Latest news with #TonyDyer
BBC News
12-05-2025
- Politics
- BBC News
Regrets over how Bristol liveable neighbourhood was rolled out
A city leader has admitted he regrets how the rollout of a suburb's liveable neighbourhood was City Council leader Tony Dyer said there were "definitely lessons to be learned" about the process, which saw residents in Barton Hill protesting against council contractors as they closed some side-roads to vehicles."Do I personally regret, I think yes I do," he Dyer inherited a consultation about the scheme from the previous Labour administration. He suggested that he should have looked more closely at whether "everyone who needed to be involved had been involved". A six-month trial of the scheme is now under way and involves a variety of measures intended to calm traffic, including bus gates and cycle improvements in a liveable neighbourhood, according to the council, aim to make it easier to catch a bus and to walk or cycle, with less through traffic. Mr Dyer acknowledged the protests had been "uncomfortable" for his party, the Greens, but said: "I don't think that we're ever going to please everybody with everything we do."You never like to be in a situation where you are coming into conflict with people who often have valid concerns, and you want to try to find a way to address those."Liveable neighbourhoods are controversial topic – some people are very much supportive, other people are very much anti."Mr Dyer was speaking to Politics West to mark a year since the Greens started running the party does not have a majority; the Liberal Democrats hold some committee council leader said the biggest achievement of his first year in office was "delivering a balanced budget", adding that had involved difficult decisions."If you haven't got the money coming in, if you're not getting funded to do the things that we want to do, then regardless of what colour rosette you wear, you are going to have to make tough choices," he said.
Telegraph
17-03-2025
- Business
- Telegraph
Councils begging for your savings isn't a net zero innovation – it's an embarrassment
In an attempt to plug the ever-increasing funding gap, bankrupt-adjacent local councils have dusted off the begging bowl and covered it in tinsel. Under the guise of investment, Green-led Bristol has become the latest council to offer what smells like a voluntary council tax to fund responsibilities that should be met from their existing budgets. Considering the rise in council tax may as well be an annual guarantee – with Bristol one of many councils this year imposing the maximum 4.99pc increase that can be demanded without triggering a referendum – one might argue residents should expect the LED lighting budget across council offices to be met by the thousands of pounds a year they pump into these coffers. But in a demonstration of phenomenal gall these local bodies have launched their own Kickstarter for Councils, asking not only their residents, but anyone across the country, to foot the net zero bill – in exchange for below-market returns. These green bonds can be found on Abundance Investment, a platform that facilitates these loans for a slice of the pie – 0.75pc of the total sum raised alongside an annual 0.2pc fee. The website proudly declares that it offers investments with councils 'in a solid financial position', despite Bristol councillors declaring just two months ago that the body faced bankruptcy if it can't close its £52m funding gap. But Abundance also notes that councils can't go bankrupt, and that's just misinformation spread by 'the media'; councils only issue a Section 114 and may possibly delay your repayments. Technically true, but it doesn't entirely reassure when Tony Dyer, leader of Bristol City Council, himself used the word 'bankruptcy' multiple times in his statement on the matter in January. But if this unique set-up means investing in councils has a significantly low risk, as the platform claims, why has it confirmed it prevented several councils from issuing these sorts of loans? More unsettling still, buried in the small print is the revelation that none of this is covered by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme, meaning if Abundance goes bust, hey ho, there goes all your cash. Understandably, you might be getting cold feet by now and thankfully Abundance offers a resale platform. They won't buy it off you, but you can put the bond up for sale on a peer-to-peer marketplace in the hopes somebody will take your poor-paying investment off your hands. How many are currently available for purchase? 13. Not exactly a vibrant community. Okay, James, but these are one-off investments used to fund the future. Once repaid they'll certainly be consigned to history. Hammersmith & Fulham is on its third round of fundraising via this platform. Government doesn't have a great track record of abandoning forms of taxation once proven to work. Now, despite all this, I do have sympathy with the council funding issue. They have been forced to take onto their books enormous swathes of spending that should be budgeted by central government, with care costs swallowing up gigantic sums of money before the local bodies are able to allocate a penny to collecting your bins. But the answer cannot and must not be begging residents within and without their borders to add just a little more money for a little more time (you can 'invest' from as little as £5) and then once that cash has been returned, to ask for just a little more again for just a little longer. The platform even confirms that some investors have been generous enough to donate their interest payments back to the councils. Right now you can find five-year cash Isa bonds paying more than the 4.2pc interest on offer from these green bonds, without any of the uncertainty – and coming with valuable FSCS protection. Innovation means deterioration. So wrote The Telegraph's own Patrick Hutber decades ago, and the once-City editor's words ring as true as ever. This latest in a long line of papering over the cracks with something shiny stands as one of the most embarrassing.
