Reading Liberal Democrats

Cllr Gareth Epps, Liberal Democrat prospective MP for Reading East, has reacted with anger to the news that the Planning Inspector has allowed a massive development on the controversial Sandford Farm site in Woodley in the constituency.

Development on the site has for many years been opposed by residents in the area and by the Loddon Valley Action Group. Liberal Democrat councillor for Loddon, Phil Challis, has been among the leadership of the campaign for some years and presented planning evidence to the inquiry.

Commenting, Gareth says:

“This is a devastating decision for residents of Woodley and the wider area surrounding Sandford Farm. The Loddon Valley Action Group has long worked with great courage and tenacity to protect the safety of residents from these dangerous plans.

Unfortunately their work has been undermined from two sides. Central Government planning policies ride roughshod over environmental concerns and allow development on environmentally damaging sites such as this. Compounding this was the decision of Wokingham’s Conservative Council to allocate the site for development – a decision that pulled the rug from under Woodley.

I and Woodley’s Liberal Democrat councillors will continue to support LVAG and local residents in fighting this wrongheaded plan by any means possible.”

Editor’s Notes:

Click here for the Loddon Valley Action Group information site.

Cllr Gareth Epps, Liberal Democrat prospective MP for Reading East, has asked for calm following intense speculation over the future of the Jolly Anglers pub in Newtown. Gareth has been closely involved from the start with the Jollydarity campaign to save the pub.

Following wild speculation issued in a press release by Conservatives unconnected to the Jollydarity campaign, Gareth contacted those directly involved with the current status of the pub.

Gareth has issued the following statement:

“Any speculation about the pub reopening is only speculation (at this stage), and it would be irresponsible to say anything that could put negotiations in jeopardy.

If it is true that Enterprise Inns have released the restrictive covenant, that is fantastic news – it means the Jolly can reopen. More than that, if there is any news, it will be a tremendous success for Newtowners and for the campaign, and possibly the first time Enterprise has willingly released a covenant anywhere in the UK.”

Liberal Democrat Parliamentary campaigner and prospective MP for Reading East, Cllr Gareth Epps, has pledged his support for Vote Cruelty Free, a new non-partisan coalition of animal protection organisations working to put animals on the political agenda.

The alliance has sent its manifesto to all candidates announced for the next General Election and asked them to show their support for the issues raised.

Commenting, Gareth said:-

“Part of the mark of tolerance any society has is about how it treats the creatures surrounding it. Many of the initiatives supported by Vote Cruelty Free do not only demonstrate concern for the welfare of animals – they are good for the planet.

“It’s important for example that we make sure the government works with farmers and retailers so that ordinary people can afford to feed their families with humanely farmed food.”

A Vote Cruelty Free spokesperson said,

“Animal protection is an issue close to the UK public’s heart but this is often not reflected in current political debate. It is fantastic that Gareth Epps has shown he believes in animal protection issues as much as his constituents in Reading East; we are calling on all candidates to follow his lead by pledging their support for Vote Cruelty Free.”

Vote Cruelty Free comprises the BUAV, Compassion in World Farming, International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW), League Against Cruel Sports and Respect for Animals. It covers a broad range of animal welfare issues including wild and marine animals, animal experimentation, cruel sports, the fur trade and farming.

Editor’s Notes:

The Vote Cruelty Free campaign is urging all candidates to pledge their support for the initiative. Voters can track candidates who have signed up by visiting the Vote Cruelty Free web site

There is now less than eight months to save a new generation of young people from huge increases in university tuition fees, according to Liberal Democrat Parliamentary candidate for Reading East, Cllr Gareth Epps.

Gareth was speaking at a cross-party debate organised by Reading University Liberal Democrats on Thursday (15 October) on campus. The remarks come after the Conservatives suggested last week they will increase tuition fees to £7,000 if they take power at the next general election, which has to be held by next June.

That will see tuition fees for undergraduates more than double. Currently there is a cap of £3,300 in England and Wales. Peter Mandelson has already suggested that Labour will allow universities to charge more than at present if re-elected – though both Labour and the Tories are sheltering behind a proposed review of fees, too scared to push through the changes they want before June.

Only the Liberal Democrats will scrap tuition fees. The party believes university education should be free and everyone who has the ability should be able to go – and not be put off by the cost.

Reading University’s Liberal Democrats – the biggest and most active political group on campus – compiled a “Debtbusters” video which was launched at the debate. Interviews with 100 randomly selected students at the University showed a total debt of £1,525,700.

Gareth says: “I look around Reading and I see and meet people returning from university with no job and a bank balance tens of thousands of pounds in the red. What sort of message is that?

Rob Wilson was personally responsible for ending the Conservatives’ brief commitment to free tuition. The choice is clear: the people of Reading East can vote for a politician who will condemn a generation of youngsters or for the Liberal Democrats who will make education free again, giving young people the best possible start.”

