I put forward a motion to full council on Wednesday:
"That this Council believes that as a community we should be acknowledging the Military Covenant that exists between the State, the public and those members of the armed forces who we call upon to defend our interests. We resolve that as a tangible acknowledgement and as a way of supporting the Royal British Legion's call to Honour the Covenant, that this Council as a gesture of gratitude will grant serving regular and reserves forces personnel and their direct dependents who live in or who are visiting the Metropolitan District free access to WMDC's leisure facilities".
The Labour group forced through an amendment and deferred it to next year "with the intention of looking at widening the scope"
My comments are attached.
Press Release
“Honouring the Covenant”.
Following today’s Council meeting, Cllr Geoff Walsh, Pontefract South said he was saddened that the Labour controlling group voted down his proposal to extend free use of council leisure facilities to serving members of the armed forces who we call upon to defend our interests.
“The Labour decision to defer the proposal until the new year to look at widening the scope of the motion to look at the costs of including the emergency services as well as the armed forces may well yet return a positive outcome, but it could equally be a tactic to kick the idea into the long grass by developing such a costly and complex proposal that the scheme will become unworkable”.
“I saw this as a none political motion supporting the Royal British Legions campaign to honour the covenant where we could at least hope for consensus in supporting our armed forces, I am hopeful that the motion will be voted through at a not too distant point, though if the Labour Group are hoping for it to go away, this will not happen”.
“Prior to putting the motion forward, I spoke to a number of members of the public and members of the armed forces and received unanimous support. It is clear that there is growing public support for a greater emphasis on honouring the covenant of care to our troops and I remain of the view that this idea was a useful way of showing our appreciation at a local level. The costs involved would have been minimal and the feedback I have received indicated that the concession would have been greatly appreciated”.
Cllr Walsh concluded “I still intend to see this through and hope that the feasibility study provides support for the motion.
Friday 16 November 2007
Friday 19 October 2007
You want my business - but where do I park?
As part of the next stage of new City centre redevelopment of Wakefield we will be loosing approximately 1500 car parking places. To be replaced with a multi storey car park at the railway station with 1500 new places, so far so good.
The new super duper parking will take about a year to materialise and meanwhile where do visitors to Wakefield park? Well, Meadowhall, Leeds City Centre, or on one of the areas numerous out of town shopping centres with free parking are probably going to take the strain and the money. Wakefield will just loose custom and visitors.
Oh and the new car park is owned by Railtrack and daily charges are likely to be £10 - £15 pounds!
Which means that we will also see price increases as Council off and onstreet parking tariffs across the district including Pontefract have to make up the revenue shortfall generated by WMDC's reduction of spaces and earnings.
Some green activists say that we should be using other means to get about.
In Victorian times it was still quite common to find people who never travelled more than ten miles in any direction from where they were born, if some have their say we are headed back that way.
The new super duper parking will take about a year to materialise and meanwhile where do visitors to Wakefield park? Well, Meadowhall, Leeds City Centre, or on one of the areas numerous out of town shopping centres with free parking are probably going to take the strain and the money. Wakefield will just loose custom and visitors.
Oh and the new car park is owned by Railtrack and daily charges are likely to be £10 - £15 pounds!
Which means that we will also see price increases as Council off and onstreet parking tariffs across the district including Pontefract have to make up the revenue shortfall generated by WMDC's reduction of spaces and earnings.
Some green activists say that we should be using other means to get about.
In Victorian times it was still quite common to find people who never travelled more than ten miles in any direction from where they were born, if some have their say we are headed back that way.
Thursday 18 October 2007
Where's the Money ..Continued
Wednesday morning, with a number of others sat on the Local Economy scrutiny meeting.
Number of themes, plans to review.
The key agenda item was about the internal reorganisation of the workforce which is in process. The objectives and actions are starting to make more and more sense as Wakefield applies its Worksmart process. Wins should include responsiveness, in some cases easier access to services and reduced travel by council employees. However it remains to be seen whether these much vaunted objectives are met.