BBC News
12-03-2025
- Entertainment
- BBC News
The Longest Johns to headline Bristol Harbour Festival 2025
Folk band The Longest Johns will be the main act at their home city's biggest festival this band, who became famous for their viral video of 'Wellerman', a 150 year-old sea shanty, during the "Shanty Tok" craze of 2021, will headline the Bristol Harbour festival, which will run from Friday 18 to Sunday 20 July and is one of the country's largest free cultural Longest Johns will headline the Harbour View stage on the Sunday night after returning from a tour of North America and Europe. The free festival, founded more than 50 years ago, will also feature a large food market and multiple stages where many performers from the city will play live or stage theatre City Council leader Tony Dyer said: "The Bristol Harbour Festival is a true celebration of the city - its creativity, diversity, and rich musical talent."It's fantastic to see Bristol artists like The Longest Johns making a global impact and then bringing that success back home to share with festival audiences."
Yahoo
27-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Council approves rise in tax and CAZ charges
Council tax charges are set to rise and plans for a new city visitor's fee are moving forward. Bristol City Council has agreed its annual budget, with a 4.99% increase in council tax. Councillor Tony Dyer, council leader, said a cost-cutting programme of "efficiencies" would save the authority £77m a year until 2030. He added: "We propose to spend over £400m in areas such as parks and green spaces, delivering new council housing, repairing aging highways infrastructure, bringing new transport options online and introducing new homes for children in care." Increasing the city's Clean Air Zone charge was not debated at the budget meeting on Tuesday but was approved along with a raft of measures to raise income. Council officers will now seek permission from the government to increase it in line with inflation, which is currently 3%. This could see the daily price for a car rise to £9.27. The budget comprises £1.7bn in spending across schools, council housing, the harbour estate and public health. More news stories for Bristol Watch the latest Points West Listen to the latest news for Bristol The Greens-led council dropped plans to slash funding for museums, libraries and lolipop patrols earlier this year. The Lib Dem amendment to carry out a feasibility study into a visitor charge was also approved. This would see hotel guests paying £2 extra to stay each night. And the group's request to set up a donation fund for community organisations was passed unanimously. Two of Labour's proposals, to reduce the cost of meals on wheels to 4.5% and to tackle fly-tipping, were both approved. Labour group leader Tom Renhard said the Greens had removed some of the "worst ideas" from the original proposals. He added: "Even though you've been bailed out of doing most of the unpalatable things, this is still a bad budget, devoid of political direction." Lib Dem councillor Sarah Classick said her group would support the budget as amended and that although it was not perfect, it took a pragmatic approach to improving essential services. Conservative group leader Mark Weston said his party was seriously worried about changes to transport, libraries and waste services, with an ongoing public consultation into reducing black bin collections to every three or four weeks. Although the original plan to halve the libraries budget was shelved a few weeks ago, the service will be subject to a taskforce of councillors to decide how its future should look. This could result in some libraries closing in the future. Follow BBC Bristol on Facebook, X and Instagram. Send your story ideas to us on email or via WhatsApp on 0800 313 4630. Council saves libraries from closure amid cuts Council tax and CAZ charges could soon rise Bristol City Council
BBC News
27-02-2025
- Business
- BBC News
Bristol council tax to rise and plans progressing for visitors' fee
Council tax charges are set to rise and plans for a new city visitor's fee are moving City Council has agreed its annual budget, with a 4.99% increase in council Tony Dyer, council leader, said a cost-cutting programme of "efficiencies" would save the authority £77m a year until added: "We propose to spend over £400m in areas such as parks and green spaces, delivering new council housing, repairing aging highways infrastructure, bringing new transport options online and introducing new homes for children in care." Increasing the city's Clean Air Zone charge was not debated at the budget meeting on Tuesday but was approved along with a raft of measures to raise officers will now seek permission from the government to increase it in line with inflation, which is currently 3%. This could see the daily price for a car rise to £ budget comprises £1.7bn in spending across schools, council housing, the harbour estate and public health. The Greens-led council dropped plans to slash funding for museums, libraries and lolipop patrols earlier this Lib Dem amendment to carry out a feasibility study into a visitor charge was also approved. This would see hotel guests paying £2 extra to stay each the group's request to set up a donation fund for community organisations was passed of Labour's proposals, to reduce the cost of meals on wheels to 4.5% and to tackle fly-tipping, were both group leader Tom Renhard said the Greens had removed some of the "worst ideas" from the original added: "Even though you've been bailed out of doing most of the unpalatable things, this is still a bad budget, devoid of political direction."Lib Dem councillor Sarah Classick said her group would support the budget as amended and that although it was not perfect, it took a pragmatic approach to improving essential group leader Mark Weston said his party was seriously worried about changes to transport, libraries and waste services, with an ongoing public consultation into reducing black bin collections to every three or four weeks.
