Mike Causey – Wrecclesham and Rowledge
Waverley Borough CouncillorArchive for March, 2009
Affirm and Pledge
Heard these British Citizenship statements on Radio 4 this morning, and thought how good they were, especially the bit about duty and obligation:
Affirmation of allegiance
I (name) do solemnly, sincerely and truly declare and affirm that on becoming a British citizen, I will be faithful and bear true allegiance to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth the Second, her Heirs and Successors, according to law.
Pledge
I will give my loyalty to the United Kingdom and respect its rights and freedoms. I will uphold its democratic values. I will observe its laws faithfully and fulfil my duties and obligations as a British citizen.
W(onderful) W(averley) W(ebcasting)
A very entertaining and yet useful debate about the future of webcasting tonight, during our Conservative Councillor group AGM. We’ll be continuing with this excellent democratic endeavour for the foreseeable future.
God Bless
What complete nonsense, and a total paradox. I simply can’t believe the story of Duke Amachree, who was suspended by Wandsworth Council – where he works as a homeless prevention officer – for talking to a terminally ill resident about God.
Let me get this straight – a local authority has to have an equality and diversity policy. But, even though we need to acknowledge different faiths, and perhaps even understand them a little, heaven help us if we allow anyone to talk about them passionately and compassionately to anyone else?
This is ridiculous. There is surely enough common sense around to allow conversation about personal faith, without claiming that it is an offence. I simply can’t even begin to understand how the council could suspend Mr Amarchee for this action alone.
Celebration
We’ve returned from Cambridge where we witnessed and celebrated the marriage of a good friend. What a joyful occasion. Marriage truly is the right relationship within which to start a family, and David Cameron is right to focus on family values as the way to begin to heal our society of its brokenness.
Planning Appeal Notice
Appeal Ref: APP/R3650/A/09/2099875
Site: Baker Oates Stables, Gardeners Hill Road, Farnham, Surrey
Proposed Development: Erection of an 18 metre telecommunications mast with antennae, dishes and associates equipment cabinets with ancillary works.
Application Ref: WA/2008/1653
• The appeal follows the refusal of planning permission by Waverley Borough Council.
• The appeal is to be decided by way of Written Representations (before 5th May 2009) followed by a site visit by an Inspector.
Click here to go to the Planning Inspectorate website, and here for this appeal summary, from where you can access the full documented appeal.
10 days
The customer charter for Waverley states that all queries are responded to within 10 days. Recently I expressed surprise at this, and thought it reasonable to reduce to 5 days say, and see how we do. It’s not been taken up yet, but I’ll keep trying.
Anyway, it was lovely, therefore, to receive a unbelievably speedy reply today regarding on-street parking enforcement. I was querying what could be done about the systematic ignoring of double-yellow lines at the bottom of School Hill, and I’ve received some good advice that I’ll be following up.
Since the decriminalisation of parking offences a few years ago, there’s been a significant drop in likelihood of being caught, so I think that most people take a chance when popping into a shop briefly.
The challenge is when the resulting congestion poses dangerous choices at multiple junctions nearby, and that’s the case in Wrecclesham.
So, a few more emails to send and see what happens.
Trends and Themes
Last week I promised that I would post my opinions on the 3.8% increase in council tax this year, following an enquiry by a resident. So, here are my top ten things (for want of a better word):
(1) £1.6 million was cut from the budget this year. All officers were challenged to reduce their overheads through a ‘Star Chamber’ process. Now two years in, this process has proved invaluable. However, it is clear that the returns will diminish, as efficiencies and cuts become harder to find.
(2) So, how come the council tax has gone up, if we have cut so much? Well, firstly, our income by way of interest on cash balances has gone down massively, due to the phenomenally low rates we all know about.
(3) And secondly, we have seen our budget for maintaining and repairing our housing stock increase significantly due to the Audit Commission findings when they reviewed our housing services last calendar year.
(4) Planning fees are estimated to diminish significantly this coming year, as the credit crunch impact affects developers and homeowners alike, and as the broader concept of permitted development is picked up.
(5) The pay increase for staff has now been decided at 1.5%, and thankfully an amount to cater for this potential was included under the General Fund Revenue Account budget.
(6) Whilst our own costs will go up in many areas, the reimbursement from central government barely qualifies as a notch on the ladder, and doesn’t meet anything like the discrepancy.
(7) Contracts with our suppilers have an automatic increase built into them, which means that we will see higher costs irrespective. i.e. an extra £90,000 for refuse collection.
(8) We estimate that income from car parking will decrease by some £50,000 due to a depression in the retail market.
(9) We have still drawn slightly on our reserves, but much much less than previous years, and we hope to make this zero in the future, so our reserves are maintained rather than eliminated.
(10) Finally, I’m certain there are more things we could do. But, they will be hard decisions. And I’d be very pleased to hear proposals from residents. For now, I believe we have seen a robust process completed, and have a budget that will enable not only to achieve our statutory obligations, but also to provide the discretionary services that are relied upon by so many.
