Latest news with #RobinMoss
BBC News
24-07-2025
- Politics
- BBC News
Bath public toilets are 'few and far between', council told
A lack of public toilets in a city has left elderly people in tears and pushed customers away from local businesses, councillors have and North East Somerset Council has unanimously backed a call to review the "very few and far between" public toilet provision in the tour guide Ed Browning told a council meeting: "The one constant negative is the embarrassment of apologising for the lack of public facilities."But senior councillors have warned it will be a "huge challenge" to improve the situation. Mr Browning, whose family also run the delicatessen in the Guildhall Market, told the meeting on on 17 July he had seen elderly people reduced to tears after not being able to reach the toilet in time."Aside from 'what's a scotch egg?', the most consistent question I get on a daily basis is 'where are the toilets?'," he said. 'Significant' vandalism Councillors were voting over a motion tabled by Robin Moss, the leader of the Labour opposition on the council, to assess the need for public toilets and "prioritise better provision of clean, accessible public toilets" across Bath and North East Somerset. Independent councillor Shaun Hughes, who represents Midsomer Norton, said the lack of public toilets there was one of the issues most commonly raised with him by the said: "We know this affects footfall in our town, but more importantly excludes large sections of our community. It undermines dignity. It makes our town less accessible."The council's cabinet member for economic and cultural sustainable development Paul Roper seconded the motion which he said was already something under review and being he warned: "We will face a huge challenge on providing the necessary funding to significantly improve and increase the current provisions."He added: "The issues we face are not just about funding. I cannot overstate the significance of vandalism and anti-social behaviour."Our existing facilities are subject to significant vandalism and in some cases within a matter of hours of being repaired they are shut again."
BBC News
27-02-2025
- Business
- BBC News
Council tax to increase to maximum after 'significant' care bill
Residents will pay the maximum amount of council tax as an authority deals with what it says is a "significant and unpredictable" social care April, council tax bills in Bath and North East Somerset (BANES) will increase by 4.99%, which is equivalent to £86.64 a year for a typical band D increase the most council tax can rise without special permission from the government, or a local Elliott, BANES Council's Liberal Democrat cabinet member for resources, said it had overspent on social care in every quarter in 2024. According to the Local Democracy Reporting Service, Mr Elliott said as he presented the budget plans to the council on 25 February: "Many councils and residents of other authorities would be extremely envious of our position."We have healthy reserves, we are not at any significant risk of finding ourselves in financial difficulty. "We are not, as other councils are, unable to balance the books or making swingeing cuts to services. We are not having to apply to central government for permission to make exceptional council tax rises."2.99% of the rise will be for general use, while two will be ring fenced for spending on adult social care. BANES Council's budget will increase its social care funding by £ included cuts, savings, and new charges and income to make up a £14m budget Robin Moss, the council's Labour leader, said the planned budget was "more of the same.""The Labour group can have no confidence, unfortunately, that these budget proposals are going to make any different outcome to the previous year, so we will not be supporting them," he 2025/26 budget as put forward by the Liberal Democrat administration was passed unamended by 36 votes to eight, with only members of the Liberal Democrats voting in favour.
