You know it's not It's not as straightforward like in the old days everybody get wet and they go home and they change And you know if people have an opinion about whether we should have gone ahead or not So

Cllr Mary Vallely:

00:31:10.699 - 00:31:24.3 

 um it's difficult I don't have an answer Um I suppose communication is the answer at the end of the day making sure that everybody's on board Um you're never going to get agreement from everybody And that's the problem

Cllr Mary Vallely:

00:31:24.819 - 00:31:26.8 

 Yeah that's a hard one No

Ian 'Tiny' Morris:

00:31:26.81 - 00:31:29.969 

 worries So child your your thoughts

Cllr Asghar Shah:

00:31:29.979 - 00:31:51.209 

 Um um actually I do agree with uh my colleague uh but I just I want to add a couple of things um in regards to the event was cancelled Uh in very short time I think health and safety obviously is the top priority for our residents for ourselves for our council

Cllr Asghar Shah:

00:31:51.359 - 00:31:55.949 

 And that's what they decided But I think before that if we go a bit further

Cllr Asghar Shah:

00:31:56.459 - 00:32:24.469 

 Um when this event was even announced that was very late announced in the north of the city Um we didn't have proper um informations What's going on when the when where the event will be organised in the KGV Because we used to have in KGV or somewhere else So I did submit actually a couple of questions to the uh in the full council meeting And I did ask

Cllr Asghar Shah:

00:32:24.63 - 00:32:53.709 

 uh question about I think the communication was a bit poor could be improved And the um cabinet member did agree with me and he said Yes you're right And we will uh improve uh communication in the future because um we are representing the community our votes So if we are not on board we are not on the same page Obviously we can't answer to our residents So that was agreed And hopefully I do hope

Cllr Asghar Shah:

00:32:54.16 - 00:32:58.27 

 um that will be improved in the coming weeks and months

Ian 'Tiny' Morris:

00:32:58.28 - 00:33:08.42 

 Thank you Sha Matthew F Finally to yourself are are the residents of the north getting a raw deal or is it just forced majeure and unavoidable

Cllr Matthew Atkins:

00:33:10.15 - 00:33:37.459 

 I think I think I would say that there there is some raw deal here I don't think it's all just Force Mae and because I think it's it's down to planning and it's down to um decisions that should be taken a lot earlier And things that should have been thought out and plans that should have been made uh substantial times before I'm talking more about the fireworks here I'll get to the the rather sad events of this week on Thursday at the Christmas light switch on afterwards But to talk about the fireworks you know

Cllr Matthew Atkins:

00:33:37.609 - 00:33:55.319 

 this was a a slow moving car crash that you know council the base I anticipated every castle hock and go It goes that far back It goes back years to when this the the the plans were in motion to build this FIFA um fair play centre You know we immediately said Well what's going to happen to the regular events on um

Cllr Matthew Atkins:

00:33:55.489 - 00:34:15.05 

 King George the fifth Because there really isn't another suitable site in Portsmouth North and that's down to you know Portsmouth south having um a longer history of having events and that kind of question We went back to before about the focus of public events on the South There's quite a lot of locations where you can hold that sort of thing

Cllr Matthew Atkins:

00:34:15.25 - 00:34:28.77 

 In Portsmouth South there's the High Street has its big food festival There's various you know the Kite Festival the Victorious Food Festival Go on on on uh the common castle field The new developments around the bands of the of the um

Cllr Matthew Atkins:

00:34:29.03 - 00:34:58.879 

 the sea defences All of that took into account holding events And if you look at the planning of new things in Portsmouth North it doesn't take into account how we're gonna hold public events and public access So Well there's been too much sort of last minute quick design thinking recently and I I'm very worried The same thing is going on in the Bras Park Sports Centre but that is uh obviously not directly my Ward Ward issue You know how are people gonna get there How are they gonna park How are they going to be safe And how are we gonna be able to accommodate the numbers

Cllr Matthew Atkins:

00:34:59.05 - 00:35:03.12 

 And that's the kind of things we wanted them thinking about If they were going to take away

Cllr Matthew Atkins:

00:35:03.3 - 00:35:30.139 

 the ability to hold something like the fireworks at KG Five because there's been some dispute over you know having to cross slightly major roads to get to KG five But ultimately you could park in lakeside and there's an underpass you can park in the centre of town and and the police one year briefly closed um the London Road so people could cross safely from caution Park over you know with a train station where the bus station is into into KG five It's it's a good site Um

Cllr Matthew Atkins:

00:35:30.439 - 00:35:53.659 

 if I mean if they consulted years earlier on this FIFA thing if they thought about it more I do think there's an argument Maybe it should have gone to faring to play with playing fields I thought that we uh just because a lot of football is also held there and and caution had this caution KG five had this dual dual community role Um it was very clear a long way in advance I think that that the the Hills site they chose in Alexandra Park

Cllr Matthew Atkins:

00:35:53.82 - 00:36:19.33 

 was going to be difficult because I cast Payer Harris said it as soon as he heard it It floods far too easy gets turns into a bog doesn't fully flood but it's it's it's um it's just far too muddy and to um too exposed a lot of the time to hold that kind of size of a bed And its transport links weren't good enough Um and in terms of something similar in faring and you've got the same problem getting cars in and out and it being a little bit out of the way So

Cllr Matthew Atkins:

00:36:19.53 - 00:36:34.719 

 uh I just think that there aren't the locations put aside and thought about and set up for these kind of events in the North and And when it comes to new developments in the North it's not given the same kind of priority it would be given if if you were thinking about

Cllr Matthew Atkins:

00:36:34.889 - 00:36:56.504 

 you know the South I think the the recent cancellation on on the High Street um will either turn out and this requires further investigation Residents have been asking me to ask why for a November event was it not planned out that they had a stage surface that was suitable for the weather or a covering of the stage surface that protected them so that

Cllr Matthew Atkins:

00:36:56.514 - 00:37:24.51 

 it wasn't uh too slippery there are questions to be asked in planning there You know how this event was planned as well And I know back in the day Councillor Mason you know this is going back longer Uh longer ago sort of 15 years had to fight quite hard to keep the cost Quite a Christmas light switch on event at all I think the administration is supportive in principle but it's not good If it's kind of an afterthought that doesn't get sufficient Uh planning consideration It might just turn out to be an individual mistake this year that someone

Cllr Matthew Atkins:

00:37:24.76 - 00:37:53.51 

 didn't protect the stage against water that should have done or for forgot to bring the right sort of surface or something I don't know Um but um I think it's very disappointing And it um given the the likely weather conditions and the fact as you say the weather that night just wasn't that bad Um I think I've been out in similarly bad weather before for the light switch on So um it's it's disappointing that that decision had to be made and you feel like some precautions could probably have been taken that would have protected that event

Cllr Matthew Atkins:

00:37:53.679 - 00:38:07.29 

 Um but But I don't think that's necessarily a lot AAA deeper issue I think the fireworks issue shows a sort of wider problem with events in the North whereas I think there's an individual disappointing result when it comes to the Christmas lights switch off

Ian 'Tiny' Morris:

00:38:08.51 - 00:38:11.52 

 this year So I thank you all for your answers

Simon Sansbury

00:38:11.53 - 00:38:22.979 

 there OK so um so staying with Matthew and I know we we touched on it earlier on So the the new fire station um heralds the first piece in a in a puzzle um

Simon Sansbury

00:38:23.459 - 00:38:33.32 

 that that seeks to redevelop a large area of land to the immediate west of the high Street What are the what are the pros and cons of of such a development and what what do you hope that that's eventually going to entail

Cllr Matthew Atkins:

00:38:33.86 - 00:38:54.639 

 Well it's worth first saying that the so so everyone who understands a change that occurred um earlier this year um in discussions we were having around the local plan is that caution had been identified as what's called an opportunity area and they were attempting what's called a land assembly IE to take together a series of sites The old police station

Cllr Matthew Atkins:

