Open letter to the Director of Planning and Transport

Dear Mr Trigwell,Following the article in the Chronicle about Stall 36 (Aug 8th) and subsequent letters, many readers have contacted me to ask why the Council is in dispute with us when they see that our stall is not significantly different to many others. When I tell them that you personally have written to me to say that many of the other stalls either do no harm in planning terms, or are freestanding and therefore require no listed building consent, but that you still insist that ours is too enclosed and not sufficiently like an outdoor market stall, they are astonished. When I also explain that several councillors and our MP have all asked you to take enforcement action against us in line with  the Council's own Planning Enforcement Policy, but that you have refused to do this, or to explain with reference to the legislation why you believe I have committed a criminal offence, they shake their heads in utter disbelief.

It is now three years since your staff raised these ridiculous allegations - three years in which you have threatened my livelihood on a daily basis. The time has come to either make your case and carry out enforcement action or admit you and your staff were wrong, and then do the decent thing and resign.

Yours sincerely,
Robert Morgan

Who watches the watchers?

Just received a response to my latest Freedom of Information request from BANES Council, concerning charges made for the provision of planning pre-application advice.


The Government's Guidance on Charging says


Limitation to cost recovery

15. By providing a power to charge for discretionary services the Government’s aim is to
     encourage authorities to provide those sorts of services they would otherwise decide not to
    provide (or improve) at all because they cannot justify or afford to provide them for free or
   to improve them. The aim is not to provide a new source of income for authorities, but to
  allow them to cover their costs.
16. The 2003 Act therefore provides that for each discretionary service for which a charge is
   made using the new power, authorities should be under a duty to secure that, taking one
  year with another, the income from charges for that service does not exceed the costs of
 provision.
17. The requirement to take one year with another recognises the practical difficulties local
   authorities will face in estimating the charges. It establishes the idea of balancing the
  books over a period of time (which may be a number of years – see paragraphs 21-23)
   without having to have detailed prescription either on the face of the Act or in secondary
  legislation. Any over or under recovery that resulted in a surplus or deficit of income in
 relation to costs in one period should be addressed by an authority when setting its charges
for future periods so that over time income equated to costs (see also paragraph 26).

Calculating the Costs of Provision and the Charge

18. Each Authority making use of the new power to charge will need to establish a robust
   methodology for assessing the costs to the authority of providing each discretionary
  service. Authorities are free to decide what methodology they wish to adopt. They may
 however find it helpful to draw on existing and familiar principles as set out in the CIPFA
Best Value Accounting Code of Practice (the Code). One option would be to use the
Code’s definition of Total Cost. As an alternative, authorities may wish to consider adding
 to Total Cost an appropriate contribution for Corporate and Democratic Core (CDC) and
Non-Distributed Costs (NDC), as those terms are defined in the Code, as a part of the
costs of provision.

The guidance (and the text of the Act itself) is quite clear; Authorities may make no more from the charges of providing a service than it actually costs them.

BANES make £150,000 per year from planning pre-application advice, charging £70 per hour.


Here is their response.  They appear to be claiming that "benchmarking" is a robust methodology for setting charges (in other words, ask a few other councils what they are charging and copy them).


Request  
“With reference to this mandatory guidance, please provide me with the information 
that shows how the Council has complied with the Act in respect of the provision of 
Planning pre-application advice, showing the methodology used, and the actual 
calculated costs of delivering the service for each year since the implementation of 
the Act”. 
 
Response  
We believe that we comply with the act. 
 
The Local Government Act says: 

“Calculating the cost of provision and the charge: 18. Each authority making use of the new power to charge will need to establish a
robust methodology for assessing the costs to the authority of providing each
discretionary service. Authorities are free to decide what methodology they wish to
adopt”.
 Charging rates were determined through benchmarking.  We hold information on pre 
application charges i.e. invoices sent, payment received , however no information is 
held which confirms whether the Council has made a surplus or a loss on these 
charges since they were implemented.  
 

This is the same Planning Department that is supposed to be holding us to account if we break the law. In their response they have only quoted part of the guidance, attempting to give it a meaning completely different from that intended by the full text.

Aren't they a bit hypocritical?

Planning Dispute with Bath and North East Somerset Council

Here's the text of an article that appeared in the Bath Chronicle recently.  It only tells part of the story.  Scroll down to the bottom to read more of the real facts..

http://www.bathchronicle.co.uk/Bath-market-stall-holder-s-year-battle-Guildhall/story-19599986-detail/story.html

Bath market stall holder's three-year battle Guildhall pitch

By Bath Chronicle

Thursday, August 01, 2013

  FOLLOW  

                        A market stall holder claims to have been treated unfairly by council officials.

