Here is my monthly report as presented to MDTC Full Council on 9th March 2016.

 SKDC Full Council (29^th February)

Last month’s SKDC Full Council meeting was chaotic to say the least.

The principal item on the agenda was the Budget. Due to relentless austerity cuts inflicted by the Conservative government, local authority budges across the country are being pared to the bone. South Kesteven is no exception. This year’s budget had to plug a £300,000 gap left as a result of the County withdrawing recycling credits from the District. The likely increase in the SKDC bill will be less than £5 per annum for a ‘Band D’ household. This is in addition to increases in taxes paid for County Council, Police and Town Council services.

The Independent Councillors approached the Conservative Leader of the Council, Cllr Bob Adams, with a list of potential amendments to the budget but all but one of these rejected out of hand. The surviving proposal was to allocate a budget of £20,000 towards a literary festival in the Deepings. After all, Stamford Georgian Festival gets £70,000 every two years and Gravity Fields in Grantham gets far more than that. Cllr Bob Adams made it plain to the Council that he would not firmly commit to a Deepings Festival but would be happy to talk to Independent Councillors about the aspiration.

Later in the meeting the Council was supposed to discuss a motion I had proposed on Public Service services, outsourcing and transparency. Before any debate took place on the motion, the aforementioned Bob Adams proposed an amendment deleting the entire text and replacing it with his own words. This new motion was subjected to a number of proposed amendments before being defeated eventually after much confusion and filibustering. It was also bizarrely suggested that my original motion (to consider retaining services in-house) was a veiled attack on Officers of the Council. It most certainly was not.

The whole afternoon was a shocking illustration of the way the Tory ruling group continues to shutdown meaningful debate in the Council chamber.

Local Plan seminar (22^nd February)

I attended a local plan seminar which suggested the Deeping need to find room for an additional 1700 houses (on top of those already built and/or approved). The consultation process over the next six months or so will be critical in terms of taking the opportunities and limiting the damage possible from development plans.

Deepings Library

The library that LCC were expecting to close down goes from strength to strength. A disabled toilet is being fitted on the Ground Floor. I don’t expect say any more about the library in these monthly reports.

Wildlife

Despite the consultation, meetings, reports and e-mails, the Glendale contractor ‘accidentally’ mowed the entire field where we have been planning wildflower verges idea on Tattershall Drive. This may turn out to be a blessing in disguise as (surely?) they won’t make the same mistake twice and the grass should get a bi-annual cut in any case. The designated areas have now been clearly marked out.

Pizza Petition

Hopefully most of you have seen and signed the online petition I have set up to oppose the application for a ‘hot food’ takeaway and delivery business in the heart of the conservation area. It now has almost 500 signatures and has certainly raised awareness of the application.

Communities PDG (10^th March)

I am planning to attend a meeting at Grantham tomorrow about sheltered housing communal facilities among other things. The agenda is here.

Highways

I have lobbied the County Council over the dangerous bend on Blenheim Way. The County Council continue to deny there is any problem there other than careless driving.

Boundary Changes

The final result of the LGBCE boundary consultation is due for publication on 17^th May this year.

If anyone has questions please let me know. These reports are replicated on my Facebook page.

Here is my monthly report presented to MDTC Full Council on 10th February 2016. If anyone has questions please let me know.

SKDC Full Council (21^st January)

Last month’s SKDC Full Council meeting was, on the whole, a shocking waste of everyone’s time. Firstly, we had a 10 minute diversion from the agenda for a presentation about the SKDC Coat of Arms (http://www.civicheraldry.co.uk/lincs.html) . This was followed by a presentation from the barracks just outside Grantham which was broadly a repeat of a similar presentation last year. We then had a presentation about the restoration of the Grantham canal, the first 10 minutes or so celebrating the Droitwich canal. Then followed a nail-biting debate about whether cabinet member portfolio-holders should be renamed “Executive members”.

Thankfully more positive actions are resulting from work outside of the meetings including a regular conflab between the Chief Executive and the Independent group.

Next month’s meeting (29^th Feb) should be more productive as it will discuss next year’s budget. I have submitted a number of budget proposals via the Independent group for negotiation before the publication of the budget including: a) diverting some of the budget for Grantham Gravity Fields festival down to the Deepings for a festival of our own (possibly literary festival); b) modest financial support for local business clubs; c) A limited budget for support with insurance costs for community events (limited to £200/event). Don’t hold your breath!

