Bus usage in Portsmouth  

 Published on Tuesday, 28th November 2017

The government collects a raft of statistics on all sorts of things, some of which make interesting reading. An example of this is the latest figures on bus ridership by local authority area.

About half of all bus journeys in England are in London. With chronic congestion and little parking in the central area, the capital is quite different from the rest of the country and far more people of working age routinely use the bus to get to work. The regulatory environment is also different, with a longstanding system of bus franchising, which allows the Greater London Authority (and formerly central government) to set bus routes and fares. Elsewhere in the country services are determined by bus companies, with local government’s role being only to pay for senior bus passes and to subsidise routes that would not otherwise run. This will soon change in areas with regional mayors. The government has granted them powers to regulate bus services. The hope is this will lead to a more coherent network and over time more passengers. These powers are not available in other parts of the country, here included.

Generally speaking bus usage outside of London has been declining for decades. The introduction of free travel for pensioners did slow the decline for a while, but within the last year passenger numbers are down another 2.4%, which is not out of line with the long run trend.

Numbers in the southeast have been more positive and in Portsmouth the numbers in 2015/6 (the latest year for which statistics are available), passenger numbers are about 5% higher than in 2009/10. About 40% of journeys are concessionary journeys, the large majority of which are on pensioner bus passes.

Bus usage is lower in rural and small-town areas and higher in cities, particularly big cities. Compared to comparable areas, bus usage per head in Portsmouth iis somewhat lower than average. The figures in Brighton and Reading are more than double ours and Southampton is 50% higher, but other areas such as the Medway Towns and Slough have usage levels a third lower. On the other hand, in most other cities the figures are falling, sometimes sharply. An extreme case is Warrington, where ridership in 2015/6 is about 40% lower than it was six years before.

You can see all this stats online here.

It is also worth noting that local government has no real power over bus companies, although it can influence bus usage through the bus lanes, bus stations and bus stops it is responsible for. Route subsidies are disappearing across the country, with Hampshire, Northamptonshire and Kent County Councils all looking at withdrawing all their support from April. In common with most urban areas, where services are more frequent, Portsmouth has only a very limited subsidised service.

Tags: Transport

Eastleigh – a cautionary tale

Published on Monday, 20th November 2017

For whatever reason, the borough of Eastleigh has failed to produce a local development plan in more than a decade of trying. Now it, and 14 other districts across England, face having plans drawn up and imposed on them by government. This will mean no local input into what is one of the most important of local government functions – planning.

Happily Portsmouth is not in that position. Its local plan was adopted in 2012 and work to refresh it has already begun. If all goes well, an updated document will be in place by 2019. What Eastleigh does show is the futility of rejecting housing need figures. Most of the places on the intervention list are ones where the local authority has refused to try and meet the target, resulting in an appeal-led planning system and over time in a centrally imposed plan.

Portsmouth is a crowded city with little land available. If it submits a plan on time and if that plan is realistic, it is highly likely that the city will not have to meet its need in full. To get to that point though, the council has to try. That is the purpose of the plan to building housing in the city centre where a large number of flats could be built; the student accommodation already in the pipeline will count as equivalent to 1000 flats. The alternative is a government imposed plan, which could well see significant amounts of employment land turned over to housing. So while tempting, just saying that Portsmouth is full up is not a good strategy and would likely result in more housing, not less.

Tags : Education

Mayfield School rebuild

Published on Monday, 20th November 2017

One of Portsmouth’s biggest schools is to be rebuilt. Mayfield dates back to 1932, but it will now be replaced, with the £23m bill covered by Whitehall. The City Council has been pushing for some time for this particular school to be included in the government’s Priority School Building Programme in recognition of its poor state of repair. 

Mayfield is the city’s only all-through school, spanning the entire 4 to 16 age range; it is also one of its biggest with a capacity of 1520. 

The redevelopment works will be managed by the Department for Education as part of a standardised contract to build new schools at the lowest possible cost. This involves a single contractor and a modular design, allowing for the addition of new wings at a later date if required.

There is no denying that the existing building is attractive and in some ways it is a shame to lose it. However the opportunity to secure a brand new building, with the levels of energy efficiency and of IT readiness that implies was too good to turn down.

For most of its life Mayfield was a secondary-only school, but five years ago, at a time when the city still had lots of surplus secondary places but a shortage of primary ones a decision was taken to convert some of the space for primary pupils. The works to make that happen cost several million pounds, which was clearly a waste now that the building is going to be redeveloped. While that occurred before the Conservatives took the council, I think it was a sensible decision given the information available at the time; the building is apparently in a worse condition that was appreciated.

All-in-all though, this is good for the city, as it the fact that work is expected soon to expand the Portsmouth Academy to raise its capacity to 250 per year. This will involve an extension and is being managed by the City Council, with the money being set aside this February. It is a curious fact that even though councils do not run academies, they retain responsibility for any extra spaces that may be required.

Tags : Education

Work starts on new Police Investigation Centre

Published on Monday, 20th November 2017

Construction work has started on the new Police Investigation Centre (PIC) out by the Airport Service Road. Replacing all the area’s police stations, the new centre will include holding cells and office space for investigation staff for the whole southeast Hampshire area. Community policing meanwhile has already been relocated to other public sector buildings, with officers based in the Civic Offices, in Southsea Fire Station and jointly with social care in Medina House, Cosham.

