Deputy Group Leader

I have been promoted!

Following the resignation of Peter Rawcliffe as Conservative Group Leader (he is still a Councillor just not the group leader), Paul Record has moved on to be the leader of our group and I am now the Deputy Leader.

This is a great opportunity for me having been on the council for little over 15 months now and I think it marks the continuation and future increase of what our group has achieved over the past few years. It wasn't that long ago there were just 4 Conservative Councillors on the Council and over that time at full elections or by-elections more people have been voted on and joined our group to represent the electorate.

One of my main roles now is to plan the election campaign when I will stop posting on the blog around March/April until the results on the 3rd May 2007.

We will be writing and distributing a manifesto in time which I hope you will like whatever your political persuasion. There is a lot in it for continued improvements in the town but it will also be acknowledging the good work done in previous terms by all groups and seek to build from it.

I am keen to see new members elected on to the council so if you have always wanted to be a Councillor and didn't know who to speak to or what to do, please get in touch if you would like to join us.

Young Enterprise

On Sunday I was a judge at the Young Enterprise Trade Fair in Milton Keynes, I was asked to do this as an employer and not as a Councillor but it is worth mentioning here as it is a great chance for groups of young people to experience business while at school.

There were some very good companies and a company from Cedars won an award too.

Have a look at www.youngenterprise.org.uk and if you have business experience and can act as a mentor for a school group, we would love to hear from you.

Good Advice from Mids Beds

In a desperate bid to cling on to some power, Councillors at Mid Beds and South Beds are considering options for them to join up and kick out the County Council.

While I support the County Council's Unitary bid (although I am only up to page 52 of the 84 page proposal) I can understand South and Mid Beds (S&M Beds) decision to put in their own but find the press release they issued very interesting

In it, Tricia Turner, Leader of Mid Beds said “We feel that big is not best, that local services provided by local councils independently recognised as sound managers and held to account locally is the best way forward. There will be savings, the removal of inefficient management layers and we will ensure local council tax is spent on local services.

If only South Beds read this a bit closer and realised she may well have been talking about the benefits of our Town Council over the District.

Big is not best she says which means District Councils are not as good as a truly local Town Council and using the sound managers we at LLTC already employ is the best way forward. The removal of inefficient management layers could be the removal of an inneficient District council and she further supports the line that local council tax should be spent on local service.

So based on Trish's comments, I would say she supports LLTC in all its disagreements with SBDC and yet they still think they should be allowed to remain in power!

Combating Crime

At yesterday's CCWP (Combating Crime Working Party) we received reports from Inspector Barrett and Sargeant Bull amongst other issues

The good news in theft of a vehicle has dropped but theft FROM a vehicle is on the increase. There are numerous campaigns and strategies the police are working on now but the best advise is to remove Satellite Navigation Systems from you car - COMPLETELY. Don't hide it in the glove box!

Areas in Grovebury ward have been frequented by the police lately and they have moved on a number of "unsociable people" but if you are worried about your area please get in touch with either the police or me and they will continue to alter where they patrol.

Gate Update

Earlier this year I spent some time with the residents involved in the gating order on Russell Way looking at the legal paperwork involved including some guidance documents obtained from The Home Office.

It was very interesting legal stuff which took a few reads to figure it out and it has since been presented to SBDC from one of the residents who are now considering our findings.

More updates to come as we get them...

Planning and Environment

Planning and Environment tonight. A few planning applications, including some rather odd looking extensions, Christmas lights and a few of the usuals coming up.

Don't forget Monday January 22nd is Full Council. Starting at 19:30 please feel free to come along.

Crisis

As the new year is with us, it won't be long until we are having the usual banter in the Council chamber, resident's issues to deal with, community events and so on so I thought before we get in to the mad rush of life, I would share my Christmas story with you of volunteering at a Crisis shelter in central London over Christmas.

http://www.crisis.org.uk

It was the first year I volunteered for despite meaning to do it for many years before. When I lived in the London area, you would see the adverts and news reports every year but by the time you were reminded, it was too late with family plans and so on. Thankfully this year I registered in November for 2 night shifts leading up to 08:30 on Christmas morning. A note is already in the 2007 diary.

It was an amazing experience, I didn't know what to expect but I went with an open mind. I can't claim to really understand homelessness fully, yes the local authority systems aren't perfect, there are limited resources and people slip through the net but it seems very wrong to me that in this country with all of our success stories and comforts, there are people that don't have a home of any standard nor access to medication, regular food and so on.

While I was open minded, I was surprised at the different stories from the "guests" using the shelter. Not everyone was a drunk or drug user as many people seem to think. Although I was at the only "wet" centre used by alcoholics even those with an alcohol problem were very positive and as you should expect, were very nice people to spend Christmas with,

One of the guests, Tony, is a talented artist who worked with the volunteers and other guests to create a huge mural on a wooden 8 foot square board erected by the build up crew in the weeks before the centre opened. Others guest like Dave have now been homed and are gradually rebuilding their lives.

If you want to do something meaningful at Christmas, whatever your religious beliefs at this time of year I can recommend volunteering for Crisis.