River ward page

"I heard..........what a good job you did at the council meeting the other day. It is good to know that we have such a good man representing us. Thank you very much. Very well done Ian. Hope to hear from you soon".

Mr 'M', River ward resident

"I'm very impressed that you do what you say you will do"

Ms. 'B' Littlehampton Resident

"Thanks for today Ian, without your help I couldn't have done that by myself, give yourself a pat on the back!"

Ms. 'R' from Rustington

MESSAGE FROM CLLR. IAN BUCKLAND - RIVER WARD TOWN AND DISTRICT COUNCILLOR

Cllr. Ian Buckland

Now that the elections are over - for a while! And all the induction courses are done and some of the meetings are out of the way (make note, please, I did say some of the meetings!).

I have fought for the rebuilding of the hospital, for the free parking in the town centre, fought against anti-social behaviour that blights our community.

I said in my election address I will fight it if the cause is worth fighting for, so if you have a cause / problem / issue, bring it on!!

I promise to listen and advise you and if I can help in any other way I will.

Telephone - 07986 488 982

ibuckland@brl-tonlibdems.org.uk

Ian says "Get on your bike and ride!"

Ian Buckland with cycling group in River ward

Ian Buckland is pictured here supporting the local cycle organisation 'Cycle Tutor'. Ian said "I am offering my support to Jenny as she is a new business in Littlehampton and we both want to raise awareness of cycling, not just because of its fun factor but because of the health benefits it also provides".

If you want to know more then email jenny@cycletutor.co.uk or get in touch with Ian as cycling is one of the future ways of transport and with your support we can do to raise the issue for more cycling provision in the town. If you already own a bike then "get on your bike and ride!".

Traffic Safety

After attending the small demonstration march on Saturday 16th February with which was organised by The Beach Town Action Group and then attending the meeting that took place afterwards in support of traffic calming measures to be introduced in Beach Road and Irvine Road after the tragic accident of the 9th February.

I would like to say what a pleasure it was to be in the presence of passionate and determined people who voiced their thoughts and opinions in a controlled but forceful manner to get things done. Well Done. I with my fellow councillors and our local MP that were also in attendance will be doing our utmost to support their request and to see a positive outcome for the future.

Cllr Ian Buckland (River ward )

The Peril of the double yellow lines!

Dorset Close

Street Briefing - Dorset Close

Ian Buckland, River ward councillor meets the Police in Dorset Close on the 3rd October 2007.

Lifeboat Slipway

Is Ignorance the way to cause a fatality tragedy ?

River ward Councillor Ian Buckland was asked to visit the LIFE BOAT STATION and the RNLI shop at Fishermans Quay due to severe problems that they had been experiencing.

This was that the general public visiting the area were parking in front of the Lifeboat exit / entrance doors and the slipway. Councillor Ian Buckland could not believe the ignorance and the lack of thought from those people .The doors and the slip way needed to be kept clear at all times and the area should have been made secure so that parking could not continue.

The next issue was that when the RNLI Crews got a 'shout' and they arrived at the station due to the above, there was nowhere that they could park. So not only we looked at making the area secure for the launch of the boats but what space there is should be allocated to the RNLI CREWS. On a shout there could be at least 15 people called so this shows us that at least another 15 parking spaces are required - at least.

There is already 4 parking spaces allocated for RNLI staff and volunteers but this is obviously not enough.

Apparently the Police had been involved in this car parking situation but as was no enforcement / restriction provisions in place there is not a lot they could do.

Councillor Buckland got some bollards moved to ensure that the Lifeboat slipway was clear of cars and will continue to work with the RNLI and Arun District council to ensure that ignorance does not cause a fatality.

Cycleway Dangers

I am totally in support of the statement made by Judge Anthony Thorpe but I am afraid that white lines are not the way forward even if it was suggested as a temporary solution we need something more prominent and permanent.

I concur with the statement by Jenny Cole, the chairman of Littlehampton Cycling Action Group that we need cycle track / paths. With all the developments going on and most involving WSCC Highways some where in the consultation procedure why don't they just put cycle tracks / paths in as a matter of course ? Would this not been seen as common sense ? especially with the rise in cycling !

What does raise cause for concern is the statement by WSCC highways department, " That after a fatal accident in West Sussex we carefully review with the police, our polices regarding the road involved"." In view of the Judges comments we will look again at this stretch of the A259. So why does it take the words of a Judge to prompt any action and for them to look again what did they miss the first time? Did the WSCC highways department look at the area or not? And if they have what were they going to do before the Judge made his comment?

Is this apathy or naivety on the part of WSCC highways department? Have the Judge's become more expert on Highways than the Highways department that we rely on? And if it does take a Judge's comments to get things done now then could we have his or hers comments / conclusion on the accident in Beach Road and for future accidents if its going to benefit the safety of people.

Cllr Ian Buckland

The Prom - by Councillor Buckland

I cannot believe what is going on in Littlehampton !

We see in the Press in our Schools in all public places about keeping fit , taking regular exercise , we see and read how much the NHS and doctors are going on about obesity and what do we do ! Stop all cycling along our sea front ! We are stopping our Mums and Dads with their Children and others enjoying open space which is rightly theirs not ours to shut down and stop family enjoyment. We have also stopped roller blades and kite boarding apparently and if this is the case!