00:38:54.84 - 00:39:19.51 

 the community Centre and the old the health centre site being the main sites And the council was going to try and buy all those sites to do one big development Um that is now not going to go ahead We Councillor Mason and council Shah was there in the meeting I remember in the end opposed that because we felt that the the the thrust behind that part of the scheme was really flat and housing

Cllr Matthew Atkins:

00:39:19.649 - 00:39:36.639 

 that may or will not have sufficient parking provision and were going to be too high intensity for the area And we think a lot of people were very concerned about that Um there is still an identified allocation um of housing to caution in the local plan for that area

Cllr Matthew Atkins:

00:39:36.79 - 00:40:00.949 

 Um but that has come down you know hundreds from where we started and by opposing the land assembly element they would come forward as individual developments that the planning Committee can scrutinise for each of the individual sites And I actually suspect cotham community said uh may well not be on the cards for development development and now into into flats And and I think that's a good thing Um

Cllr Matthew Atkins:

00:40:01.139 - 00:40:10.81 

 uh the old police station and and the health centre would have to be individually looked at And I think that's a good thing Um the the uh blue light centre

Cllr Matthew Atkins:

00:40:11.0 - 00:40:36.899 

 Um in order to make sure that the the delays that might occur with this scheme of of trying to assemble all the land and buy the land from Health England and the police um the police Gregory Donna Jones made sure that she pushed to have the blue light centre the new fire and police centre pursued separately and immediately So that's why that's already gone ahead And and because she made sure those agreements were signed off and the the money

Cllr Matthew Atkins:

00:40:37.05 - 00:40:52.149 

 uh drawn down from the government and from the council And so the the Lib administration to be fair worked well with her there to pursue that site And I think that's good news There was some controversy about the the location and and um whether or not it's going to um

Cllr Matthew Atkins:

00:40:52.33 - 00:41:21.51 

 uh be uh suitable to have the vehicles coming out onto the the the Spur Road roundabout But the Council are aware of that So is the British Crime Commissioner so I think that precautions will be taken to make sure the road layout is safe And I think it's really good news for caution that we will have you know a a fire and police station uh available there on site Um I also think that it it's good news that we're not looking at one big development of flat It's a shame that there isn't more investment in the High Street

Cllr Matthew Atkins:

00:41:21.739 - 00:41:46.379 

 um and and footfall is good for the High Street So I do think there's some scope for an increase in housing in the area The council does not own or control the other very large building the old XX BT building in that area So that may at some point come forward for uh private development But there isn't any I plan I'm aware of um for that either Um I think that with the health centre

Cllr Matthew Atkins:

00:41:46.61 - 00:42:07.409 

 the health centre building itself it's a shame that it's not salvageable It is um no longer fit for purpose And it has asbestos issues and structural issues so it will come down It will be down to uh health England Public Health whether or not they just decide to try and put new health facilities on that site

Cllr Matthew Atkins:

00:42:07.57 - 00:42:37.51 

 That is what I would like to see It is what Penny Mo would like to see But um given there is this new development of the of uh uh a A GP uh centre up next to the PC M I site It's possible that may go for a uh a housing development But if it does then I'll be pushing for something that has good parking that is is good quality housing And um isn't uh kind of slapping as many flats as you can to meet the housing targets kind of approach which is is what I'm afraid I think the previous plan was and why

Cllr Matthew Atkins:

00:42:37.52 - 00:42:48.55 

 council Mason and I opposed it So that's the current status there There is no the grand plan to buy up a whole lot of sites and build a whole lot of flats is not going ahead Uh on our current understanding

Simon Sansbury

00:42:48.639 - 00:43:02.459 

 Ok great Well thank you for that Very thorough Um update on that one I'm sure I'm sure people really want to wanted to hear what was going on Uh with with regards to that um uh Mary can I just come come to you Have you um got anything more to add to that one

Cllr Mary Vallely:

00:43:02.84 - 00:43:20.689 

 Uh I don't think there's anything more to add The only thing that uh I know that um the local plan looked at many many many sites Um for this because the roundabout is an issue But I feel like when all is said and done you know that's what's had to go ahead

Cllr Mary Vallely:

00:43:21.139 - 00:43:22.199 

 So yeah Nothing

Simon Sansbury

00:43:22.209 - 00:43:25.679 

 else to say Thank you Um Shan anything Anything from you and I

Cllr Asghar Shah:

00:43:26.149 - 00:43:37.55 

 um actually I think my colleague he explained very well and I agree with him and we were in the same meeting and we opposed together all three council at that time

Cllr Asghar Shah:

00:43:38.09 - 00:43:57.199 

 Um just I wanted to say actually just a short question The the sorry The short the short answer is any development in our board is we love to have it and the coal is We don't have the funds to have that big development at the at the moment It is on hold

Simon Sansbury

00:43:57.87 - 00:44:00.27 

 OK thank you very much

Simon Sansbury

00:44:00.939 - 00:44:01.389 

 Ian

Ian 'Tiny' Morris:

00:44:01.85 - 00:44:16.29 

 So yeah next question is is looking at a time in council and slightly unfair to yourself Mary as you've only been there a short period of time is there one achievement so far which you feel most proud of And if I can come to you first Mary that would be uh that would be great

Cllr Mary Vallely:

00:44:16.86 - 00:44:17.52 

 Um

Cllr Mary Vallely:

00:44:19.0 - 00:44:23.209 

 there isn't anything that we do that's by ourselves Um

Cllr Mary Vallely:

00:44:23.919 - 00:44:45.959 

 I think the first thing I did was just phone up and say What on earth's happened with Chatsworth Road Um the potholes were incredible but I mean you know that was already in the system Um it just so happened that it uh started to improve just after But you know things that help people in their houses and their homes but yeah generally

Cllr Mary Vallely:

00:44:46.429 - 00:44:48.139 

 nothing that I do by myself

Ian 'Tiny' Morris:

00:44:48.5 - 00:45:07.77 

 No And I think it's very gracious of you Mary Can I just say that on behalf of the podcast we we both listened to your maiden speech in council and felt it was fantastic and very moving So uh so that one you definitely did all on your own So Matt you you you've had a bit longer there Um something you're most proud of

Cllr Matthew Atkins:

00:45:07.969 - 00:45:25.209 

 Sure Yeah And I mean we all The pothole issue was an important one We all chased the chasing makes things happen Better Quicker so I think that is an achievement as well Um my I think the biggest achievement um for uh for me in the ward is probably

Cllr Matthew Atkins:

00:45:25.35 - 00:45:40.814 

 and it didn't affect the whole ward It affected a specific community Um the campaign uh last year to uh it affected a specific community decently as well Actually uh the the to have the uh decision reversed to charge residents of

Cllr Matthew Atkins:

00:45:40.824 - 00:45:56.3 

 uh the the park home estates Uh 10% of the value of their homes if they tried to sell them I think that was a decision that councils have tried This council has tried to take before and other councils have taken their decision But I think it's a morally wrong decision

Cllr Matthew Atkins:

00:45:56.469 - 00:46:22.979 

 Um and so you know this is one of the things where we did have those backroom discussions and we couldn't reach agreement with uh the cabinet member on this We took it to him quietly first and said that I and I went to the decision meeting and and advocated for a change in that policy there before we you know turn up at full council with a big group of the uh residents held that banner up and said you know this is this is wrong So we we helped the residents organise a a

Cllr Matthew Atkins:

00:46:23.179 - 00:46:53.1 

 uh a a campaign in um in the Guildhall Square Um and we got that decision overturned so that uh so that they can now sell their their homes without fear of losing you know 10% of of what is their their main asset Um uh I mean we tried first of all putting in a budget amendment We were the only party that that voted for our budget amendment Um I appreciate that we possibly could have made it clearer to labour That was a key element of our budget member But but But I think that is one that um

Cllr Matthew Atkins:

00:46:53.379 - 00:47:09.31 

 that we you know council based council hak a day we really took the lead on that And we really achieved something in the face of an administration that wanted to bring in that that increased charge So I'm I'm proud that we changed their minds on that one

Ian 'Tiny' Morris:

00:47:09.86 - 00:47:16.389 

 Marvellous Thank you Matthew And uh Sha something in your in your time you're proud of um

