Month: December 2009

Categories
notes from JK

The Element – On education and creativity, plus my books of 2009

Academic inflation continues ever apace, it is now the case that a PhD isn’t enough for some posts. My father worked over 30 years for a bank. He entered with nothing more than A-levels. Since then the job, which has little changed in substance, now requires one or more degrees, probably an MBA would help too.

Meanwhile the British government continues its process of expanding the length of compulsory education. It is bringing forward the school starting age from 5 to 4 years young. Furthermore it is extending the education and training age to 18, up from 16 years. So in total they are potentially adding 3 years to the length of compulsory education.

For all those children who hated school, felt constrained and misunderstood, this is a disaster. We already start school earlier than most European countries, and don’t have better results to show for this early start. As Sir Ken Robinson has so ably shown – there is a huge list of very successful people who only blossomed after school’s negative effects had had a chance to wear off.

Truancy is at record levels too — no wonder what with more testing, a more restrictive curriculum, and the failure to nurture diverse types of intelligence. We are killing creativity and extinguishing passions with an incessant focus just on ‘academic’ education; that is maths, literacy, and sciences.

You can’t learn many of the most valuable things in life simply by being told them and then reciting them for a test. Education should be a much richer experience. We have absolutely no idea what life will bring for our children. We cannot possibly imagine what the world will be like by the time they leave education, especially considering the current failures to tackle climate change.

I was extremely fortunate to recently visit what I think is an excellent example of following your passion, caring for the environment and the unexpected connections education can bring. During a North American family reunion I visited Tom’s of Maine in Kennebunk, Maine, USA. Tom’s produce natural personal care products such as toothpaste, dental floss and soap. The company works towards an ethical mission which includes donating a proportion of revenue to charities and treating their employees with care and respect.

When visiting their factory I was impressed with the breaks staff took for exercises, the way disabled staff were supported in being productive team-members and the care taken in reducing the environmental impact of their operations. While there I also picked up the two books written by Tom Chappell, which I found to be fascinating, inspiring reads.

In particular the books tell of how Tom (who co-founded the firm with his wife Kate) started to lose his passion for the business as the focus became ever more on ‘making the numbers’. Rather than quitting by selling the business, Tom decided to take up a part-time theology course at Harvard. This rather unexpected change in direction for a former insurance salesman led to a renewal in his passion for his business. He engaged on an ethical, environmental and creative level resulting in a wide set of changes in how they did business and a massive increase in the number of new product ideas. Creativity was unleashed.

How many people would have advised Tom to go on a part-time theology course to resolve his business problems or loss of passion? Not many I would imagine. He writes that many of his colleagues had their doubts, and I’m not surprised. But by connecting with an alternative way of thinking and different people a new passion was found. I think we’re all better off for the work Tom’s has been doing since then. It’s not to say we’ll all renew our passion by going on a theology course, but to say that creativity and passion are not science, they lie in unexpected connections.

I’ve been searching for my passion, slowly homing in on what it means for me to be in my element. Through school I focussed on good grades and subjects that would have the most use for employment. To some extent I regret that now.

Some of the choices I had to make were ludicrous. For example for my A-levels I wanted to do Physics, English Language and Biology. I was told only English Literature was available and I couldn’t do it anyway as it wasn’t possible to combine it with science subjects. So at 16 I had to choose between science or ‘arts’ not just for A-levels but for my university career also. I ended up doing Maths, Physics and Chemistry with A/S French for Professional Use. I had hated maths since age 10 and didn’t feel strongly about chemistry one way or the other. Physics I did enjoy, but partly because I had yet to reach the maths-intensive levels.

How utterly mad to force a 16-year old to make such choices. It’s difficult enough in one’s thirties making career choices, let alone when one is still very much a personality in development. I know my old school has now gone for the International Baccalaureate to try and broaden pre-university education.

IB is probably an improvement but lacks the opportunity for subjects such as dance, music or sculpture to fully integrate into schooling so that pupils of all abilities and passions can be catered for. We need to completely turn our educational system upside down. Helping people to find and nurture their passion is quite possibly the most important thing we can do for one another as a society.

