Local Government Review update

We have today been brought up to date by officers with regard to the ongoing Local Government Review.

The timetable has already been upset by a series of judicial reviews from councils in Norfolk and Devon, where antipathy to the scheme seems much more vehement than here in Suffolk. We will probably not now hear from the lovely Hazel Blears until March, which leaves very little time to cancel the County Council elections in June. I understand that an order has to be made by 23 April at the latest. Elections to the new unitary, or more probably, unitaries will probably take place in April or May 2010.

Some people are clearly of the view that due to the potential for further delay, the process will not after all go ahead, and the status quo will be maintained. While feeling pleased at one level since Babergh will be saved and my term of office will not be cut short by a year, at another I feel that it would be wrong to stop the process now. A huge amount of time has been invested by both councillors and officers looking at the financial case for the establishment of unitary arrangements in the county. It also remains true that a small authority like Babergh will struggle to deliver services in a cost efficient way in the longer term.

The best bet remains that the outcome will be two unitaries, as originally suggested by the Boundary Committee. However, the message from the financial assessments seems to be that the main difference will be that Lowestoft will remain in Suffolk, which rather undermines the rural/urban distinction underpinning the Committee's thinking.

Another factor that could be taken into account by the Government is the current economic downturn. Is it really sensible to undertake an exercise that is bound to cause job losses and possible service disruption at a time when unemployment is rising and people are feeling pretty miserable? Probably not, but this Government isn’t really known for its common sense.

Access to the Countryside

Some councillors at Babergh sit on a lot of ‘outside bodies’ in order to represent the Council’s interests. John Sayers for example, sits as the Council’s representative on the Trustee Board of Citizens Advice. As a new councillor I wasn’t considered for one of these posts after the election, but now I do have an additional role! I am one of two District Councillor representatives on the Suffolk Local Access Forum and I attended my first meeting in Kesgrave yesterday evening.
The Forum advises the County Council on matters such as open access to common land and rights of way. It aims to improve and extend footpaths and bridle paths, and has a particular brief to look after ‘non motorised users’ of roads and pathways.
When I saw the role advertised I decided to go for the position because I am very keen on keeping rights of way open, and where possible creating new ones. The English countryside is such a great asset and I am pleased to say that many of the people on the Forum share my interest in conservation and protection of the rural environment.
The meeting was really interesting, ranging from consideration of exclusion orders to prevent dogs from disturbing Suffolk’s nesting stone curlews (pictured above) to the creation of a definitive map of footpaths in Ipswich.
The most dramatic item on the agenda concerned the Forum’s struggle with the Highways Agency in respect of the ‘dualling’ of the A11 near Thetford. The Agency in its wisdom is at present proposing a nine mile stretch of dual carriageway without one safe crossing for pedestrians or horses. This is despite the fact that several major footpaths cross the road. The Chairman of the Forum, with the support of representatives from Suffolk County Council and the British Horse Society, are meeting the Agency shortly to discuss the matter. If a negotiated solution cannot be achieved a formal objection will be lodged which could result in a costly and drawn out Public Enquiry and delay the construction of this important project.
Fascinating stuff! I have to admit that at present I have little but enthusiasm to offer the Forum. However, I do expect to learn quite a lot which should be of use when it comes to considering related issues here in South Suffolk.

Blogging on

(A bit of a political blog, so the sensitive should look away now)

Just before Christmas I discovered that I am not the only Babergh Councillor with a blog!

Liberal Democrat and prospective parliamentary candidate for South Suffolk, Nigel Bennett, started his own site in December. The blog is VERY political, but I suppose it has to be since it is overtly promoted by his political party. It’s also quite boring. Come on Nigel....let’s have some sparkling prose, a few bright ideas to get our teeth into and perhaps a few up to date pictures!

In the spirit of friendship towards Nigel, who is actually a decent chap despite his unfortunate politics, I am giving you, my readers, the link so you can see for yourself

http://nigelbennett.mycouncillor.org.uk/

Don’t forget to ‘Bookmark’ it so you can keep up to date with the zeitgeist!

Anyway Local Liberal Democrats aren’t the only people who are turning their attention to the blog as a means of communication. The Labour Government has been giving them some consideration too, and it is clear that they don’t much like them.

Their antipathy is due to the fact that blogs reach parts that their spin machine (now back in overdrive after the rehabilitation of Lord Mandy and Alistair Campbell) can’t . The ‘message’ that they want to convey is thus increasingly diluted and undermined , and, horror of horrors, CANNOT BE CONTROLLED. The Government, who are control freaks par excellence, would therefore dearly love to crack down on blogs.

This was made apparent by Culture Secretary, Andy Burnham who, when speaking to the Royal Television Society last October said "The time has come for perhaps a different approach to the internet," he said. "I want to even up that see-saw, even up the regulation [imbalance] between the old and the new." He added that he would like to ‘tighten up online content and services and ‘lighten up’ some regulatory burdens around the TV industry’. Other Government Ministers have also made comments which can be read as veiled threats against blogging.