Skin care specialist Robert Morgan, who runs the Aranais stall in the Guildhall Market with his wife Anna, has been locked in a planning battle with Bath and North East Somerset Council since he took a lease at the market three years ago.

1. ​
   Robert Morgan in his Aranais Stall in the Guildhall Market

He has taken his complaint to the Local Government Ombudsman and met B&NES cabinet member Ben Stevens.

Mr Morgan moved into the Guildhall Market, which is run by the council, in 2010 and was told he would need listed building consent for any work he wanted to do to his stall. He produced a design but this was rejected by officers, and at a planning appeal, amid objections from English Heritage.

Mr Morgan was then advised that if he built a free-standing structure he would not need consent. He claims he proceeded to adapt his stall but partway through the work council officials demanded he stop and dismantle what he had built because the structure was not free-standing enough.

Mr Morgan has accused B&NES of being inconsistent, unsure of its own planning policies and deliberately obstructive.

"My stall is no different to any others – the windows and panelling are not attached to the frame – but the council are trying to argue because it would take three days to dismantle and would involve damaging the existing frame it's not free-standing."

Mr Morgan said his requests for the application to be taken to development control committee were refused.

A spokesman for the council said: "The council discussed options with Mr Morgan and agreed a solution involving free-standing cabinets and a counter which would not require any consent.

"However, the work which has taken place is more extensive than what was originally discussed to the point where listed building consent is required. The work is very similar to the proposals that were contained in the refused listed building application in April 2010."

A spokesman for the council said it did not believe it had treated Mr Morgan unfairly and stood by its planning decisions.

He said: "The council wants to support a vibrant, prosperous Guildhall Market for all traders. However, the businesses that take out a lease in the market must observe national planning law."

The Facts

Most stalls in the market have been altered without Listed Building Consent.

I was told I had to pay for pre-application advice from the Council and pay £70 per hour.
This charge is illegal, Under the Local Government Act 2003 the Council may only cover its costs for providing a service like this, and it must be able to show that year-on-year it does not make a profit from the service.

The Listed Building Application made to the Council number 10/00564/LBA was refused, mainly on the grounds that it would create too much of a formal shopfront style that would be less open in style than many others in the market.

In previous correspondence the Council Officer stated her view that the market should “retain the character of an outdoor market”' This is not a reasonable statement because the market was designed and built as an indoor market, opening in 1863.

Opening Day 1863

Marks and Spencer Penny Bazaar around 1900

Architecturally and historically, the market has always had some enclosed stalls that resemble shopfronts with upper glazed windows and the goods displayed in the opening lower half – that's how it was designed.

It is true that English Heritage sent a comment cited by the officer in her decision saying that they believed that market stalls should be open, but when challenged later on this the EH officer admitted she was merely repeating back information provided by Bath officers.

Even now, Stall 36 is one of the few that are fully wheelchair accessible. When Google came to take 360 degree photos Stall 36 was the only one open enough for them to take photos inside, so to say it is less “open” than others is ridiculous.

English Heritage were not consulted in the appeal – the Inspector rejected the appeal (APP/F0114/E/10/2139717 ) because of a line in the Statutory Listing (version published in October 2010, so not valid at the time of the application) which said “Council Presently trying to restore uniformity to design of stalls.” I tried to find out via Freedom of Information Requests, and ultimately by appeal as far as the Information Commissioner, who had inserted this line and when, but no-one at English Heritage or BANES had any record. English Heritage subsequently agreed that the line was inappropriate and it has now been removed from the listing

The stall as built now is similar in some aspects of design to the one that was refused. However, the main differences are the ones that mean it is not subject to the Listed Building legislation. The current structure does not “alter or extend the building” and does not affect any historical or architectural features. We know this because the Council commissioned an independent expert to carry out a historical survey.

The Council has just spent £500,000 on developing the co-working hub in the old Council Connect Offices – part of the Grade 1 Listed Guildhall. No Listed Building consent was required for this project because no architectural or historical features were affected.

The Council has spent £30,000 in officer time over the last 3 years in accusing me of being a criminal. I have repeatedly asked them to explain what laws I have broken and why they believe that to be so. I have asked that they apply the Council's own Planning Enforcement Policy to determine whether or not I have committed an offence but they refuse to do so. I have sent them the government's own guidance notes which explain how to determine if an offence has been committed under the Listed Building Legislation.