Cllr Prue Bray, Liberal Democrat candidate for Wokingham constituency which covers half of the University campus, says:
“Labour and now the Tories are showing their true colours. They want to saddle them with staggering amounts of debt. One of the Conservative MPs serving Reading University, John Redwood has long been in favour of increasing tuition fees. I have challenged him to make clear his and his party’s views on student finance to his electorate.”

Mark Whiley, President of Reading University Liberal Democrats, commented:-
“Last week we organised a well-attended cross-party debate on Higher Education Funding with both Gareth Epps and Anneliese Dodds. From those attending it is clear there is still only one party that is committed to giving the choice of a University education based upon acumen and skills, rather than the ability to pay.

Labour and the Conservatives continue to support the broken tuition fees system and bow down to pressures from University bodies to increase the tuition cap – seeing students get into deeper debt isn’t considered an issue for them. The Tories left an empty chair for the debate, so shallow is their vision for students.

Selling off the Student Loans Portfolio to private firms or more than doubling the cap to £7,000 will bring young people into even larger sums of debt than the present average of £20,000 per student. You can only change this by voting Liberal Democrat.”

Editor’s Notes:-

The Labour Government’s flagship mortgage rescue scheme has – it was confirmed on Tuesday (13 October) – helped nobody at all in Reading since its launch in January.

Liberal Democrat campaigner Cllr Gareth Epps has slammed the failure of the Labour scheme that – while 40 households within Reading Borough saw their homes repossessed in the last quarter for which records are available, and 34 households applied for assistance under the scheme- none at all were found by the Council to be eligible under the scheme. The figures were released by Reading Borough Council at the Credit Crunch Summit and were published at the Full Council meeting.

On being questioned by Gareth about the reasons for this failure, Labour council leader Jo Lovelock admitted that the scheme was based too heavily on tackling negative equity – which is not the reason for the current wave of repossessions. The Lib Dems have demanded that more effective action be taken to tackle repossessions, by reforming mortgage law to allow courts to reduce repossessions. Lib Dems also called for a review of whether more effective steps can be taken by the Council to avoid Reading families losing their homes.

Commenting, Cllr Gareth Epps said:-
“It is clear the mortgage rescue scheme has utterly failed. It has been shown as little more than a publicity stunt that may have raised false hope for residents in the most difficult circumstances.

The Government’s own figures say that some 6,000 households are supposed to benefit from this scheme, but only 15 households nationwide have so far been found to be eligible. Repossessions are a ticking timebomb in the current economic climate. In the last recession I saw the effects repossession has on people; I would not wish it on anyone.

The Government should be reforming mortgage law to give courts the opportunity to resist pressure from lenders aggressively pursuing families. I hope the Council can work with Reading’s excellent advice services to outline what practical steps can be taken to prevent Reading families from losing their homes.”

Editor’s Notes:
The Mortgage Rescue Scheme “has been operational across the country since January 2009, aiming to prevent some of the most vulnerable families losing their homes and experiencing the trauma of repossession. The Mortgage Rescue package has two elements: (1) the ‘Government Mortgage to Rent’ option which involves an RSL purchasing the homeowner’s property, enabling the household to remain in the property as a tenant on an assured short hold tenancy, paying an intermediate rent; and (2) the ‘Shared Equity’ option which involves a RSL providing a loan to the homeowner to enable the homeowner’s monthly mortgage payments to be reduced.”

The impact assessment costs of implementation are available from the Impact Assessment Library here

Reading Buses are planning to stop running the 63/64 services to Colemansmoor Rd, Woodley Airfield and Glendevon Rd areas in September, replacing the service with an hourly service by extending the route of the 62.

Savage cuts to Woodley’s bus services are being considered as part of a drive by Reading Buses to reduce their currently unsustainable financial losses.

The new 63/64 had been a glowing success, adding over 11% to journey numbers, but like all of Reading’s buses has recently been hit by the impact of the recession.

Reading Buses cut back services over the summer, and has announced plans to withdraw the 63/64 from Colemansmoor Road, Airfield and Glendevon Road areas and replace them with an hourly service by extending the J62. A decision was delayed following short term funding from Reading Borough Council.

Phill Challis, Lib Dem councillor for Loddon ward on Wokingham Borough Council said “My colleagues and I will be lobbying hard to ensure that the Tory led council in Wokingham fulfils its responsibility to maintain an acceptable service on the socially necessary routes”

Gareth Epps said “We want to understand the effects of these cuts on local people. That’s why Liberal Democrats have launched a bus user survey. We welcome your views so we can give Reading Transport feedback about the bus services local people need.”

Gareth continued “A reliable bus service is important to many residents and I and Lib Dem Councillors will make representations to get a better deal.