Reads of 2009

I’ve read many excellent books this year, in fact barely any have been duds. Ones that spring to mind include Tristram Stuart’s “Waste” and Prashant Vaze’s “The Economical Environmentalist”.

Only two books this year have fundamentally altered my way of thinking, challenged me in the most positive ways, and been deeply impressive.

These were Sir Ken Robinson’s “The Element” and Tom Chappell’s “The Soul of a Business”. If you read just two books in 2010, make it those. To expand and support them two other books are worth a look, Sir Ken’s “Out of our Minds” and Tom’s “Managing Upside Down”. They aren’t quite as good or punchy as the first two, but they usefully expand the ideas and context.

More Resources:

I first came across Sir Ken through his incredible, must see, TED talk (via Garr Reynold’s great blog Presentation Zen)

If you are looking for your passion, Po Bronson’s “What Should I Do with My Life?” is another useful, non-prescriptive, book.

Note: All Amazon links for books will pay a commission to me if you purchase the book.

Categories
current affairs

Is the apparent failure at Copenhagen really so bad?

Following news of the Copenhagen summit has been a roller coaster filled with false alarms, misinformation, consternation and uncertainty. Like many people, I was hoping for a binding agreement to dramatically reduce emissions, keep temperature rises below 2 degrees and support for developing nations. But now I’m not sure that was ever truly a realistic outcome.

Yes, it sounds like arrangements for this massive summit could have been better. Perhaps more could have been done in the preparatory meetings. But how likely was it that we were going to get nearly 200 countries of enormous diversity, development and political direction to agree on strong binding action to cut greenhouse gas emissions? It’s certainly unfair to compare COP15 with the Montreal Protocol process which successfully dealt with ozone hole causing gases such as CFCs.

The production and use of CFCs were nowhere as central to mainstream ‘developed’ lifestyles as greenhouse gases now are. And the key narrative behind the need for global binding action is that reducing emissions will hurt economies. As a result nobody wants to make the first move for risk of crippling their economic competitiveness.

I think this view needs challenging. If a recession is the time for public spending (and it is) then ambitious projects for improved rail, renewable energy sources, energy efficiency upgrades and more are what we need. They keep people in jobs, improve quality of life whilst addressing our need to reduce emissions.

What they also do is put nations in a much better place to cope with ever increasing fuel costs as well as supply uncertainty. Because if the threat of violent climate change isn’t enough to galvanise action, certainly fuel shortages and spiraling prices will be — these are proven political hot buttons for rapid action. Oil is running out, it’s just a matter of when.

So while a decent agreement at Copenhagen would have been welcome, on reflection I don’t think it was ever that likely. We’re instead going to have to rely on self-interest to get the job done. Countries are going to run out of things to burn soon and the last ones ready with renewable energy sources are going to be the ones to experience the most cost and pain. Politicians take note — voters don’t like not being able to heat their homes, cook their dinner or travel around their countries.

UPDATE: Let’s not forget that despite the Kyoto protocol being ‘legally binding’ most countries are way off meeting their Kyoto obligations.

Categories
current affairs

Last night’s Council Meeting on the Core Strategy

Last night saw an epic Full Council meeting in Brighton Town Hall… With about 90 amendments planned to go forward either from various individual parties or collectively from all the opposition parties together. Why so many? Because we were debating the ‘Core Strategy’ which is the document which defines our aims and visions for the city’s built environment over the next 10-15 years. It’s an important document which sets the shape development in the City should take.

All that being said, it’s only a part of the overall planning process, which includes local plans, masterplans for areas, supplementary planning documents and briefs plus the usual application process to the committee. So something being in this Core Strategy doesn’t guarantee that it will happen, but it certainly sets a direction of travel. (An appropriate turn of phrase given that the most contentious section by far was on transport!)

You’ll be relieved to know that I won’t be going through all the amendments here. I’m just going to highlight a few of particular interest to me, I expect others may well also blog their amendments of interest.

