Christmas and New Year – a time of goodwill and peace on earth.

New Year’s Eve is usually a time to reflect on the year that has passed and the year that will follow, and locally, Bath and North East Somerset

Conservatives have been doing so, accusing the ruling administration’s 2021 performance as ‘hapless and embarrassing’.

Opposition Councillors say the Lib Dem-run Council needs to get its house in order if it is to win back the trust of residents in 2022.

In a release sent to the local press, Bath and North East Somerset Conservatives say ‘the past year has seen a number of poor policy decisions and avoidable mistakes. We have also seen unnecessary public squabbling among current and former members of the Cabinet.

‘This year, congestion has dramatically increased across Bath, especially at weekends, with one driver reporting an eight-minute journey taking three hours. Alarmingly, the chaos on Bath’s roads has been welcomed by the Lib Dems, with the administration arguing that traffic disruption is needed to force

people to change their driving habits.

‘The repair work to Cleveland Bridge, which bega7n in May and was

initially meant to take four months to complete, still isn’t finished and relationships have soured between the Council and neighbouring authorities, which means finding a long-term traffic solution has been more difficult.’

The Lib Dems have hit back, saying that claims they ‘welcomed’ traffic disruption for any reason “is a clear example of

deliberately devisive ‘fake news’. Bath’s road network is at 95% capacity, so it only takes a small change to cause disruption”, they say. In response to Cleveland Bridge, the Lib Dems said ‘the political leadership of the Council has no bearing on the physical condition of the bridge’ and that as work progressed, more deterioration was uncovered, causing long delays to the project.

Local Conservatives have also been publicly critical of Anti-Terrorism Regulation Orders, dubbed ‘the Ring of Steel’. The Tories say the Council have pressed ahead with the plans, despite pleas from residents and businesses. A public inquiry is now set to be held in the Spring after a business owner objected to the order.

In their 2021 summary, the Conservatives also claim that plans for the ‘inner zone’ were revealed at the December Cabinet meeting as not initiated by Avon and Somerset Police – something the Lib Dems deny as untrue. Conservatives add: ‘Cabinet infighting over the Ring of Steel has been played out in full public view, with Cllr Kevin Guy and Cllr Dine Romero exchanging petty blows in the local press.’

The pursual of Low Traffic Neighbourhoods, despite other local authorities removing them after finding them problematic, the cancellation of a full Christmas Market in the city and the Green Park car park re-opening have also been criticised, with the Tories saying the car park only opened after a campaign by local residents and Conservative Councillors.

The Lib Dems reply that the reason they are pressing ahead with Liveable Neighbourhoods is because they have created a unique ‘co-design’ process to involve residents in the preparation of schemes, which they say will ‘ensure a careful approach’ to help avoid problems that have caused ‘a small number of Councils to remove similar schemes’.

They have blamed the Christmas Market cancellation on the ‘double whammy’ of Brexit and Covid ‘which meant that staff needed to run the event safely could not be recruited and supply lines and Covid uncertainties affected traders’ confidence.’

The decision to scale back, they say, was taken as soon as practicable and before money was taken from stallholders. The Council says it still managed to put on a festive programme, despite the issues.

The Lib Dems also added that the Green Park car park was completed early and opened to the public as soon as possible.

But the Conservatives were not done – and argue that the Council should be ‘embarrassed’ following several appearances in a national publication. They say: ‘to top it all off, barely a month has gone by this year without the administration appearing in the ‘Rotten Boroughs’ section of Private Eye magazine.’

Cllr Vic Pritchard, Leader of the Conservative Group on Bath and North East Somerset Council, said: “I hope members of the current administration look back at their performance over the past twelve months and find the courage to be honest in their evaluations.

“They have done very little to make us feel proud of where we live, but plenty to embarrass us. They have antagonised residents, ignored legitimate concerns about controversial policies, called each other names in the local press and sought to hide from scrutiny whenever possible.

“Even as the Leader of the opposition, I want this administration to succeed. Because if they succeed, Bath and North East Somerset succeeds. But their record over the past year tells us only one thing – they are failing, and it’s residents who will suffer.

“As we head into 2022, one thing is crystal clear – B&NES deserves better.”

Responding to the comments, Lib Dem Leader, Councillor Kevin Guy, told The Journal: “2021 has been an exceptionally busy year for B&NES Council.

“As the Lib Dem administration, we are determined to be an open, listening Council, delivering outstanding services to our residents. We’re proud to have delivered record-breaking recycling rates, the first Clean Air Zone in the country (outside London), and continuing sound financial management. We’ve also been working hard towards building the first new Council housing in B&NES for a generation, establishing the first Liveable Neighbourhoods and sustainable transport schemes and adopting new planning policies to respond to the Climate and Nature Emergency.

“Covid-19 has, and continues to have, a significant impact on Council finances, workloads, recruitment and staff. The pandemic has meant new responsibilities and financial pressures for Councils. Nevertheless, we have protected vital services on which residents rely, worked closely with local care and health services, and provided welfare support for the most vulnerable in our area.

“Unlike the Conservatives, we have balanced the books every year and avoided wasteful vanity projects costing millions.

“This month’s Keynsham Town Council by-election result, with a win for Lib Dem candidate, Alex Beaumont, was an endorsement of the Lib Dem approach to working for our communities.

“By contrast, the Conservative Councillors have spent their year talking B&NES down, playing politics and misleading residents.

“This is not what people want to see from their local Councillors.”