Bus powers could help TikTok-famous villages deal with problem parking
Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander said the Bus Services (No. 2) Bill, which secured a second reading on Monday, would 'streamline' the franchising process when authorities bid to set up London-style networks, and would better secure 'lifeline routes' elsewhere.
'In part thanks to a TikTok craze to photograph sunset and sunrise over Mam Tor, communities where I live in High Peak have been plagued by illegal parking,' Labour's Mr Pearce told the Commons.
The 517 metre-high hill in Derbyshire has become popular on social media, with several videos filmed at the landmark racking up more than 100,000 likes on TikTok.
Mr Pearce continued: 'I'm co-ordinating a response to these issues with local stakeholders like the Peak park, police and councils, and a key tranche of what we need to do is deliver better bus services that are integrated with local train services.
'This Bill will transfer powers away from Westminster and empower local communities to take decisions necessary for our commuters to get to work, our students to get to college, our vulnerable to access the healthcare they need, and our honeypot villages to manage tourism sustainably.'
Gritting crews were unable to reach a Peak District road near the hill earlier this year after more than 200 cars were double parked on it, according to Derbyshire County Council, and Mr Pearce previously wrote to authorities, when he warned that emergency services had been obstructed.
The Bill would give councils the power to set up franchised bus networks to regulate routes, timetables, fares and vehicle standards, without the need for ministers' permission.
Ms Alexander said the Government is 'fixing the broken' franchising process and told MPs: 'Proposed schemes need to jump through a myriad of hoops and they still require my consent to proceed, which is odd to say the least.
'The idea that I understand more what passengers in Leicestershire or Cornwall need than their local leaders is for the birds. In December, we opened up franchising to every local authority and now through this Bill we will further streamline the process making it simpler for franchise schemes to be granted and assessed.'
Ms Alexander said the franchising model 'won't work everywhere', and added: 'That's why this Bill also strengthens enhanced partnerships and removes the ideological ban on establishing new local authority bus companies.
'Furthermore, by giving local authorities the power to design and pay bus operator grants in their areas, this Bill gives greater protections for socially necessary local services – securing those lifeline routes that keep communities connected.'
Pressed about funding to local authorities for the £3 bus fare cap, Ms Alexander said: 'There is a spending review under way but I can confirm that I fully appreciate the importance of an affordable and accessible bus route.'
Ms Alexander also said the Government will 'press pause' on so-called floating bus stops 'perceived to be poorly designed', amid concerns over accessibility issues and potential hazards for visually impaired people and others.
Liberal Democrat transport spokesman Paul Kohler said the Bill 'rightly lifts the outdated, ideologically driven ban on municipally owned bus companies, empowering local authorities who wish to use it, rather than infantilising them' and added that 'it is not and must not become a one-size-fits-all approach'.
He added: 'Empowering local authorities in law is one thing. Enabling them in practice is quite another.
'Whilst this Bill hands councils a set of keys to a new bus network, it doesn't ensure there's fuel in the tank.'
Conservative shadow transport secretary Gareth Bacon earlier said improvements for passengers 'simply won't happen' without more Treasury money.
He said: 'The Bill does not prioritise passengers and there is nothing in it that guarantees an improvement in service standards.
'The truth is that this Bill appears to be driven by political nostalgia. It is in many ways a thinly veiled attempt to recreate the municipal model of the pre-1986 era without fully considering the financial and operational realities of today.'
The Bill will undergo further scrutiny in the Commons at a later date.
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And if you're looking for an ice-cream maker or mini-oven, we've found that there are other brands that perform better and cost less, so it's worth looking elsewhere.' Like me, Rhianne Crozier has a kitchen full of Ninja appliances. Her love of the brand started six years ago. After she moved into her new home with her husband, her parents gave her a Ninja air fryer as housewarming gift. Now she owns more than 10 Ninja gadgets. They include the Creami, Slushi, the Luxe Café coffee machine (£549.99) – a high-end brewer that allows you to make espressos, cold brews and cafe staples such as lattes and cappuccinos – and the Ninja Speedi multicooker (£229.99), a combined steamer and air fryer designed for one-pot meals. In total, she has spent about £2,000 on Ninja products. The 28-year-old content creator, who shows off her dishes on TikTok under the name Home With Rhianne, has two children. 'I've cooked meals in about 15 minutes. It's great when you've got hungry kids,' she says. 'Before I would stay in the kitchen for hours.' She hasn't touched her pans or oven in months. 'It's more convenient to just put it in, close it, take it out. They're easy to clean afterwards too,' she says. But does the success of Ninja tell us something more uncomfortable about how we live today? Pen Vogler, author of Scoff: A History of Food and Class in Britain, says 'these very speedy innovations' are part of a consumer culture where 'there has to be something new constantly'. My personal journey into Ninja-obsession did start with need. When I moved into my small flat, it was unfurnished. After buying something to sleep on (my bed) and something to watch (my TV), money was too tight to deck out my kitchen with pots, pans and baking trays. Instead, I opted for a Ninja Foodi, which set me back just over £100. It allowed me to sear, pressure-cook and air-fry my food without having to buy loads of extra equipment, and it was much quicker than using the oven. I'm not the only person who struggles for space – one study by the University of Reading found that the living space of the average private renter in Britain shrank from 31 sq metres in 1996 to 25 sq metres in 2017; and families are renting increasingly smaller homes as the cost of living soars. Vogler says that in the Victorian era, living space was also very tight, and cooking gadgets were also enormously popular. She points to Charles Dickens, who in his 1841 novel The Old Curiosity Shop described a silver 'temple' with four chambers. In one, an egg was placed and in another, some coffee was poured. Raw steak and water were put in and, after the machine worked its magic, 'breakfast was ready'. It is, says Vogler, 'like a kind of Victorian air fryer'. A lack of living space means people will 'try to use what technology they have available to answer the problems of how to cook. What Ninja is doing now is just a continuation of something that has been happening for centuries. Technology comes along and it finds a solution to our domestic problems.' What started for me as a solution to a space problem soon became something else. I became obsessed with the Ninja brand, eagerly following its social media to see what device it could bring out to tempt me with next. Recently, however, the shine has worn off. While the Slushi has been a sensation, it lacks many things that have previously sold me on the brand. Yes, it allows you to make slushie drinks and cocktails, but there are major setbacks. It takes at least half an hour to produce a drink, lacks that 'I can see myself using this every day' factor and, most importantly, doesn't seem to have many health advantages, as sugar must be used for most drinks to work in the machine. 'Health is becoming a really important part of our cooking technology,' says Vogler. And Ninja's success has certainly played on our worries about ultra-processed foods. 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'Sometimes you just want to cook something the way it was intended,' she says. That includes being able to watch what's going on. With Ninja appliances, particularly the air fryers and multi-cookers, you end up shoving something in a draw or sealing a lid. For Joo, visibility is key. 'You should be able to see food cooking and changing versus something that you say goodbye to and open up the door once it's ready,' she says. 'You lose control of the cooking process.' And, she says, air fryers will never fully replicate something deep-fried, like chicken. 'It's a compromise,' she says. 'You don't get things as crispy. It's crispy-ish, but it's definitely not the same. You could tell the difference 100%.' For her, nothing quite beats the kitchen classics, particularly the satisfaction of 'getting out a regular pot or pan, drizzling oil, hearing the sizzle and cracking an egg'. The humble frying pan is much more versatile than it's given credit for, considering you can 'glaze, simmer and saute' in it, she says. 'You can't deglaze in an air fryer.'