One other benefit that was mentioned was a potential financial saving of £1.5m, sounds good, we need it.
Over recent weeks the council has agreed an alleged six figure sum as a payout to a group of care workers who were dismissed when they raised concerns about issues in a local care home. The payout was a pre-tribunal settlement and the view of many is that it was actioned to save face and to avoid a judgement against the council.
Another bit of the saving presumably will go as part of the settlement to the Chief Executive who is moving on, he was brought in as a special measure to help what was a failing council get its act together, during his time numerous awards have flowed our way because now the council knows how to tick the boxes.
The Council tax bill will be up again when it drops through the door next year.
Number of themes, plans to review.
The key agenda item was about the internal reorganisation of the workforce which is in process. The objectives and actions are starting to make more and more sense as Wakefield applies its Worksmart process. Wins should include responsiveness, in some cases easier access to services and reduced travel by council employees. However it remains to be seen whether these much vaunted objectives are met.
One other benefit that was mentioned was a potential financial saving of £1.5m, sounds good, we need it.
Over recent weeks the council has agreed an alleged six figure sum as a payout to a group of care workers who were dismissed when they raised concerns about issues in a local care home. The payout was a pre-tribunal settlement and the view of many is that it was actioned to save face and to avoid a judgement against the council.
Another bit of the saving presumably will go as part of the settlement to the Chief Executive who is moving on, he was brought in as a special measure to help what was a failing council get its act together, during his time numerous awards have flowed our way because now the council knows how to tick the boxes.
The Council tax bill will be up again when it drops through the door next year.
Cabinet Speaks - Normanton
Monday night, six cabinet members, half a dozen councillors, five council employees, police chief inspector and local police inspector assemble for a public meeting to let the public know what they are doing.
This is one of the great ideas passed down from on high to "engage with the public at a local level.
I suspect Coronation Street got in the way.
I sat down in the hall with the four members of the public who attended.
In one of my earlier posts I asked WHERE IS THE MONEY? Well some of it was in a school hall in Normanton on Monday evening.
As the only opposition councillor present, I was quite pleased to find that the public wanted to talk to me about alternatives "to this lot".
Normanton is the parliamentary seat of Ed Balls, cheerleader in chief for our new Scottish PM and Minister for Children and Schools. When people used to say "thats not Brown thats Balls" they were talking about him, and it is said that he was driving policy when New Labour raided the pension funds at the start of their reign.
Talking to a very small sample on Monday evening the view seems to be that nobody came because the view is with the existing administration that there was not much point. It seems to me that the people of Normanton are ready for a change. Up to us to do something about that.
This is one of the great ideas passed down from on high to "engage with the public at a local level.
I suspect Coronation Street got in the way.
I sat down in the hall with the four members of the public who attended.
In one of my earlier posts I asked WHERE IS THE MONEY? Well some of it was in a school hall in Normanton on Monday evening.
As the only opposition councillor present, I was quite pleased to find that the public wanted to talk to me about alternatives "to this lot".
Normanton is the parliamentary seat of Ed Balls, cheerleader in chief for our new Scottish PM and Minister for Children and Schools. When people used to say "thats not Brown thats Balls" they were talking about him, and it is said that he was driving policy when New Labour raided the pension funds at the start of their reign.
Talking to a very small sample on Monday evening the view seems to be that nobody came because the view is with the existing administration that there was not much point. It seems to me that the people of Normanton are ready for a change. Up to us to do something about that.
Monday 15 October 2007
Drinking the night away
One of the key themes that emerged from my meeting with the Crime & Public Safety Scrutiny committee today was about how West Yorkshire Police are applying themselves to drink related problems around the district.
The 2003 Licensing Act put in place all sorts of initiatives to regulate the "Night Time Economy" but gives people few bits of responsibility or powers to do anything.
One big issue is the way that the act restricts local elected representatives having an input to licensing matters without specific requests from their electorate.
Partly as a community we have problems linked to the volumes of drink that some people consume and the amount of options for people to go out and get blathered at all hours of the day and night.
