Council buys shop to expand King’s Theatre
Published on Monday, 7th August 2017
The sweetshop next to the Kings’ Theatre has been purchased by the council. It will be added to the lease to the theatre trust, allowing them to expand their bar and restaurant offer, which will in turn improve their financial viability.
Some years ago, the council set aside £140,000 to pay for the unit if and when it became available. Theatre management have long nursed hopes of expansion and this shop is a vital piece in the jigsaw, standing midway between the theatre itself and two other shops already in their ownership. Eventually they hope to raise £15m as part of their Big Project to secure the theatre’s long term future as a profitable venue.
With the sad death of the owner of the sweetshop, Mr King, earlier this year, the property came on the market. Rising house prices meant the sum set aside was no longer sufficient and the council had to top it up to £185,000.
Tags: Kings Theatre, Albert Road
Free opera this Wednesday
Published on Sunday, 23rd July 2017
A night of opera is being put on this coming Wednesday (the 26th) in Victoria Park. The good news: the City Council is footing the bill, so there's no admission charge.
The Hatstand Opera Company will be performing scenes and arias from a range of well-known operas. Branded 'Golden moments from opera', the act features quick costume changes and is a mixture of music and comedy.
It starts at 19:30 and you are welcome to bring a chair and refreshments. Click here for more details.
Tags: Events
Phone box advert plan defeated
Published on Sunday, 23rd July 2017
One of my pet peeves is the huge number of phone boxes that litter the city centre. Near universal mobile phone ownership means very few calls are made from any of them and yet their numbers are rising. The reason for this apparent contradiction is that the law allows them to be installed without the need to pay any fee. That made sense back when public phones were widely used and when the cost of putting in a box was sufficiently high that unnecessary ones were not installed. Now though it just allows companies to put in phones in busy areas and then to cover them with lucrative advertising boards, which is what this is really all about.
A recent batch of applications for six new boxes looked like it was going to succeed; I had a story in the News saying as much. However on this occasion there is a happy ending. While planning consent is not needed for new boxes, the council's Planning Service has to be consulted and can stop new installations under some narrow circumstances. The boxes proposed for Commercial Road have been successfully rejected on the grounds of pedestrian safety and because they would undermine the public realm improvements the council has recently carried out. A box planned for near the station will however still proceed.
Tags: City Centre
Rough sleepers in Portsmouth
Published on Sunday, 23rd July 2017
While numbers are rising across the UK, there is a clear north/south divide, with the strongest growth coming from the regions that make up the south. South eastern England as a whole has seen 60% growth over the last two years. Even in comparison to that high number, Portsmouth's 200% rise is dramatic.
There are various reasons this, most of which apply in most cities. One which does set Portsmouth apart is the level of support provided by the council and, much more importantly, by civic society, particularly churches and voluntary groups. From food to clothing, more is available here than in most other areas and this does tend to encourage inward migration.
For many (but not all), addiction is a problem, as sometimes is mental health. The latter is outside the council's remit, as is policing, but there are a number of initiatives being worked on by the council all of which may help a bit. There are no silver bullets though.
The one thing no council can do is automatically hand out council housing, as - apart from it being in short supply - to do so would act as a massive draw and would push numbers through the roof. The council does however have 200 hostel beds and runs a shelter in the winter.
More details on the council's initiatives will be released as and when they are finalised.
Tags: Homeless
Free bandstand events off to a flying start
Published on Monday, 4th July 2017
The first bandstand event of the summer has been a great success with a crowd of 8000 people turning out to enjoy a summer’s afternoon listening to music from the 1990s.
Southsea has a beautiful seafront and a lively music scene. The Bandstand events bring both together and have proven to be a big hit in recent years with residents young and old.
The events continue throughout the summer, with tribute bands and music of various genres. See https://book.events/bandstand for details. The council pays for the events, but does not charge an admission fee.
Tags: Culture, Seafront
New learning disability housing to open
Published on Monday, 4th July 2017
The first residents are about to move into three new bungalows specially built for younger adults with learning disabilities. The properties, just behind Buckland Community Centre, will house 13 people, all with significant needs. Staff will be on hand around the clock, but residents will be given as much independence as possible and will be encouraged to develop new skills and to gain greater confidence to make decisions about their own lives.
The three properties were funded by a grant the council secured from the government. As well as improving the quality of life for residents, this development will save money, not least because by living in a bungalow rather than a small care home, the residents will become eligible for housing benefit.
Tags: Adult Social Care
Exciting new proposals for Moneyfields football club
Published on Monday, 4th July 2017
A plan to redevelop the Moneyfields into a venue fit for the 21st century has been unveiled by the club. Using the proceeds from the sale of a small part of the site for housing, they hope to be able to build a new social and sports club and install a 4G artificial football pitch on the land they own next to the railway line in Baffins. Provision for boxing and for community uses would be included.
Cllr Linda Symes and I have seen the plans and are excited by what is proposed. There is still a significant funding gap still to be closed, but the council will do whatever it can to persuade the various sports governing bodies and Sport England to make money available.
The existing clubhouse and other buildings are aging, but rather than just accept that the club are doing something to find a solution and to make themselves viable for the long term. With the city’s school cup finals held at the ground and with the team being Portsmouth’s second highest ranked side, everyone has an interest in making this project a success.
Tags: Sport, Culture
Election result
Published on Saturday, 10th June 2017
To the surprise of many, we now have a Labour MP in Portsmouth South. Congratulations to Stephen Morgan for becoming the first representative of his party to take the seat.
I would also like to put on record my thanks to Flick Drummond for all the work she has done both in parliament since 2015 and over the last ten years. Flick had been growing into being a very effective constituency MP, but this election came a little too soon for her and this result has come as a blow to me and to my colleagues.
My guess is that the government will continue in office until after Brexit negotiations are concluded, but really anything is possible and one way or another, another General Election before the 2022 deadline is likely.
| Party | Candidate | Vote | Percent |
| Labour | Stephen Morgan | 18290 | 41.0 |
| Conservative | Flick Drummond | 16736 | 37.6 |
| LibDem | Gerald Vernon-Jackson | 7699 | 17.3 |
| UKIP | Kevan Chippindall-Higgin | 1129 | 2.5 |
| Green | Ian McCulloch | 712 | 1.6 |
Tags: Election
New shower to be installed in Canoe Lake
Published on Friday, 9th June 2017
A new external shower is to be installed outside the Canoe Lake public toilet block, located on the beach side of the open space. The shower will be aimed at beach users you might want to clean up before heading home.
The £10,000 cost was included in the council’s capital budget, so money has been set aside to pay for it.
Tags: Seafront
Rewarding volunteers
Published on Friday, 9th June 2017
The City Council is actively pushing volunteering as a means of strengthening society. The Portsmouth Together programme has been running for three years now, with a focus on making it easy for people to find voluntary activities for their spare time. Some areas of the council have for many years benefited from large numbers of volunteer helpers, particularly libraries and museums, but the emphasis isn’t just (or mainly) on helping the council but rather it is on encouraging people to give time to projects of all kinds.
With this in mind, the council has teamed up with ValueYou to provide rewards to people who put in a hundred hours of voluntary effort. A ValueYou card gives discounts in participating local businesses – in Portsmouth, 22 have signed up, ranging from coffee shops, to a florist and a shoe repairer; six are in Albert Road. Typically a card holder receives 10% off as a thank you for their efforts, while the business owner hopefully engenders greater loyalty from their customers.
The ValueYou model originated in London, where some hundreds of independent traders support the scheme. Officers at the City Council have spoken to scores of local businesses, seeking their support. To register for a card, go to http://www.valueyou.org
Tags: Volunteering