Cllr Asghar Shah:

00:47:16.399 - 00:47:20.79 

 actually you asked me one thing I don't know how many things I can I can share with you

Cllr Asghar Shah:

00:47:20.929 - 00:47:48.57 

 so we can start it from number one when I got elected before that my plan was to make myself accessible to my residents and thus I made it in the last over a year Now um I'm available 24 7 to my residents So that was number one Number two in the council Um um our group but obviously I presented a motion for

Cllr Asghar Shah:

00:47:49.01 - 00:48:03.219 

 um dentistry Help Sorry NHS dentistry And that was approved unanimously by the full council meeting And we got two dentistry one in cosham and the other one on Cooper Road

Cllr Asghar Shah:

00:48:04.449 - 00:48:11.469 

 Um and the third one is um waste services in house

Cllr Asghar Shah:

00:48:12.52 - 00:48:20.52 

 Uh that was also approved And by next year April we will be have we will be having these waste services back in house

Cllr Asghar Shah:

00:48:21.78 - 00:48:29.84 

 Um so yes Um I can go a bit further but I think I can stop it here You asked for one So

Ian 'Tiny' Morris:

00:48:29.85 - 00:48:42.29 

 I have a as it's Christmas show I think I can let you have three but I'm not sure I I'm gonna be prepared to go further than that So No thank you Ever so much to To all three of you Simon

Simon Sansbury

00:48:42.83 - 00:49:04.219 

 Ok Um Thanks Ian Um So um just before I ask the the last question which is the the um if money and politics were no object what would you Um what would you see Changed Um I just wanted to catch up on a couple of the comments which I which I thought were good Um so uh Claire in the comments on LinkedIn is is saying that communication is key So we're uh agreeing with the

Simon Sansbury

00:49:04.439 - 00:49:32.199 

 wi with the points I think that we were all making uh with regards to the communications about uh about social events uh being cancelled Um she's also mentioned in another couple of comments Um the wess in the bingo hall are are thriving So um excellent Glad to glad to see that the that the um that the Wess and the the bingo scene is A is alive and well in Koshi High Street I remember the bingo scene being um being absolutely packed when I used to work at Tesco in Cosham on the High Street And they used to turf out every time

Simon Sansbury

00:49:32.469 - 00:49:59.84 

 um to come and get their um their snacks in the interval Um And and she also mentions that cosham needs uh more places to socialise young and old together And that's a uh That's an interesting point obviously about the the the mix of the the generations there So thank you Thank you Claire for those comments Um So our last question as I as I say was um I if um if po if politics and financial restrictions weren't uh weren't a barrier so money or politics were no or votes were no object

Simon Sansbury

00:50:00.0 - 00:50:08.729 

 What one thing would you change about how the council works Uh and if I can go first to to Matthew for that one please

Cllr Matthew Atkins:

00:50:09.62 - 00:50:27.254 

 So uh one of the things that um that I I've looked at during my time on the council is trying to make some significant ties in a bit to the comments you said significant improvement to cosham High Street Um I'd like to see some kind of uh increased Uh uh

Cllr Matthew Atkins:

00:50:27.264 - 00:50:51.33 

 uh beautification Some some uh smartening up to some some subsidy to encourage better businesses in and and you know as a ma and I even you know we we did get some things done We got improved electrical points We got new street lighting put in We've had some work done on pavement and resurfacing but um we to put together a plan to um try and use S money to to improve the high street a bit And um

Cllr Matthew Atkins:

00:50:51.5 - 00:51:21.149 

 it was coming to kind of 343 thou 304 £100,000 Doing things through the council costs a shocking amount of money Um you start to realise one thing would be nice Change is is how much it costs to do basic things through the council But um my real point was going to be that it would be nice if the Council I mean it's expected to save it and it's it's isn't able to make the kind of savings And certainly the the Northern High streets are not a priority for the kind of spending we're talking about the current administration But

Cllr Matthew Atkins:

00:51:21.34 - 00:51:32.57 

 um I it's expected to somehow save and acquire the money to make uh infrastructure improvements across the city from the council budget Um