Perhaps this is in part due to the fact that blogs from the Right, such as Guido Fawkes, Conservative Home and Spectator Coffee House have been so much more successful than those of the Left. I don’t know anyone who has stayed awake long enough to read more than a few words of the Labour Home site. A new Labour website, Labour List, is to be launched shortly, but since this will be actually controlled by the Party I can’t believe it will be better.

And what about the Lib Dems? I was going to point to a Liberal website, which according to Guido Fawkes ‘shows promise’, but when I turned to it today the current post was so risqué that I decided against it!

Better ignore that one Nigel!

Frosty Pictures

Some pictures of the recent frosty weather for readers of the blog in warmer climes!

It has warmed up a little now, but there were some lovely sights earlier in the week.

Electrification of Little Waldingfield

Before Christmas a number of people in Little Waldingfield got in touch with me because of proposals by EDF to re-position an electricity sub-station on the small green adjacent to Croft Lea on the main street of the village. The site is pictured above.
The Parish Council, along with a number of villagers, have reservations about this and I have to say that I share their concerns. It doesn’t seem appropriate to clutter this pleasant green space, right in the centre of the village and on the main road, with what is effectively industrial equipment.
The land in question is actually owned by Babergh, and I am currently in correspondence with the relevant officers. EDF have to some extent sweetened the pill by saying that since the substation will be fed underground it will be possible to remove the overhead lines that cross the street at this point. This will to some extent improve the appearance of this part of the village, but is this a sufficient trade off?
The rules that govern this proposal are different to those related to planning permission for housing development etc. and I am currently ascertaining who actually makes the decision and what right of appeal is available to objectors.

Help for firms in trouble

Very sadly the most recent victim of the current financial downturn is Fleetwood Caravans who, until yesterday, operated from Hall Street, Long Melford. It is understood that some 60 people will probably lose their jobs, some of whom have worked for the company for many years.

Babergh can take some action to alleviate the situation for employees in cases such as this. The Council is part of the Suffolk Redundancy Network (SRN), an East of England Development Agency-funded partnership which includes local councils, Jobcentre Plus, enterprise agencies and local training providers. SRN provides support to individual being made redundant.

Despite the fact that Babergh met with the Managing Director of Fleetwood before Christmas there was no indication that the situation was as dire as it clearly was, and no contact was made with the Council ahead of yesterday’s announcement that the company was going into administration. This means that it is now probably impossible to hold large meetings of Fleetwood’s workforce to explain what help is available. Nonetheless the administrators will be contacted in due course to see what can be arranged.

If your business is struggling don’t leave it until it is almost too late to contact Babergh for help for those threatened with redundancy. You can either call Colin Spence or myself , who will pass your concerns on in complete confidence, or call Sue Dawes, Economic Development Technical Officer, on (01473) 825868 or sue.dawes@babergh.gov.uk. Further information is available on Babergh’s website.

As the experience of Fleetwood Caravans unfortunately demonstrates, early contact is vital in these cases to ensure maximum support can be offered to any workers laid-off.

The Year Ahead

When I worked as an investment analyst at this time of the year I used to have to write a ‘year ahead’ piece in which I would try to predict what was going to happen to my group of companies over the next 12 months.
Luckily these exercises in crystal ball gazing were generally taken with something of a pinch of salt, but since old habits die hard I thought I would have a stab at some predictions for 2009, so here goes:-
Firstly, I think that, despite the worsening economic situation, the Boundary Committee’s plans for Unitary councils going forward will be confirmed. My best guess is that the 2 unitary option will be chosen by Hazel Blears (although if she really wanted to save money she would go for One Suffolk).
Secondly, in part due to the above, the Belle Vue controversy will quietly fade away in the short term at least. It is unlikely however that this underperforming, publicly owned, asset will be allowed to remain undisturbed forever.
Thirdly I think that Bretts will decide to appeal against the second refusal of Planning permission for a quarry at Chilton. They will lose however since for once common sense will prevail!
Fourthly, the Sudbury Car Parking row will rumble on and gradually die. Most of the most egregious mistakes have now more or less been addressed. The lack of long term car parking provision in Sudbury that has been revealed by the exercise will become less apparent as the economic recession bites and there is less demand for spaces. Car Parking charges will not be introduced in 2009.
Finally Babergh will set Council Tax increases at between 2 and 3 percent, which will be higher than the rate of inflation. (Too high in my opinion, but, as mentioned on the blog at the end of 2008, the Council is suffering some cost pressures that are peculiar to itself)
In the world outside Babergh my main concern is that in the current economic climate charities are likely to find it very difficult to attract adequate funding. Some may be forced to close and others to cut back their activities. I am very concerned about this, and hope that all who can will continue to support their favourite good causes. The situation is not improved by the amount of lottery money that is being absorbed by the 2012 Olympics. This behemoth is draining cash from areas such as the arts at a time when people desperately need to have their spirits raised.