An Independent Councillor is calling for Bath & North East Somerset Council to drop its own tagline.
Cllr Chris Warren, who sensationally won his seat in the Saltford by-election in January, believes the local authority’s current strapline ‘Improving Peoples Lives’ is nothing short of ‘gaslighting on a massive scale’.
“There are thousands of people living within Bath and North East Somerset whose lives have clearly not been improved”, said Cllr Warren, “From those who have been adversely affected by the clean air zone, those who live in the vicinity of the new waste site proposed for Locksbrook Road, those who had to fight the bus gate proposal for Camden Road, and the residents inconvenienced by the unpopular Low Traffic Neighbourhood proposals.
It’s clear after attending my first meeting at the Guildhall in Bath last month that the council are clearly not improving people’s lives. The level of anger from members of the public who came to speak against the Lib Dem Cabinet’s plans to close roads and stop people driving to their own front doors was evident.”
Independent Councillor Chris Warren joined the council in January after defeating the ruling Liberal Democrat Party in a by-election they were confident of winning in Saltford. Despite throwing ‘everything’ into winning the seat, Chris’ ‘common sense community matters’ campaign paid off. It was the first time the Lib Dems had lost a seat in a by-election in B&NES since the council was created in 1995.
Cllr Warren added: “Residents tell me on a regular basis that they don’t feel like their lives are improved. Instead council tax is going up and tax payers are getting little in return.
The less well-off are now getting charged more for parking as their cars allegedly ‘emit more pollution’, and my community in Saltford now has to put up with a constant stream of refuse and recycling lorries passing through the village on their way to the eyesore Regional Recycling and Refuse centre at Pixash Lane, Keynsham.
It is about time this ridiculous statement was removed from all B&NES signage and media because it is clearly open for debate as to whether we have had our lives improved at all.”
Contact: Cllr Chris Warren, Chris_Warren@bathnes.gov.uk / 07719445477