Communities PDG (14^th January)

This sub-committee of SKDC discussed enforcement priorities for the Council. It was agreed that the Council’s first priority should be the obligations which impact on human health, e.g. HSE inspections, pest control etc. Taking people to court is very long-winded and expensive which is made even more difficult by RIPA (the law governing the use of covert techniques by public authorities). On the positive side the SKDC website for reporting fly-tipping, dog muck etc is now mobile friendly and even easier to use.

Deepings Library

Apart from my continuing involvement in the administration of FoDL particularly with regard to ensuring LCC keep their promises, I was also delighted to be one of the 1000+ attendees at the re-opening of the library on 30^th January. VICTORY! It was a great event despite LCC, true to form, failing to deliver the basic essentials promised. Specifically, the computers were unavailable because they were subject to lockdown, along with the rest of LCC IT infrastructure due to a cyber-attack. One can only speculate as to how far the cyber-attack is due to the ineptitude of the infamous Serco who are also failing to most of their other targets for LCC back-office functions.

Wildlife

On hearing the great news that MDTC Amenities and Open Spaces committee have approved the wildflower verges idea on Tattershall, I have contacted SKDC who will now advise the contractors to go ahead with the scheme.

Planning and Highways

I attended most of the MDTC Planning meeting. There are three significant planning applications that I encourage all Councillors (and others) to comment upon: 1) Conversion of Towngate Inn site; 2) 240 house application on land North of Towngate; and 3) Conversion of HSBC to a takeaway pizza joint. Comments can be made to SKDC directly http://www.southkesteven.gov.uk/index.aspx?articleid=8170.

Boundary Changes

I thank the Town Council for putting so much time and thought into the response to the LGBCE boundary consultation. I have personally submitted a similar representation. We can only hope they listen to common sense rather than needlessly splitting the town down the middle.

I wish all Councillors a fruitful Ash Wednesday and a thoughtful Lent. I hope to bump into some of you at the Lent lunches being run each Saturday by the churches around the Deepings.

Here is my monthly SKDC District Council report.

Deepings Library
Thank you for your support over the last two and a half years. It is fantastic news that, after all the threats and shenanigans of the Tories at LCC, we are able to re-open a refurbished library with paid staff and adequate materials. All residents are welcome to attend the official opening by Jonathan Foyle at 10am on Saturday 30^th January.

Wildlife
As mentioned last month, Cllr Broughton, Cllr Neilson and I are hoping to persuade SKDC to leave a 10m strip of grass at the top of Tattershall Drive to grow ‘wild’ to encourage wildlife. We would also like the Town Council to support our request for a tidy ‘horseshoe’ of long grass around one of the trees which would also provide a place for youngsters to play.

Boundary Changes
I attended last week’s MDTC Planning and Highways to listen to concerns about the proposed LGBCE boundary changes for County Council wards. Please find attached a representation that I have drafted as a result. I hope the Town Council will be able to support the alternative wards proposal therein.

Meetings
I plan to attend a Communities PDG on Thursday 14^th Jan and SKDC Full Council on Thursday 21^st Jan.

Happy New Year!

Here is my monthly SKDC District Council report.

SKDC Full Council 12^th November
This was my longest SKDC Full Council so far, lasting almost 3 hours. Agenda items included almost n hour on the future of NHS Lincolnshire and more than 30 minutes on the celebrated Stamford Georgian Festival which provided good value for money at just £70,000. I did ask that consideration be given to offering financial support to similar events in the Deepings and the leader Bob Adams was encouraging in his response.

Name-Blind Shortlisting
I also submitted a ‘Question without Discussion’ suggesting the Council adopt the practice of ‘name-blind’ shortlisting for recruitment. I am happy to report that the subsequent Resources PDG supported the idea and so all candidates for SKDC jobs will be anonymous to the shortlisting panel. This will further reduce the chances of direct or subliminal prejudice during recruitment.