Who do we think we are? Its a disgrace to think that we are stopping people of their rights to have a recreational pursuit and denying them to what the government class as Open Space with which they say everyone is entitled to and that everyone should be encouraged to engage and take on a recreational pursuit.

Surely by now these recreational pursuits can live happily together in one open place / space just as they do in other countries regardless as to whether you're riding a bike , rollerblading or walking ! And if they cannot then we must make sure they can and do by making provisions for it to happen!

Cycling is playing a major part in day to day transportation and that as a recreational pursuit it is becoming one, of if not the one that families take part in together more than any other recreational pursuit other than swimming and walking .

Letters from constituents.

Hi Ian

I live in ????? and was delighted to see your article in the local paper.

As a visually impaired person who is unable to drive one of my pleasures is riding a bike. I do use quiet roads but have to cross junctions etc. on foot because of my vision. I have always wished i could ride along the seafront safely.

At the moment the 'train' uses it and people in 'disabled' scooters, some of which can go quite fast. I understand some peoples concern as there are some very selfish people who go mad on bikes ( and disabled scooters) who spoil it for the rest of us.

I love to see people using the seafront, families with children riding safely together is something to encourage.

If there is any campaign group I can join to introduce safe cycle paths in the area, please let me know.

Kind regards

??????? ????

Letter to Littlehampton Gazette

I applaud, commend and support those readers whom have written to you in the last two to three weeks in their disbelief and astonishment in the announcement of a possible million pound bench to be built on our sea front.

I wonder if they will be listened to ? I have heard what they have said and stated and i agree with them! I do believe that the money could be better spent or even shared on different projects like a bandstand, and like the reader said, a youth centre! Use the money on things that will help to regenerate Littlehampton like the reintroduction of the ferry with which alot of people would like to see, cycle paths and better sporting facilities, have we not just watched the Olympics? And if you did, what sports came top for Great Britain? Swimming , cycling, sailing and rowing!

We have the river and the sea! We could have the facilities with this type of money not just to support the abled-bodied but also the disabled and families. We could support the future sports stars here rather than them having to travel miles because we cannot support them in our town.

Who really wants a monstrous million pound bench for someone to sit on and wonder or ponder what could be or might not be the future of Littlehampton.

With thanks,

Cllr Ian Buckland

Letter to Littlehampton Gazette

I am responding to your article ( Terminus road flats bid refused page 6, 24th July 2008 ) .

As one of the three river ward councillors I am in total support of the officers recommendations to refuse these applications. As of recent times I have done some research and at present times the trend is to build flats in Littlehampton. We all know we need housing (not flats) but what has happened to houses? Where are they? What has happened to the good old family home? Since the beginning of the year 2008 there has been 20 building applications all involving flats whether this be a studio flat, 1 bed flat, 2 bed flat or more concerning the decimation of our good family homes into flats bringing a total adding up to 188 flats with No Houses being built within the towns vicinity ( please note that not all of the 20 applications have been approved ). The only place that houses have been built is the Elysian Fields development as of recent times. Referring back to Littlehampton another application has appeared to build 37x 1 bed flats and 25x 2 bed flats in the vicinity of the Market LU/517/04, this is just ludicrous, as far as i can see there is no parking facilities (which is not a building consideration) to even accept such a build, where are people going to park and again why flats? Why build more flats when the housing market is struggling to sell what they already have and while I am on about selling, can someone define what is 'Affordable Housing' and who can afford it ?Why not good quality family town houses ? The problem is that with all these types of applications the governments planning guide lines need to be reviewed and that all local infrastructure including parking facilities should be included in the applications .We cannot allow these type of building applications to continue as our roads locally are at bursting point with free for all car parking etc...And what about jobs and security for the people who are going to live here, supposedly. Where is this all going to come from? Or is it going to be commuter town? Where you just live here and don't really care about the town? I do believe that we do need to address this sooner rather than later.

Yours faithfully

with thanks

Cllr Ian Buckland (Town and District for river ward )

Letter to Littlehampton Gazette

Dear All,

As one of the Three River ward Councillors I am happy to say that I agree with the Residents of River Road and that I totally agree and support and endorse their comments and their petition.

I am also happy to state that a reason for this happening to our residents and the problem of parking is the lack of foresight for the future, not just for the car, but also for the situation of parking and that parking should of been an enforceable condition of all building applications in the past and now for the future of which it is not.

These situations are going to happen more and more often as parking and cars become more of a problem due to the system letting-down those people who live in such areas.

If anyone is going to take or restrict their right to park in their own road or near their place of residence, then some type of residents Parking Permit / solution should be supplied to those Residents Free of charge and those who don't live or work in river road then get clamped, parking ticket or removed.

I am in total objection to restricted parking in this area especially for the residents and for those that work in river road and I would like my comments to be noted.

Cllr Ian Buckland (River ward ,Town and District )

Thank you for that, I feel better after just reading your letter. You have given us every possible chance to prove ourselves and with my presentation on Monday they can't refuse.

Thanks again....Hierlei