It has to be said that the Tories were not best pleased by the prospect of being outvoted by the opposition parties working together. So they kicked off the meeting with some pretty poorly chosen words attacking our joint working as somehow being undemocratic. If we could collectively agree issues and made up more of the council chamber than them, then surely that was exactly how representative democracy is supposed to work!

As was said many times in the long (very long) evening, if the Tories had taken the time and effort to involve the other parties much earlier in the process, many of the amendments might have been avoided — they could have been incorporated through consensus prior to the meeting. As a minority administration I’m astonished they thought they would be able to push through such a critical document without engaging with the other parties.

As the meeting wore on, it dawned on the Tories that they were going to have to get on with the job of collaborative working. Suddenly a 10 minute adjournment was called, which stretched to 90 minutes as the four party leaders went through the amendments and the Tories accepted a good number of them… except some of the critical ones about transport, of course, which they truly seem to be in denial about. Have they not seen the daily traffic jams and dire air quality reports?

Anyway I digress from my pet amendments which were all Green only amendments. They all related to plans for the Brighton Square and Churchill Square Area. In essence the plan is for Standard Life (owner of Churchill Square) to financially support the new Brighton Centre in return for being able to expand their shopping centre. My key amendment asked to delete the plans to add 20,000 square metres of retail space to Churchill Square. I don’t believe such space is needed, especially given the large number of vacant commercial properties across Regency Ward: In Churchill Square, Western Road, North Street, Ship Street etc. We don’t need more large chain stores and the retail study this plan is based on used wildly optimistic growth projections in population and disposable income which are already well out of kilter with reality and official predictions. Furthermore the Core Strategy on this part of the city absolutely fails to even mention residents — people actually live around there!

I was disappointed, but not surprised, to have that amendment ruled unsound by the planners. This meant it couldn’t be voted on because it would render the final document unsound in the eyes of a Government Planning Inspector and so would risk a central government plan being imposed on us instead of our own.

However two ‘sound’ Green amendments to help mitigate the growth of the Churchill carbuncle did get passed. These require additional car movements to be kept to the ‘minimum necessary’ and required ‘high quality public and sustainable transport facilities [to] serve new development’. Furthermore they add that ‘Car trips linked to large scale retail provision will be the minimum necessary.’

I had insisted on our amending language using ‘minimum’ instead of ‘minimise’ which is much softer and easier to talk around in my view. I hadn’t expected cross-party support for those amendments but we got it and they’re now in the Core Strategy. A win for Regency Ward I think.

Thanks to all the amendments we overall have a much better Core Strategy than it would otherwise have been. The process could have been less painful and chaotic on the night if the Tories had thought about their minority position more carefully instead of trying to brazen it out. It will take a Green council administration before we can really get the document where we want it to be though…

PS The Argus’ Andy Chiles has covered this whole affair in recent days here and here plus a centre spread in today’s paper.

Categories
notes from JK

Energy ratings for electric heaters?

There’s a room at the top of our house that gets really cold when the winds get blowing. It’s in a loft conversion, done by previous owners in around 2000. The good folks at Earthwise Construction checked it over and found minimal insulation in the dormer’s walls and roof. There is double glazing but not of a particularly high quality. Making all this good was going to be very expensive and the landlord wasn’t keen.

So I went shopping for an electric heater to help on those particularly cold days. What struck me was the absolute lack of clear labelling or information about the energy efficiency of these products. Looking online and in the usual DIY stores I found very different levels of information on each product. Many used Watts to refer to heat output, some also used Watts to refer to the electrical power usage of the device. Some did one or the other but didn’t specify if these were maximums or averages or something else. Others referred only to BTUs of heat output (that’s British Thermal Units) but not power usage.

Based on my A-level physics level of knowledge I wasn’t able to make easy energy efficiency comparisons between many of the choices. If there is a standard out there which I haven’t unearthed with my Googling, it’s certainly not apparent to the consumer.

Our older housing stock is going to be with us for a long time to come, regardless of whether any Green New Deal of sorts gets implemented. So people are going to need ‘top up’ heating in some rooms at least on colder days. Why not help them make the most efficient choices so they get the most heat per pound spent on electricity? We need a simple clear energy rating system for electric heaters – just like we see for other electrical goods these days.