Reducing the police real estate footprint to just three giant buildings – the other two centres being in Southampton and Basingstoke – is a pretty radical move and there are legitimate worries about how much time will be consumed moving inmates around and on travelling. However the Police and Crime Commissioner made the decision to move and the council’s role has been to ensure that the PIC for this area is based within the city boundary. With so few large sites available that was not easy and a move to Havant was on the cards, but I am pleased we have been able to retain the jobs and the police presence in Portsmouth.

Tags : Police

A bright future for the Outdoor Centre

Published on Sunday, 5th November 2017

The Portsmouth Outdoor Centre is an excellent facility that many people do not even know exists. Located near the Harvester on Eastern Road, its primary purpose is to provide access to water sports. Built in the early 1990s, the site has been operated by Parkwood Leisure on behalf of the City Council and has provided a chance for thousands of young people to experience activities such as sailing and windsurfing.

The council has now struck a deal with the Andrew Simpson Sailing Trust for it to take over the running of the centre. This will see it donate £158,000 worth of charitable event per year, including residential courses and outreach to kids from poorer backgrounds - both directly and through schools. As a charity, it should be able to secure funds from private benefactors and the lottery in a way that a public body cannot.

Children living in the UK’s only island city should grow up feeling comfortable on the water. This deal will ensure they have the opportunity.

Tags: Leisure

Southsea flood defences and the government grant

Published on Sunday, 5th November 2017

This week saw a round of consultation events over the new flood defences around Southsea and Old Portsmouth. I went to the one in Cosham and both the information presented and the questionnaire were useful. Across all locations, the total number of people that visited will have been around a thousand.

Following the recent East Southsea Neighbourhood Forum, I need to perhaps explain why some of the alternative suggestions that have been put forward are unrealistic. 

• An underground car park. At the meeting, it was said that the council could remove all the parking from the roads in the Common and replace it with an underground car park. The thing is, underground spaces are enormously expensive, which is why there are hardly any underground car parks. A decade ago, the cost was estimated at £100,000 a space, so 500 spaces would cost £50m. On the other hand, as the parking would be relocated, there would be the same amount of income as before. You cannot borrow under those circumstances and £50m is £1000 per council tax bill. To people living near the seafront that might be worth it, but residents in Copnor and Fratton would be unlikely to agree.

• Moving the Pyramids. Demolishing and rebuilding the Pyramids would cost about £30m. Bearing in mind that the whole thing nearly closed in 2010 and the only thing that prevented that was that Sport England would have demanded the repayment of a £5m grant given to the Mountbatten Centre, it is perhaps clear that that is a great of deal of money. Not only that but council budgets have halved since then. Frankly we’ve done really well to keep the Pyramids open at all.

The flood defences are an opportunity not only to secure properties for the coming decades, but also to make the seafront an even more attractive place. Every attempt will be made to make the new defences both attractive and unobtrusive. Having a debate on this is healthy and useful, because as a city, we need to be able to answer questions like: is the gradual loss of the beach by the Naval War Memorial acceptable? It is things like that which constrain the design. 

Tags: Sea Defences

Business rate relief scheme moves forward

Published on Sunday, 1st October 2017

The council is advancing plans to offer business rates discounts to some small and medium sized businesses. Funded from a pot set aside from the chancellor, the scheme will benefit selected companies with a liability of under about £100,000.

Separately the revaluation of commercial property rateable values will see shops in Portsmouth benefit from a reduction averaging 30%. This should help them to survive even as trade moves increasing to out-of-town retail and online.

Tags: Business Rates

New council housing construction continues apace

Published on Sunday, 1st October 2017

A milestone was reached in the construction of 60 houses and flats on the former Somerstown Health Centre and the 30 houses and 8 flats at Blendworth Crescent, Leigh Park with the topping out ceremony to mark the tallest buildings on both developments reaching their full height.

The two projects are part of the City Council’s programme to build over 200 affordable properties over the next few years – making it the largest wave of new council properties since the 1980s. Few other local authorities are building as many homes.

Tags: Housing

Changing the funding model for QA hospital

Published on Sunday, 1st October 2017

The way QA hospital is paid for is changing. Money has traditionally flowed around the NHS on the basis of activity: a national formula sets the price for a broken arm (for example) and for everyone a hospital treats, it receives a set amount of money. As the formula is based solely on the procedure undertaken, it incentivises hospitals to get people home as there is no additional funding for keeping people in for longer than necessary.

The flipside is that it encourages hospitals to do more activities, which may not always be the right thing to do. Over time, the effect is to suck money into hospitals and out of general practice and community services. It also generates a lot of accounting activity.

Across the country, NHS partners are switching to the so-called ‘Aligned Incentive Contracts’, which essentially means giving hospitals a fixed budget, regardless of the amount of work that they do. Portsmouth moved to this new model in the spring.

While none of the decisions behind this were taken by the local authority, I do think it makes sense. As the population ages, the only way the NHS will be able to cope with demand is to do more in community settings, such as district nurses and GP practices (and social care) and to make every effort to keep people who can be kept out of hospital at home. Aside from money, hospitals are dangerous places, particularly for older people, who are at risk of infection and who suffer incredibly rapid muscle loss if left in bed. Moreover, no-one wants to spend more time in hospital than is strictly necessary.

You can read some more about this here.

Tags: NHS