Council Officers, on the other hand, have refused to comply with the Council's own Enforcement Policy and Complaints Procedure. They have made repeated claims that I have contravened the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990, but have refused to give details. They have contravened the Freedom of Information Act by refusing to provide information when requested, and they have contravened the Human Rights Act by denying me a fair and timely trial for the criminal accusations they have made. They have also, as mentioned above, contravened the Local Government Act 2003.

A complaint was raised in respect of another market stall in 2006. This was investigated by a senior officer of the Council. One of its findings was that Planning and Property Services should work together to create proper plans for the market, so that stallholders would know what was or was not permitted in terms of stall development. The report also pointed out that it was inconsistent and unreasonable of the Council to make it difficult for stallholders to obtain Listed Building consent, but then to take no enforcement action against stallholders who made no attempt to obtain Listed Building consent. English Heritage also issue official Guidance to councils on managing Listed Buildings they own that again states that Council's should have conservation management plans for each building. Bath has no such plans for the Guildhall Market.

The Council's attitude has been completely unreasonable.  After three years they have failed to explain why they believe the stall as built is subject t Listed Building legislation, and they refuse to take the steps that would prove the issue one way or the other.

We are complimented time and again by visitors on how nice the stall looks.  People are generally amazed when we tell them that the Council find out stall unacceptable, particularly when they look at others nearby that the Council has said are perfectly acceptable.

If you think the Council are being unreasonable then we urge you to write to the Chief Executive or Councillors and put your views.

Chief Executive

B&NES Council

The Guildhall

High Street

Bath

BA1 5AW

Leader of the Council

Paul Crossley

B&NES Council

The Guildhall

High Street

Bath

BA1 5AW

paul_crossley@bathnes.gov.uk

A full list of Councillors can be found at http://democracy.bathnes.gov.uk/mgMemberIndex.aspx?bcr=1. 

Helpful or Harmful - Decoding Cosmetics Labels

originally given as a talk at Bath Royal Literary and Scientific Institute

There are known knowns; 

there are things we know that we know.

There are known unknowns;

 that is to say there are things that, we now know we don't know.

But there are also unknown unknowns

– there are things we do not know, we don't know.

US Secretary of Defence Donald Rumsfeld speaking in 2002 

Donald Rumsfeld was talking about the problems of knowing whether the Iraq had weapons of mass destruction, but the same principle applies to many areas of knowledge.  The more we think we know about the human body, the more we find out how much we don't know.

Nefertiti was Queen of Egypt around 1500 BC.  Sometimes described as the most beautiful woman of all time, she used cosmetics made from animal and plant oils, fragranced with herbs, to protect the skin against the sun and wind.

The black kohl, used as a traditional eyeliner, contained lead chlorides.  Recent research by French researchers has shown that these compounds would have been very effective against eye infections, so the cosmetics may have offered health benefits as well.





Fashions change, and in the time of Queen Elizabeth I, pale skin was fashionable.  Unfortunately, the white lead used to create the 'look' was poisonous, and often led to skin problems, madness and infertility.



Today, in the 21st century, we know better - or do we?  The latest fad in New York is the so-called "Geisha Facial"  which is a mask made from Nightingale droppings, and in Spain they use Caracoles - Snail Slime - as a cosmetic ingredient.  Many products on sale in the UK, even some that are medically licensed,  are made with white paraffin or mineral oil, or contain known irritants such as SLS (Sodium Lauryl Sulphate).  Mercury is banned in cosmetics in the US and the EU, but it is still used, mainly as a skin lightener in Mexico and some Asian countries.

In the EU, the manufacture and Sale of Cosmetics is governed by the Cosmetics Regulations.  A cosmetic is defined as

"any substance or preparation intended to be placed in contact with the various external parts of the human body (epidermis, hair system, nails, lips and external genital organs) or with the teeth and the mucous membranes of the oral cavity with a view exclusively or mainly to cleaning them, perfuming them, changing their appearance, correcting body odours, protecting them, or keeping them in good condition except where such cleaning, perfuming, protecting, changing, keeping or correcting is wholly for the purpose of treating or preventing disease."

We can see that this definition covers must products used for skin and body care, except those having a primarily medical (treatment or prevention of disease) function.  If the main purpose of the product is to change the appearance, protect or keep in good condition then it still qualifies as a cosmetic.

Cosmetic products must be labelled in a particular way.  The regulations say

"Cosmetics must be labelled with a list of ingredients in descending order of weight.