A similar point is being made about car emissions and fuel efficiency by We Are FutureProof in this video:

Categories
current affairs

Primark Decision Notice: Not holding my breath

This afternoon I received a copy of the decision notice sent by the Council to Primark. The full backstory can be caught up in these previous posts. One minor victory – the cycle parking condition was amended to require that the parking is actually accessible and free from obstruction!

The cycle parking hereby approved shall remain accessible and free from obstruction, and retained for use at all times

In their letter to Primark officers have added as strong a wording — in bold, no less — that they now can, for which I am grateful:

Please be advised that it is necessary to ensure that Primark Stores comply in full with the conditions above. I would particularly like to draw your attention to conditions 3, 4 and 5 which relate to delivery operations and delivery times. Please be advised that it is your responsibility to ensure that all these conditions are complied with at all times. Please ensure that you instruct all delivery drivers/refuse collectors etc. of the terms of these conditions and ensure that they are complied with in full and at all times.


You should be aware that if the requirements of the planning conditions are breached then the Council will have no other option than to pursue formal enforcement action for failure to comply with the terms of the planning approval. This is likely to take the form of a Breach of Conditions Notice (to which there is no right of appeal except in the High Court. The maximum fine upon conviction is £1000 for each and every subsequent offence.)


Finally I would like to state that it is not the intention of any party to be punitive or unnecessarily strict in this matter. It is in the best interests of all parties that the problems experienced on this site are resolved in an efficient and professional manner. In this regards I would like to encourage Primark Stores to liaise closely with the residents in close proximity to the store to ensure that potential and future problems can be avoided. I would also strongly encourage you to ensure that your staff are aware of the importance of compliance with the planning conditions and their responsibility to keep noise and disturbance to an absolute minimum, especially in the rear service yard.

They also did include the informative that some Councillors had requested but I wasn’t sure was passed by the full committee:

Additional Informative:

The applicant is advised that the Planning Committee is of the view that effective engagement and communication should take place with the local community regarding the operation of the store.

I hope that this serves it purpose and that Primark will now engage with their neighbours and reign in their deliveries. However today I heard that Marlborough Street was used for refuse collection, in contravention of their conditions, so I’m not holding my breath!

I’ve copied the full letter below, less the Planning officer’s name.

The Store Manager
Primark Stores Ltd
169-174 Western Road
Brighton
BN1 2BL

Dear Sir / Madam,

Re: Planning application BH2008/01052


As you should be aware planning application BH2008/01052 (Retrospective application for part second/third floor extension to incorporate storage space and staff facilities (amendment to Delivery and Servicing Statement to show a minimum of 6 deliveries per day and none on Sundays and Public Holidays) was approved by the Planning Committee of the Council on 25th November 2009.

The application was approved subject to 8 conditions. These conditions are:

1. All air handling units and plant located on the roof of the premises shall not operate between the hours of 23.00 and 07.00.

Reason: To safeguard the amenities of neighbouring residential occupiers and to comply with policies SU10 and QD27 of the Brighton & Hove Local Plan.

2. Noise associated with plant and machinery incorporated within the development shall be controlled such that the rating level, measured or calculated at 1 metre from the façade of the nearest noise sensitive premises shall not exceed a level of 5dB below the existing LA90 background noise level.  Rating level and existing background noise levels to be determined as per the guidance provided in BS 4142: 1997.

Reason: To safeguard the amenities of neighbouring occupiers and to comply with policies SU10 and QD27 of the Brighton & Hove Local Plan.

3. No vehicle movements nor any loading or unloading of vehicles shall take place between the hours of 20.00 to 08.00.

Reason: To safeguard the amenities of neighbouring occupiers and to comply with policies SU10 and QD27 of the Brighton & Hove Local Plan.

4. No deliveries, including the collection of refuse and recyclable materials, shall be taken at or dispatched from the site except from either the service yard to the rear of the application site accessed from Crown Street only or the front of the site along the designated section of footway in Western Road.

Reason: To safeguard traffic flows along Crown Street and Marlborough Street and not to prejudice highway safety in accordance with policies TR1 and TR7 of the Brighton & Hove Local Plan.