Please help me to understand the needs of local bus users by taking a few minutes to complete and return the survey which can be found here.”

Thank you for your time.

Gareth Epps,

Prospective Parliamentary Candidate

Reading East

Low incomes, arbitrary rent rises and inflated costs – there is more than a hint of bitterness in the taste under-fire Enterprise Inns and their fellow ‘pubcos’ leave for Reading’s publicans, according to the results of a survey released today by Reading East’s Liberal Democrat Parliamentary campaigner Cllr Gareth Epps.

The survey – conducted in July and August 2009 – received a particularly big response from those running community ‘locals’. 80% of responses came from tenant lessees of ‘pubcos’ such as Enterprise Inns and Admiral Taverns.

Key findings of the survey include:-

• Three-quarters of Reading East’s publicans responding to the survey have an annual income below £15,000 a year.
• Only half think they will be still running a pub in 5 years’ time.
• Rent and running costs are the two biggest worries on publicans’ minds. While Government tax rises on beer duty are disliked, they are not the only problem.
• While drugs and crime are not a significant worry in community pubs, there is a clear view that more could be done to provide training to licensees on stamping out drugs in particular.
• Those running pubs operated by ‘pubcos’ report being forced to pay much more than the market rate for wholesale produce through the ‘tie’ arrangement – sometimes over 50% more – and having equipment installed to snoop in their cellars.

Concerns were also raised about the effects of the smoking ban. Publicans were scathing about the sale by supermarkets of alcohol as a loss-leader, with local councils powerless to take action to stop it.

Gareth says the findings add to the growing pressure on the Labour Government to take action against the pubcos:-

• The Government is to respond this Autumn to the unanimous recommendation of the Business & Enterprise Select Committee to take urgent action against the pubcos to make restrictive covenants forcing pubs to shut illegal, and reforming the tie
• The Office of Fair Trading is due in early October to respond to a consumer ‘super-complaint’ from the Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA) which adds to the pressure on the tie.
• The ‘Fair Pint’ campaign to reform the pubcos has grown in strength in recent months.

Gareth has shared the findings with the OFT inquiry into the pubcos. He has also discussed the findings with All-Party Save the Pub Parliamentary Group Chair Greg Mulholland MP (Lib Dem, Leeds NW).

With a view towards securing a debate at the Liberal Democrats’ Bournemouth conference (held in two weeks) on pub closures, Gareth and Greg have co-authored an emergency motion.

Commenting on the findings, Cllr Gareth Epps says:-
“These findings show that there are many threats to Reading’s community pubs – but one of the biggest are the companies that own the pubs themselves. While increased taxation by the Labour Government, cut price supermarket booze and the smoking ban haven’t helped, it’s the pubcos that twist the knife.

The most shocking finding of all is the extent to which the pubcos are ripping off licensees. These multi-billion pound companies with huge purchasing power are allowed to get away with daylight robbery – and then snoop on the people making them money to ensure they’re being ripped off. It’s immoral and goes against the principles of free trade. The likes of Enterprise Inns doing the ripping off are a disgrace and need the law changed so they are forced to trade fairly.”

Gareth derides the Conservative claim that they can “save the pub” as simplistic, as the Tories have not offered any view on pubco reform:-
“Reform is needed not just to cut beer tax – that’s a simplistic solution. Supermarkets are selling booze for less now than 20 years ago – while the price of a pint has gone up three- or fourfold. The playing field must be levelled. The solutions to the crisis affecting our community pubs go much further than reversing Alastair Darling’s despised tax hikes.

This Government has a shocking record in promoting irresponsible binge drinking, while sending responsible community pubs to the wall. Its response to the pressure for reform of the tie can no longer be dither and delay. Labour must act now to stop the destruction of the community pub.”

Editor’s Notes :-
Cllr Gareth Epps is a member of CAMRA and a committee member of the Jollydarity campaign to reopen the Jolly Anglers in Newtown.
The survey was conducted in July and August 2009; on the visit of Greg Mulholland MP (pictured with Gareth) Gareth organised a closed session for publicans to meet Greg and discuss concerns under “Chatham House” rules. Gareth has also met a number of publicans at their request and discussed individual and more substantial concerns.

Gareth’s report can be viewed here

Opposition to Sackville Properties’ Station Hill development opposite the new Reading Station has had its ranks swelled, as Liberal Democrat Parliamentary candidate for Reading CllrGareth Epps has added a stinging formal objection to the scheme.

Cllr Epps has launched a stinging attack on the plans for “shutting down the chance of a central transport interchange, maybe for the rest of this century.” He has also slammed Labour Reading Borough Council for failing to provide a masterplan for the area, leaving the vital bus interchange pushed away to Valpy Street and failing to balance the need for offices and residential accommodation. It is a point he had made repeatedly in private and then in public in April on the launch of the Station Hill proposals.

