The Year Ahead Part Two (South Suffolk).

On the whole there were few surprises at Babergh in 2011, and so most of my predictions turned out to be correct.  It is, of course, a lot easier to look ahead at what will happen here in Suffolk than to try to forecast outcomes in the wider world!

As anticipated, in the District Elections that took place in May, Babergh Conservatives did indeed emerge as the largest Group, but, needing 5 extra seats, still do not have an overall majority .  The Labour Party increased their group by two, largely at the expense of the Liberal Democrats, although we too lost a seat to them.  The ‘bright new candidates’ identified last year did indeed do well, and we are happy to have welcomed five new faces to our ranks.

I did not try to predict the result of the public poll, held to decide whether or not Babergh should go for a full merger with Mid Suffolk, but as I suggested, significant steps forward have been made towards integrating our services under our new joint CEO, Charlie Adan.

Financial pressures continue, and discussions about the budget have dominated discussion in 2011, and indeed are expected to do so in 2012.

Following the change of Government in 2010, Babergh had to revise its new Development Framework, and a consultation was held on the new core strategy towards the end of the year.

So what does the year ahead promise for Babergh?

Firstly, the process of integration of our activities with Mid Suffolk District Council will continue.  Some new faces will appear among the ranks of the officers, and some familiar ones will, sadly, disappear.  The energy and commitment of all concerned will be rewarded and I think (and very much hope) that we will be surprised at the extent of productivity improvement, with commensurate savings, that we see.

Secondly, there will be no relief from the constant need to review costs and charges.  I expect the debate with regard to the ‘right way’ to bridge the budget shortfall to continue and to become more intense as options available to councillors become clearer.   Some uncertainties with regard to changes in funding from Central Government should be resolved;   I suspect that we can anticipate a potential boost to funds from both the right to keep rates from newly created businesses, and also from higher fees for planning applications.  Unfortunately these will not actually amount to much in the current economic environment.

Of most interest to residents are, firstly, whether we decide to continue to allow short term car parking in Hadleigh and Sudbury to remain ‘free’ (at the point of use!), and secondly whether we decide to take money from the Government for a second year and freeze the level  of council tax. Making a prediction on either of these points is very difficult, but if I absolutely have to do so, I would expect that the status quo will prevail (no charging for short term car parking, and no increase in Council Tax).   There is a high level of uncertainty surrounding these issues however, and my guesses above should not be taken as my own opinion on the subjects!

I hope to see the officers and councillors engaging more with their local communities to try to find ways of saving money through partnership.  A good deal of lip service has been paid to this process in 2011, but precious little progress has been made, as witnessed articles in the Free Press with regard to Car Parks and Loos!  Now that the new council has settled in , some leadership from Members is needed here!

Thirdly, responses to the Babergh Development Framework’s Core Strategy will be considered, revised as necessary, and come to a vote.  I fear that the document’s  unbalanced  ‘job lead’ bias will remain in place, as councillors are influenced by the current economic downturn and Central Government dictats with regard to economic growth at any price.  It seems that prosperity has to come before community and the environment.

Against this background,  I believe that we shall begin to see some poor planning decisions in the District, which will be regretted for many years to come,  undermine the area’s attractions,  and ultimately do little to resolve the UK’s, or the District’s economic difficulties.

Urban sprawl outside Burton on Trent

  

 The knee jerk reaction to problems is the greatest weakness of local democracy.