We also have a problem in the district with some parents/retailers/publicans/older pals, or people out to make a fast buck who supply youngsters with drink.
A frightening example came to light of a young girl (14) who over the weekend was found by Police slumped insensible on the edge of a public park in another part of the district after dark, she was blue with cold. With an empty bottle of Vodka by her side.
If she had not been found on what was a chilly night who knows what would have happened?
The 2003 Licensing Act put in place all sorts of initiatives to regulate the "Night Time Economy" but gives people few bits of responsibility or powers to do anything.
One big issue is the way that the act restricts local elected representatives having an input to licensing matters without specific requests from their electorate.
Partly as a community we have problems linked to the volumes of drink that some people consume and the amount of options for people to go out and get blathered at all hours of the day and night.
We also have a problem in the district with some parents/retailers/publicans/older pals, or people out to make a fast buck who supply youngsters with drink.
A frightening example came to light of a young girl (14) who over the weekend was found by Police slumped insensible on the edge of a public park in another part of the district after dark, she was blue with cold. With an empty bottle of Vodka by her side.
If she had not been found on what was a chilly night who knows what would have happened?
Sunday 14 October 2007
Celebrations
Last night I was asked to go along and support my local Conservative Club in Pontefract as the members celebrated winning the National Club of the year award 2007.
These folks have been really supportive and encouraging over recent years to both myself and my colleague Philip Booth as we worked to get elected. It has been very much a place for a friendly word. So it was great to go to return the compliment and thank the officers and members for their efforts and commitment.
Phil Thomas our candidate for Pontefract North came along and a number of people signed up to help him in his campaign in 2008, so it was a good result for all.
Including the England Rugby Union team who got through to the world cup final.
As one of my colleagues over in Texas sometimes says YeeHaw!!!
These folks have been really supportive and encouraging over recent years to both myself and my colleague Philip Booth as we worked to get elected. It has been very much a place for a friendly word. So it was great to go to return the compliment and thank the officers and members for their efforts and commitment.
Phil Thomas our candidate for Pontefract North came along and a number of people signed up to help him in his campaign in 2008, so it was a good result for all.
Including the England Rugby Union team who got through to the world cup final.
As one of my colleagues over in Texas sometimes says YeeHaw!!!
Saturday 13 October 2007
Went Edge
I was out in Pontefract Town Centre this afternoon when I was approached by an earnest young man who asked me for my signature for a petition.
Earlier this year a developer who has a varied portfolio which includes quarrying and strip mining/minerals extraction put in a bid for a speculative development of six 125 metre wind turbines on what is an endangered bit of green belt between West Yorkshire and North Yorkshire. They talked about all the worthwhile outcomes to the planet, to the government, the council but had the good grace to say little about positive community impact.
The thing is that there are several thousand people within a two kilometre radius, with the communities of Carleton, Darrington, Wentbridge, East Hardwick within one kilometre and a small community of about 140 souls as close as 200 to 400 metres away, depending on measurement.
At the start of this process I believed that wind energy was green, free and limitless in potential. True on a sailing vessel a great resource, but the DTI calculated that at best in the UK apparently windiest place in Europe that existing land based wind turbines work at only 20-30% efficiency.
Renewables are hugely important but land based industrial wind farms have issues.
If we were in Scotland, the Scottish Government specify a two kilometre zone between these big industrial generators, same in France and the application would fail to meet that standard and the anguish that this one is causing would not be there.
But we are in a part of the country that Gordon Brown and before him, Tony Blair have decided can step up and make the sacrifice to enhance their green credibility. Our Constituency MP is Yvette Cooper who also happens to be Minister for Housing and Planning and she has played her part in loosening the planning system to improve the chances of success to applications like this that support the Labour government energy/media strategy.
Now there are other and significant planning issues that make this particular application flawed and I trust that existing planning legislation will take account of the 2000+ objections that have been filed.
But back to this afternoon, I wanted to hear the young man's point of view. He was clearly a champion for his position but had only been provided with a partial understanding of the application he was trying to get supporting signatures for and he had the good grace to be embarrassed as we discussed the impact on the people and communities that would suffer.