Each ingredient must be identified by the name provided for in the International Nomenclature of Cosmetic Ingredients (INCI) or in the absence of such identification, by its chemical name, its European Pharmacopoeia name, its International Non-proprietary name (INN) as recommended by the World Health Organisation, its EINECS, ELINCS or CAS identification reference or its colour index number"

This is why cosmetics have a long list of pseudo-latin names.  These are usually the INCI official names for products.  Unfortunately, there is no requirement for suppliers to say whether the ingredients are natural or synthetic.

There is also a list of 26 substances that must be included in the list if the concentration exceeds .001% in products that are left on the skin, or ,01% in products that are rinsed off.  In this list of 26 are components of some essential oils such as linalool and limonene. The organisation Cropwatch claims that these 26 substances cause so little chance of allergic reaction that there is negligible risk to humans. They claim that the sponsors of the legislation have agree to review the requirement for this labelling, whereas another story recently claims that the list is to be extended to include over 100 substances.

What would certainly seem to be true is that substances such as Sodium Lauryl Sulphate (SLS), parabens, paraffin, and aluminium, all approved cosmetic ingredients, are far more likely to do you harm than these 26 compounds.

The message is:  Read the label carefully.

There are a number of lists on the web suggesting some of the worst cosmetics ingredients in general use:

http://thegreenbeautyguide.com/100-ingredients-to-avoid-download/

http://www.organicbeautytalk.com/ingredients-to-avoid

http://feelgoodstyle.com/ingredients-to-avoid/

Recession Causes Increase in Skin Problems

Article originally published in InBath magazine.

As if the recession on its own wasn't enough to worry about, now comes the news that skin problems like eczema and psoriasis have dramatically increased. At the recent conference of the British Association of Dermatologists, nine out of ten dermatologists reported a significant rise in the number of cases of Eczema and Psoriasis, and this is on top of the two- to five-fold rise in incidence over the  last 30 years.

Eczema, Psoriasis and Dermatitis are common names for a range of conditions that cause the skin to become itchy and inflamed. Often triggered by chemicals or allergens, they cause misery to thousands of sufferers.

Outbreaks are often brought on or made worse by stress, and dermatologists believe that it is the stress many are experiencing because of the recession that has caused this latest increase in cases.

Modern medical treatments include aqueous and steroid creams but these have their disadvantages. Aqueous cream contains the known irritant Sodium Lauryl Sulphate (SLS); a study at the University of Bath showed that this cream thins healthy skin by 10%. Steroid creams also thin the skin and cause the collagen to be degraded, weakening the underlying tissues.  They can suppress the immune system and lead to skin infections.

Many commercially-produced creams contain mineral oil or white paraffin, both petroleum by-products. These seal the skin, and ultimately reduce the skin’s ability to self moisturise.. Medical treatments for Acne include the powerful drug Roaccutane. This has over 40 known side effects,
including hair loss, Eczema, dry  skin, nosebleeds, tendinitis, anaemia, and hearing loss.

Parabens, used as preservatives in many products, have been found to increase the ageing effect of UV from the sun. They also mimic the effect of oestrogen in the body, and can cause hormonal imbalances in both men and women.

Bath-based natural skin care company Earth's Wisdom adopts a different approach. By providing the skin cells with the right combination of natural vitamins and nutrients, the body is encouraged to heal itself.

Developed over the last five years, and now exported worldwide, the company's products are the first choice for those who want a natural solution, with no side-effects, to their skin problems.

Robert Morgan, the owner of the company and its chief product developer, says “Our products act
differently to medical treatments.  Instead of focusing on the symptoms of the problem, our creams containing pure essential oils and natural plant extracts provide a rich cocktail of nutrients and healing compounds. This enables the body to re-establish for itself its own proper function and to prevent the secondary infections and inflammations that can make life miserable for sufferers."

The company sells a selection of products to help the skin respond to a range of common complaints such as Psoriasis, Acne, Rosacea, scars and bruises, and sensitive skin. Robert says that more than half of his customers have problems with their skin. “It's not surprising that our skin has trouble coping – the modern world is full of pollutants and chemicals that our bodies have not had the chance to evolve to deal with, and our modern diet means that we are short of nutrients the body needs. The more we can help our skin the longer we can keep it healthy.”

All the products are made using cool process techniques , to maximise the benefit of the natural ingredients. Our customers keep telling us that they are amazed how effective our products are, from therapeutic skin creams, to moisturisers, to deodorants and hair washes.