Communities PDG 19^th November
The SKDC Communities Policy Development Group has recommended charging community groups for bin collections (about £300/yr) and charging schools for recycling collections which they used to get free. For the record I voted against charging. This decision was taken in Grantham at gone 5pm when most committee members had already made their excuses and left. In the Deepings I expect this might affect the scouts, the coronation hall, the Masonic hall, Village halls and the Institute. The meeting also considered a number of changes to the Housing Allocations policies.

http://moderngov.southkesteven.gov.uk/mgA.aspx?M=3159&LLL=0

Deepings Library
All systems are go for the planned re-opening of the Deepings Library at the end of January. I have reluctantly been involved in the recruitment process and spent some time on Saturday morning on a shortlisting panel for the librarian. The application forms had, of course, been anonymised so I still don’t know who is coming for interviews on Friday. On Wednesday (today) the keys to the library were due to be formally handed from the County to FoDL.

Deepings Community Trust
The Community Centre held its AGM on Friday 27^th November. As Treasurer, I was happy to report the finances are in a much better shape than a year ago due to a reduction in a variety of costs and an increase in income and footfall. The Centre is looking forward to working with the library.

The Birds and the Bees
Last Friday I met Cllrs Broughton and Neilson along with Lynn Lord from SKDC to discuss the possibility of leaving a 10m strip of grass at the top of Tattershall Drive to grow ‘wild’. This will encourage birds, bees, flora and fauna. We also discussed the possibility of leaving a tidy ‘horseshoe’ of long grass around one of the trees which would also provide a place for youngsters to play. SKDC today confirmed that the contractors are not only able, but actually enthusiastic about the idea. Unless you have objections I intend to consult wider on this idea via facebook etc. Ideally, this would be a post on the MDTC facebook page first which I am happy to draft for the Clerk/Admin.

Christmas
I attended the Christmas market, albeit at the wrong time (sorry), and saw the Mayor valiantly fighting the weather to turn on the lights. Congratulations on your dedication. It was a much better effort than Stamford.
Yesterday morning (Tuesday) I was pleased to assist my good friend, Father Christmas, with the distribution of presents at the Open Door Mums and Toddlers Group.

Ho, ho, ho and a Merry Christmas to one and all!

Here is my District Councillor’s report for the November 2015 meeting of MDTC.

• Spalding Transport Conference 16/10/2015
  I attended this event alongside Cllr Neilson and found it very informative. Richard Wills, a senior manager from LCC delivered one of the presentations and I asked him about the future of subsidies for local bus services. He claimed no decision will be made until February but across his budgets he has been asked to project the impact of cuts of 25% and 40% so it’s likely some services will be cut. I also asked him about Tallington Crossing and he said that as neither LCC nor Network Rail have any spare resources it is unlikely the Tallington Bridge scheme will go ahead unless on the back of a housing development scheme.
  I am sure any questions on this can be answered by Cllr Neilson
• Deepings Police Neighbourhood Forum 19/10/2015
  This was very interesting as it was attended by the Lincs PCC, Alan Hardwick. He told us that PCSOs and police will soon be able once again to issue Fixed Penalty Notices for parking. I am sure any questions on the forum can be answered by Cllr Sked (esp as I had to leave before the end.
• Langtoft Parish Council 20/10/2015
  I attended the first hour of this meeting in my capacity as a nosey parker.
• SKDC
  There have been no formal SKDC meetings for me to attend since the last MDTC meeting. A working group meeting on waste took place last week but I was only given 4 days notice and it was unfortunately during the daytime in Grantham so I couldn’t make it.. SKDC Full Council is scheduled for tomorrow (Thursday 12^th September).
• Deepings Library
  Finally it appears we have found a solution to the library situation. The Deepings Community Trust and the Friends have found a workable partnership and we are now at the stage of sorting out the leases and the financial management arrangements. Many thanks are due to the Town Council for sticking with the campaign throughout and for stepping up with the cash now that it is (almost) needed. I am sure any questions on this can be answered by Cllr Shelton.
• Biodiversity
  Working with District Council colleagues, Cllr Broughton and Cllr Neilson, I am trying to persuade SKDC Grounds Maintenance to alter their mowing regime slightly in order to create one or more mini ‘set-asides’ around the town to encourage the birds and the bees and flora in fauna to complement the excellent MDTC work in the Rectory Paddock. The most likely pilot site will be somewhere near the top of Tattershall. The next step is probably to meet SKDC at the potential site and for MDTC amenities to consider and hopefully support the idea. I am sure any questions on this can be answered by Cllr Neilson and/or Cllr Broughton.

As ever, if anyone has any questions please do not hesitate to get in touch.

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.