Incidentally, the governments target for renewable energy for the whole of West Yorkshire is being met by biomass co-burning at our local power station and the operator Scottish & Southern has just committed a £250M spend to generate even cleaner electricity. He was not aware of that either.
No, sorry not signing up for this particular profit opportunity.
Earlier this year a developer who has a varied portfolio which includes quarrying and strip mining/minerals extraction put in a bid for a speculative development of six 125 metre wind turbines on what is an endangered bit of green belt between West Yorkshire and North Yorkshire. They talked about all the worthwhile outcomes to the planet, to the government, the council but had the good grace to say little about positive community impact.
The thing is that there are several thousand people within a two kilometre radius, with the communities of Carleton, Darrington, Wentbridge, East Hardwick within one kilometre and a small community of about 140 souls as close as 200 to 400 metres away, depending on measurement.
At the start of this process I believed that wind energy was green, free and limitless in potential. True on a sailing vessel a great resource, but the DTI calculated that at best in the UK apparently windiest place in Europe that existing land based wind turbines work at only 20-30% efficiency.
Renewables are hugely important but land based industrial wind farms have issues.
If we were in Scotland, the Scottish Government specify a two kilometre zone between these big industrial generators, same in France and the application would fail to meet that standard and the anguish that this one is causing would not be there.
But we are in a part of the country that Gordon Brown and before him, Tony Blair have decided can step up and make the sacrifice to enhance their green credibility. Our Constituency MP is Yvette Cooper who also happens to be Minister for Housing and Planning and she has played her part in loosening the planning system to improve the chances of success to applications like this that support the Labour government energy/media strategy.
Now there are other and significant planning issues that make this particular application flawed and I trust that existing planning legislation will take account of the 2000+ objections that have been filed.
But back to this afternoon, I wanted to hear the young man's point of view. He was clearly a champion for his position but had only been provided with a partial understanding of the application he was trying to get supporting signatures for and he had the good grace to be embarrassed as we discussed the impact on the people and communities that would suffer.
Incidentally, the governments target for renewable energy for the whole of West Yorkshire is being met by biomass co-burning at our local power station and the operator Scottish & Southern has just committed a £250M spend to generate even cleaner electricity. He was not aware of that either.
No, sorry not signing up for this particular profit opportunity.
Where's the money?
Over the last year WMDC has raked in up to £10million from the sale of assets, plus £7 million from the sale of Leeds Bradford Airport. With council tax up, service reductions or deletions, sports services declining and fewer PCSO’s per capita than any other West Yorkshire council I ask WHERE IS THE MONEY? Why not invest in our crumbling roads, our under funded parks, improving pupil teacher ratios, street cleaning, cutting inappropriate red tape and box ticking, guaranteeing the weekly refuse collection? OR fixing the chaos at Town End!
To get a sense of the Town End problem click the link to Steve Kidd's video.
To get a sense of the Town End problem click the link to Steve Kidd's video.
It starts here
This is a first for me and a chance to get messages across to people who share my concern and frustration about how things are being handled or mishandled by the Wakefield district labour party, Wakefield Metropolitan District Council and four labour controlled Parliamentary seats with over 34 years in power and who seem to regularly fumble their chances to make things better in my part of the former West Ridings of Yorkshire. (More about the cast of characters, including the two Blairite/Brownite Ministers who are always up for a photo opportunity but seldom around when people really need them)
It also gives me a chance to focus on the issues that people face in living their lives in Pontefract South and across the new constituency that is Normanton Pontefract and Castleford.
I must pass on big thanks to Phil Thomas our 2008 candidate for Pontefract North who has helped me get off to a start in the Blogiverse...
It also gives me a chance to focus on the issues that people face in living their lives in Pontefract South and across the new constituency that is Normanton Pontefract and Castleford.
I must pass on big thanks to Phil Thomas our 2008 candidate for Pontefract North who has helped me get off to a start in the Blogiverse...
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