Earth’s Wisdom products are hand made in Bath from natural ingredients. All fragrancing is done with pure essential oils, chosen as much for their therapeutic benefits as for their scent. Every ingredient is carefully selected for specific functions.

We asked Victoria Maplesden who suffers with particularly dry skin on her hands, to try the Comfrey and Calendula skin cream. She had tried so many different lotions and creams in the past but felt nothing had ever really worked. “What I liked about the product was the fact that it is made entirely from natural ingredients, I applied it overnight and found that my skin was so much better by the next morning. The redness and dryness was significantly improved, I found it worked fast and effectively in
such a short period of time, and I was so pleased to have finally found a product that actually works and doesn't irritate my skin even more. I will certainly be recommending the Comfrey and  Calendula skin cream to others “.


All the company's products are available for sale at their shop Aranais, located in Bath's historic

Guildhall Market, or from their website. Anyone interested in learning more about natural products and ingredients, or about harmful preservatives or ingredients please contact Robert Morgan who will be happy to explain and advise.

Information is readily available on our website
www.aranais.co.uk.

Dry Skin in Winter

Cold Air

When it gets cold, exposed skin tends to get dry.  It becomes itchy and uncomfortable, and  it can crack and become damaged.

The main reason is that cold air can not contain as much moisture as warm air.  As soon as cold air is warmed, by contact with the skin for example, the relative humidity of the air goes down, and the air becomes dry.  The same thing happens with central heating.  Cold air is warmed by the radiators, and this reduces the relative humidity, so the air becomes dry.  Dry air will absorb moisture from anywhere it can, including from the surface of any exposed skin, and this is why the skin becomes dry.

When the skin is too dry, it can't function as well.  Healthy skin needs a constant supply of oxygen and nutrients, and it needs to rid itself of toxins.  None of these processes can work properly if there is not enough moisture in the skin.

The problem is worse when the skin is cold.  The body tries to minimise heat loss by closing down blood vessels near the surface .  This restricts the supply of moisture and nutrients, so the skin is not replenished.

It is difficult to put moisture back into the skin directly.  One function of the skin is to act as a waterproof outer layer, and the oils in the skin repel moisture if it is in liquid form.  If you take a long soak in the bath, the skin of the hands and feet does go wrinkly, it is true, but this effect is caused by the keratin in the dead outer layers absorbing water.  The keratin layer expands and it is this expansion that causes the wrinkles.  Particularly if a chemical soap or detergent is used, natural oils are removed from skin, and the moisture absorbed by the keratin soon evaporates, leaving the skin drier than before.

There are three main strategies for avoiding the problems associated with dry skin - avoidance, nutrition, and replacement.

Avoidance

Not always possible, one way of avoiding dry skin is to avoid exposing the skin to conditions that may cause it.  This means wearing gloves to protect the hands on cold dry days, and protecting the face with a hood or scarf.

Nutrition

If the body is well nourished, and the circulatory system is working well, then any moisture losses from the surface of the skin can be more easily replaced.  It is important to maintain fluid intake in cold dry weather, and also to make sure that the diet contains the full range of omega-3, -6,and -9 oils. Many modern dies are deficient in omega-3 oils, which can be obtained from oily fish and olive oil.  They help to keep the skin hydrated and to reduce the rate at which water evaporates from the surface.

Replacement

As we have seen, it is very difficult to replace moisture by applying it as a liquid.  A steamy shower works somewhat better than a bath as the water vapour in the steam permeates into the skin more easily without stripping out the natural oils in the way that a bath does.  Better still is to apply moisture to the skin in a way that is more easily absorbed, and to do this it needs to be emulsified with oil. This is what good creams and lotions are - emulsions of oil and water.  The skin is much more permeable to an oil and water emulsion than water or water vapour alone, and research shows that the presence of sesquiterpenes, key parts of essential oils, can increase the permeability of the skin by a factor of 50.  The oil/water emulsion carries into the skin any other ingredients in the cream, and provides another route for nutrients to enter the body.

The Problem with Petroleum

Many people use Vaseline and similar products to prevent the skin drying out.  Petroleum jelly, of which Vaseline is one brand, was developed by the oil drilling industry to lubricate drill shafts cutting through rock.  The workers started applying it to their skins, and found that it stopped their skins drying out.  Unfortunately, that's all it does.  It seals the surface of the skin, and stops it breathing.  The body soon becomes dependent on the layer of Vaseline to seal in moisture, and becomes dryer as soon as the Vaseline is removed.  It's much better to use a product that is absorbed into the skin and supports the skin's own natural function, than one that suffocates it.