SKDC – On Thursday 10^th September 2015, I attended my first SKDC meeting as a Councillor. There were four items of note:

• Congratulations to HM Queen Elizabeth II, from members of all political parties and none, mainly paying tribute to her dedication, because she’s a record breaker.
• A commitment from Cllr Bob Adams, Leader of SKDC, that SKDC would do its bit to support Syrian refugees (Sadly, this was followed a few days later by reports quoting Martin Hill, leader of LCC saying “It would be perverse to accept refugees when services are being cut”).
• SKDC is considering devolution options in pursuit of government incentives, but no option is welcome that would involve abolition of District Councils as had earlier been publicly suggested by Cllr Martin Hill.
• A discussion took place on when Councillors should pray. It was decided by majority vote that corporate prayers should be moved from just before the start of each meeting to just after the start of each meeting. It is of course impossible to stop people praying before, during and after Council meetings as long as they do so silently.

SKDC Sub-committees

I have been allocated to the Communities Policy Development Group (CPDG) which is currently considering: a) parking enforcement across the district; and b) waste collection across the district. It seems clear that ‘policy development’ is a marathon and not a sprint.

Magistrates Court – SKDC CPDG also considered response to the Department of Justice consultation on proposed closure of Grantham Magistrates Court. Generally, SKDC councillors are against it.

Library – Library building refurbishment is almost complete. Despite the failure of SKDC to bring anything useful to the library negotiations, FoDL are now in serious negotiations with Deepings Community Trust to find a way to retain the library. It looks very promising. FoDL are very pleased with the offers of support, including financial support, from the Town Council among others.

Town Hall – As mentioned before, if you would like me to find out what is happening regarding the Town Council’s request for a Community Asset Transfer of the Market Deeping Town Hall I will happily investigate.

Christmas Market – I would be pleased to help out again at the Christmas Market this year with the road closure or whatever.

Scooby-Done – As some of you may know, I ran the Perkins 5k fun run last Sunday dressed as Scooby-Do, with two of my daughters dressed as a dinosaur and a rabbit. My original intention was to run in aid of for the mayor’s charities but due to tight deadlines and protracted bureaucracy relating to the online giving site, this was not possible this time round. I hope to do something similar for Wayne’s funds later in the year. Instead I ran for Birmingham Children’s Hospital where my friends’ little boy is currently recovering from heart surgery. You can donate at www.virginmoneygiving.com/scoobydo .  I ran a time of 33:35. I would have been faster if it weren’t for those pesky kids..!

If anyone has issues concerning the District Council, please don’t hesitate to get in touch.