5. No deliveries or unloading of vehicles shall take place on Sundays or Bank or other Public Holidays except using the designated section of footway in Western Road.

Reason: To safeguard the amenities of neighbouring occupiers and to comply with policies SU10 and QD27 of the Brighton & Hove Local Plan.

6. The refuse and recycling storage facilities hereby approved shall be retained for use at all times.

Reason: To ensure the retention of satisfactory facilities for the storage of refuse and recycling and to comply with policies SU2 and QD27 of the Brighton & Hove Local Plan.

7. Access to the flat roof over the extension hereby approved shall be for maintenance or emergency purposes only and the flat roof shall not be used as a roof garden, terrace, patio or similar amenity area.

8. The cycle parking hereby approved shall remain accessible and free from obstruction, and retained for use at all times

Reason: To ensure that the facilities for the parking of cycles are retained and to encourage travel by means other than private motor vehicles and to comply with policy TR14 of the Brighton & Hove Local Plan.

Additional Informative:

The applicant is advised that the Planning Committee is of the view that effective engagement and communication should take place with the local community regarding the operation of the store.

Please be advised that it is necessary to ensure that Primark Stores comply in full with the conditions above. I would particularly like to draw your attention to conditions 3, 4 and 5 which relate to delivery operations and delivery times. Please be advised that it is your responsibility to ensure that all these conditions are complied with at all times. Please ensure that you instruct all delivery drivers/refuse collectors etc. of the terms of these conditions and ensure that they are complied with in full and at all times.


You should be aware that if the requirements of the planning conditions are breached then the Council will have no other option than to pursue formal enforcement action for failure to comply with the terms of the planning approval. This is likely to take the form of a Breach of Conditions Notice (to which there is no right of appeal except in the High Court. The maximum fine upon conviction is £1000 for each and every subsequent offence.)


Finally I would like to state that it is not the intention of any party to be punitive or unnecessarily strict in this matter. It is in the best interests of all parties that the problems experienced on this site are resolved in an efficient and professional manner. In this regards I would like to encourage Primark Stores to liaise closely with the residents in close proximity to the store to ensure that potential and future problems can be avoided. I would also strongly encourage you to ensure that your staff are aware of the importance of compliance with the planning conditions and their responsibility to keep noise and disturbance to an absolute minimum, especially in the rear service yard.

I trust that the above is informative and if I can be of any further assistance or clarification, please do not hesitate to contact me.

Yours faithfully

[A.N. Officer]

Categories
notes from JK

Green response to Waste & Minerals Core Strategy

Today I submitted the Green Group of Councillor’s response to East Sussex and Brighton & Hove’s Waste & Minerals Core Strategy – Preferred Options consultation. In essence this consultation is a request for input on what the officers’ preferred strategies for handling waste and minerals in the area should be.

This strategy is highly dependent on Brighton & Hove’s own Municipal Waste Strategy which was also recently consulted on. It’s still in draft form, we don’t know what the City’s final strategy will look like. This summer we submitted our views on that strategy too.

In my view both of the drafts are deeply lacking in ambition. We could be making serious financial savings as well as reaping major environmental benefits, by a far more aggressive approach to waste. Simple things like garden green waste collections would shift up to 10% of municipal waste into the recycling column.

The Government are slowly beginning to get tougher on waste too… better late than never. They will be offering funds for ‘Zero Waste Areas’ as well as planning to ban certain materials from landfill altogether. We should be jumping onto that – we should have done years ago – again, better late than never!

The Green Group Waste & Minerals response [PDF]

Aiming for Zero Waste: Green Group response to the Municipal Waste Strategy [PDF]

You can view the Waste & Minerals Core Strategy either on the East Sussex Consultation Portal or in there Brighton & Hove Cabinet meeting papers [PDF]. The City’s draft Municipal Waste Strategy can be viewed here.

UPDATE: We didn’t address the issue of land raise specifically in the response, but I want to make clear that we do oppose the proposed introduction of land raise sites for waste disposal — especially in sensitive parts of our countryside as implied by the report.