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Tressell Blogwritten by Cllr. Peter Chowney
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February 2010:
24th February: The Council's annual budget-setting Council meeting today. We got an amendment to the Corporate Plan agreed (inserting a new priority on openness and public involvement in the Council) although the Tories voted against this. We also moved an amendment to the budget to set aside money for a council store of salt for keeping pavements safe in winter, not cutting the 'grotbuster' officer post, allocating money for the compulsory purchase of the pier, and improving cycleways. However, this was defeated on the mayor's casting vote, because two of the Liberal councillors abstained. So the Tories got their way on this, and will instead spend £200,000 on a cafe on the East Hill. Bearing in mind that for conservation reasons, this cafe can only be a small refreshment facility in the existing tiny building on the East Hill, £200,000 would be enough to cover the walls in gold leaf and still have enough left for platinum teaspoons. I can't imagine what they have in mind, but it's far more than they need to carry out the plans officers have drawn up. 23rd February: East Hastings Community Safety Special Interest group today. This group is useful, bringing together community representatives, councillors, police, and council officers. There are still problems with drug dealing in the Bembrook Road open space, and with anti-social behaviour by a particular group of young people, although that seems to be abating. If anyone sees drug dealing taking place, please report it to the police - and please be prepared to make a signed statement. Unless people come forward with witness statements, the drug dealers will continue to get away with it. 17th February: Full Council meeting. I managed to ask a question about whether the council will be serving default notices on, and reclaiming money, from Veolia for their collections during the bad weather. I also spoke on the Empty Homes Strategy, which had been amended after referring it back to cabinet, and which I had a fair bit to do with, arguing for it to be a lot tougher on landlords of empty homes. So now it is. We will finally develop a procedure for using Compulsory Purchase Orders against landlords who leave properties empty. I also argued that we should make first contact with owners of empty properties after they have been empty for six months. The Tories think this is too soon - my argument is that it we need to make contact that early, to offer help and advice. But if landlords refuse to co-operate, then we also need to make it clear that, eventually, the council WILL use its CPO powers on empty homes. There are houses in this town that have been empty for more than ten years, we all know about them. The council needs to use this new policy now, and get it sorted out! 15th February: Discovered the website for Liam Atkins, Tory candidate for Hollington. He seems to think that Hastings council is Labour controlled. It's difficult to imagine how anyone standing as a candidate in the Council elections can be so breathtakingly out-of-touch. Maybe in some other universe, which some of these dopey Tories seem to inhabit ... 10th February: East Hastings Area Management Board this evening. As there was yet more heavy snow, it wasn't well attended, and was cut short so people could get home more easily. Still ,there were some useful discussions and updates from local community groups and other agencies. The county council still refuse to attend though - I'm not sure if they know where Hastings is, the contempt shown by East Sussex County Council for Hastings is staggering. Up there in the ivory towers of county hall in Lewes, why should they care? Time for a unitary council in Hastings, get rid of that lot once and for all! 6th February: The Connecting Communities day, in Deepdene & Waterside (with food at Broomgrove Community Centre!). A lot of agencies there with lots of useful information, and a lot of local people turning up, perhaps lured by the chance to win an i-pod or LCD TV if they filled in a questionnaire. At the end, Jay and I got the chance to deliver the TV and other prizes to the lucky winners, as the Tory councillors had all gone home by then! 4th February: Several things today. Out door knocking on Bembrook Road first - cold, but again, people pleased to see us. Then the Millennium Stakeholders Group, discussing the Millennium Communities development site around Ore station (ten years after the new Millennium!). It seems there is a chance of progress, if the site gets 'shortlisted' for Kickstart money. We'll know in the next two weeks. Lastly, the Ore Valley Forum executive meeting, where we had a presentation by Peter Pragnell (council leader) on the council's budget proposals. Jay and I kept quiet, allowing forum members to have their two penneth. They had a few things to say, in particular opposing the proposed £200K spending on the new East Hill cafe.
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