The news comes as the influential Government design watchdog CABE has echoed Cllr Epps’ objections. CABE state concern about Reading Council’s failure to provide a planning blueprint for the area, and criticise the way the proposals fail to direct passengers arriving at Reading to the proposed bus area. CABE’s submission says that:-

“…the shape of the piazza and the position of the buildings around it do not create a legible environment with routes and views that will easily guide pedestrians towards the new station building and bus interchange. Views of the bus interchange and new station entrance will be obscured. We are concerned that without a detailed spatial masterplan that shows how the various projects in and around the station will link together, Reading’s vision will not be delivered successfully.”

Commenting, Gareth says:-

“I have warned that the Station area is far too important to be left to developers to design. Yet that is entirely what the Labour Council has done. It has failed to produce a masterplan for the area taking a lead from the station plans, and has lost the support of CABE for this reason. The result is unacceptable, as I predicted publicly in April and privately before that.

I am detecting considerable public unease at the lack of a proper transport interchange around the new station. These plans – including part of the current transport interchange – is guilty of shutting down the chance of a central transport interchange, maybe for the rest of this century.

The Station Hill development, and the other major developments to come by the station, simply must be guided by a framework that protects the public interest. That includes – or should include – the new public transport interchange that can only be provided now. Bad planning now removes the possibility of that happening forever. Shunting Reading’s buses over to Valpy Street would be a massive step backwards, and would indicate that Reading’s Labour council is far more concerned in appeasing developers than in creating the environment around the station that Reading so badly needs.”

Editor’s Notes:
Cllr Epps’ objection to the Station Hill planning application is available on request.

Its conclusion is:
“While we support the vision that Reading Borough Council has to redevelop the station and the land around, because of the concerns raised, we are unable to support this current planning application. There are a number of policy documents that set out the broad parameters for how the area should be developed. We think, however, that in reviewing planning applications 09/01079/OUT and 09/01004/LBC together, the need to develop a clear relationship between the projects has been demonstrated. We are concerned that without this, it is only when the development has been built, that the full impact of one project on another can be realised. Given that this is a once in a lifetime opportunity to redevelop this area of Reading, we urge Reading Borough Council to review the Station Hill development in light of a comprehensive masterplan for the wider area, before determining this planning application.”

Following the council’s moves to consult local people on the Reading Station development, Cllr Ricky Duveen, the Liberal Democrat transport spokesperson on the Council said: “We very much welcome the opportunity for people to learn about and comment on the planned development. Reading needs an effective public transport interchange.”

Ricky continued by saying “What appears to be taking shape is a series of bus stops along Blagrave Street rather than any terminus with facilities for passengers such as loos, a tea shop or an information desk. I just think Reading deserves better.”

Cllr Gareth Epps, Liberal Democrat Parliamentary campaigner for Reading East said: “Labour are making many promises, but the truth is that this project relies on getting a huge injection of funds from a Government already running out of cash.

The Station Hill development should be providing much, much more to this area. But like the space for the integrated transport interchange the town really needs, it looks like our Labour bosses are letting the town down with Station Hill’s contribution to the wider Station project.”

Cllr Gareth Epps, Liberal Democrat Parliamentary campaigner for Reading East, has launched a survey of pubs in Reading East, as doubts continue to grow over the fate of many local community pubs in the area.

Produced with help from a professional in the trade, the survey focuses in particular on the influence of “pubcos” attacked by the cross-party Business & Enterprise Select Committee. Companies such as Enterprise Inns, riddled with debt, have come under criticism after pubs such as the Jolly Anglers in Newtown, the Red Cow in Caversham, and the Whitley Tavern have all shut. Other publicans have found themselves forced to leave pubs as breweries and pubcos imposed rent rises that at times have left publicans under threat of bankruptcy.

Other issues covered include licensing matters, issues of beer tax levels and community safety.

The survey was posted to all known publicans in Reading East last week – not as a result of last week’s sudden closure of the Jolly Anglers. It is entirely anonymous although Cllr Epps will publish aggregate findings later in the year.

Gareth says:-

“Publicans tell me that they face issues ranging from fighting crime to being forced to buy beer at costs way above those paid by the customers of some supermarkets.

Fundamentally, the pub is a part of the glue that binds communities together. We know, though, that many local publicans are treated poorly by the companies that own our local community pubs. Forced to pay over the odds for beer, even before tax, they often face financial penalties for success in the form of steepling rent rises. That is why community pubs are closing at an alarming rate.

I want to see action at Government level to curb the abuses of power of some pubcos. I also want to hear from landlords how they see Reading town centre’s concentration of ‘vertical drinking’ bars and clubs – some of which could be better run and contribute to late-night disorder. Local residents wanting to go to a pub deserve choice and diversity and current policies are not working.

Most of all, I want to hear from publicans in Reading East and find out what they think.”