Cllr Matthew Atkins:

00:51:32.699 - 00:51:51.745 

 and it it local authorities are in Portsmouth I think I give a lot of credit to the previous conservative administration for this as well as some credit to the current administration in a relatively good financial position In the sense we're not looking at going bankrupt anytime soon Like a lot of councils are the councils are not in the position to be able to

Cllr Matthew Atkins:

00:51:51.754 - 00:52:19.729 

 save up the kind of money they need to actually undergo regeneration and redevelopment of of important assets to the city like local town centres Um and so it would be nice if we would just give you know if councils had a funding pot from which they could do that Um uh without expecting to having to find it while also trying to find that frankly this is the biggest drain on every council budget Adult social care money you know adult and Children's social care too but particularly

Cllr Matthew Atkins:

00:52:19.889 - 00:52:45.239 

 adult social care is is that area that you know paying for for care for the elderly and care for the vulnerable which isn't a really important thing that councils do But it shouldn't be on councils and it's too much money It means we don't have the money to regenerate the city And um you know resolving that problem is is gonna be a big it is an important problem nationally and I think we'll we'll free up councils to be able to do a lot more to

Cllr Matthew Atkins:

00:52:45.81 - 00:52:52.03 

 actually invest in key areas of the city And and so that I think is is what I would say OK

Simon Sansbury

00:52:52.04 - 00:52:56.419 

 thank you very much And just for the benefit of our listeners before uh before I go to Sha

Simon Sansbury

00:52:56.629 - 00:53:02.679 

 um on that one still is community infrastructure levy That's a That's a levy that every

Cllr Matthew Atkins:

00:53:02.689 - 00:53:16.79 

 time there's development in in um Kham area we get a small percentage of that to invest in It has to be infrastructure projects so it can't be ongoing I often people often say Why can't you sit at a youth club with it We're not allowed to do anything which has

Cllr Matthew Atkins:

00:53:16.8 - 00:53:46.209 

 ongoing regular upkeep costs It can only be big One off projects one off payments like for example something else I'm proud of is the ex exercise of cost exercise equipment in Cosham Park That's the type of thing we can spend some money on We have quite a lot in cosham at the moment because of developments at North Harbour where the big tescos is got brought us a lot of money in but that money will disappear quickly if we spend it too readily And we were looking Therefore can we do something big with the big windfall we got But um

Cllr Matthew Atkins:

00:53:46.429 - 00:54:03.439 

 we could never quite hit on AAA full scheme for the high street Um that would make the difference we wanted within the budget we had So it's quite limited amounts of money you get year on year But currently we've got a couple of 100,000 there is saved up saved up in C to spend on something good

Simon Sansbury

00:54:03.719 - 00:54:15.739 

 Ok lovely Thank Thank you very much Um and for explaining that for our listeners Thank you Matthew Um so um shar if um politics and money were no object What would you like to change about how the council works

Cllr Asghar Shah:

00:54:17.02 - 00:54:21.479 

 Um actually before that I want to just add one point um Clare Martin

Cllr Asghar Shah:

00:54:22.08 - 00:54:42.159 

 Uh point which is focused on building a community who can help you Um um what I was what I would like to say is number one is those areas We got five polling stations in our ward and I want to have in each and every polling station at least one community centre where uh that community centre is open for for any age group

Cllr Asghar Shah:

00:54:42.669 - 00:55:02.06 

 So like wimber bring we used to have There is no community centre at the moment And I'm trying to get a space for them to socialise for um either with uh senior citizens or uh family uh families who can socialise So coming on the point What you said actually um the the honest answer is

Cllr Asghar Shah:

00:55:02.87 - 00:55:07.84 

 since I got elected I'm trying my I tried my best and I will try my best

Cllr Asghar Shah:

00:55:08.989 - 00:55:24.28 

 to change the culture We need to put our residents on the top of the list and put our parties behind And if we can do that that would be a very very big change Because when we work like friends

Cllr Asghar Shah:

00:55:24.469 - 00:55:52.05 

 it doesn't matter You are conservative or any of your conservative labour lib dem paper whatever It doesn't matter It does matter You are working for your residents If you are working for your residents you will be working together And when you work together the outcome will be positive for our residents and which needs to be our um top priority in the council again blaming each other rather than having What did you do You show your residence

Cllr Asghar Shah:

00:55:52.729 - 00:56:05.6 

 rather than blaming others You didn't do it So that is the culture change I'm trying for this And that's why I have good relation And I'm trying to have good relation with all parties so we can work for the residents rather than for the party

Simon Sansbury

00:56:06.3 - 00:56:09.86 

 Lovely Thank you Charl Uh Mary Last last word on that

Cllr Mary Vallely:

00:56:10.57 - 00:56:11.27 

 Um

Cllr Mary Vallely:

00:56:11.87 - 00:56:13.77 

 can I have two Oh go

Ian 'Tiny' Morris:

00:56:13.78 - 00:56:14.899 

 on Go on

Cllr Mary Vallely:

00:56:16.25 - 00:56:41.949 

 Um I would really like to go back to the committee structure rather than the cabinet structure And because everybody in the council would have more access uh to say what they need and for the residents Um some people are very good at sharing information There are definitely people in the party that the lib Dems in control who will share But there are people who don't

Cllr Mary Vallely:

00:56:42.199 - 00:56:53.6 

 um and it's not there Really The other thing I'd love is for us to have childcare So the parents and especially women can get more involved uh in in being a counsellor Um

Cllr Mary Vallely:

00:56:54.159 - 00:57:05.06 

 and you know also maybe putting time restrictions on meetings that go on till 12 midnight You know it's ridiculous when you have childcare commitments You can't do that because that's what I'd like

Simon Sansbury

00:57:05.62 - 00:57:07.149 

 OK lovely

Ian 'Tiny' Morris:

00:57:07.83 - 00:57:24.6 

 So thank you very much Thank you all Thank you all for giving up your uh your Sunday evenings to share that with the listeners And um you know I think Simon and I have been doing this long enough to know that um being a counsellor you know there's the fame and there's the money

Ian 'Tiny' Morris:

00:57:24.909 - 00:57:27.51 

 but um that's not really why anybody gets into

Simon Sansbury

00:57:27.78 - 00:57:32.639 

 there are there are bemused faces on the other end of the webcam

Ian 'Tiny' Morris:

00:57:35.86 - 00:57:50.209 

 Yeah absolutely It's it's It's all you know again So So on behalf of the podcast we'd like to thank all three of you for your service to the people of uh of of goshi and Wimmer and uh wish you all a very splendid

Ian 'Tiny' Morris:

00:57:50.57 - 00:57:57.409 

 uh Christmas break when the time comes So you've been listening to the Pompey politics podcast I've been Ian Tiny Morris

Simon Sansbury

00:57:57.649 - 00:58:05.129 

 and our guests this evening have been Councillor Matthew Atkins Councillor Ashgar Shah Uh Councillor Mary Valie Thank you All three

Simon Sansbury

00:58:05.879 - 00:58:26.85 

 Thank you I thank you You You're all welcome Thank you so much for giving up part of your Sunday evening And thank you uh for the for the lovely comments Um And um just to remind everyone uh join us next week at 6 27 when we have our our last episode of the year where we're doing a bit of a Christmas Carol So we'll be looking over votes of Christmas past present

Simon Sansbury

00:58:27.08 - 00:58:44.08 

 and future So we'll be casting our eye into the future of what's gonna happen in uh 2024 So do join us next week at 6 27 Don't forget to like follow Subscribe Send biscuits Um whatever you'd like to do to support the podcast thank you very much And we'll see you next week

Simon Sansbury

00:58:52.209 - 00:58:55.229 

 Thank you for listening to this episode of the Pompey politics podcast

Simon Sansbury

00:58:55.899 - 00:58:59.06 

 If you want to make sure you get notifications about upcoming shows

Simon Sansbury

00:58:59.82 - 00:59:13.219 

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Simon Sansbury

00:59:13.87 - 00:59:32.379 

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