Planning – London Road and Pavillion Drive. Please do your bit developers!

I am always cautious about talking about planning matters – if you only upset 50% of people you lucky! Particularly when I say that I don’t have as strong an objection as a lot of my colleagues on the council do to flats – there is a reason flats are popular for developers… there is a demand for them! They’d soon start building bigger houses if they couldn’t sell their flats.

However, one of the requirements (for developments that are 10 or more dwellings in size) is the requirement to provide a proportion of affordable housing. This is usually between 20-30% (depending on the number of properties). This doesn’t mean the developer has to build them for free – they just have to provide social housing and sell them at a cheaper level (often to a housing association), so recouping their costs, but not making a profit on those few.

Now the Government has made it easier for developers to argue that it is not economically viable to provide such social housing in a project and for them to renegotiate on the agreements they have for developments.

I’m not quite sure that this argument can be made for some of the rather nice properties that are being built in Blenheim or Leigh – perhaps up north where properties can’t command such a premium, but developers seem to be pushing their luck in Southend.

Two applications have recently been made:

13/01713/S106BA 845-849 London Road (current agreement requires 1  one bed flat, 2 two bed flats and 1 three bed flat as affordable housing)

13/01718/S106BA 53 Pavilion Drive (current agreement requires 2 two bed flats as affordable housing)

Both of these applications are to remove the entire requirement for social housing. I have objected to this and asked for the matter to go before the Development Control Committee for review.

I am all for developers making a profit – it is business after all. But they should do their bit, as they previously agreed and not continually try to renege on agreements. Things don’t change that much in a couple of years, and property prices are hardly in free-fall at the moment…

Movember – it’s all over (woohoo!) & Teachers meet Gove

The final result.

 

Ahhh! Much better!

 

Now I can go back to blogging about politics! 🙂

Was really pleased to meet with Education Secretary Michael Gove last week, with lots of Head Teachers from Southend Schools, including three from Blenheim Park. Gave heads the opportunity to question those right in heart of Government.

Movember update – Eight days of no shaving

   

.                Clean Shaven                                   Eight days growth

Next week???

Movember – please sponsor me here: http://uk.movember.com/mospace/7695793

Having found the Southend Bike-a-thon involved using a bit too much energy, I thought my next charitable endeavour could be one that would involve saving energy and probably save me 10 pence too, through increasing the longevity of my razor blades! 🙂

I’ve decided to do Movember this year in an attempt to raise some funds for the Movember Foundation, raising money to assist with the challenges of prostate cancer, testicular cancer and mental health.

I’m not really sure a moustache will suit me(!) but we will see.

If you’d like to take the mick out of me for the next month, please pay your dues here! http://uk.movember.com/mospace/7695793 Weekly pictures will follow!

I’m pleased that one of my Conservative colleagues is doing Movember too (not his first time), and rumour has it that there maybe at least one other councillor too. Watch this space!

Clean Shaven

Rewarding those who give back to the community

On Wednesday evening I was pleased to present awards at two events to some of the wonderful people of Southend.

The first was a small but fabulous celebration of the efforts that a young man, Tom, has made in Southend.

Tom not only sat on a group responsible for organising events and services for disabled children and young people, whilst only 17 himself, but he did so whilst tackling his own Asperger’s causing him social phobia – not ideal for sitting round in a group of professionals to give the young person’s perspective on things!

But Tom overcame these extra hurdles and made a significant impact on the group by bringing his own experiences to bear on it.

Additionally he produced a video with a friend, https://vimeo.com/34796278 , about the difficulties of living with an Autistic Spectrum Disorder.

Tom was nominated for the special ‘Make A Difference Award’ in the British Youth Council’s Youth on Board Awards…. and he won!

An inspiration to us all; I was honoured to present Tom with the award:

Tom receiving his award

Tom with a very proud Mum & Dad!

 
 
 

The second was to the Integrated Youth Support Service Volunteer Awards, where I met almost all of the 98 dedicated individuals who give up their own time to help the town’s young people, be it through residential camps to being an Appropriate Adult when they are being interviewed by police. Here is a nice group photograph:

Certificate and Award winners

A thoroughly enjoyable evening!

Back in December 2012 Council was asked whether or not we wanted to have Webcasting of Full Council meetings. At the time there was a lot of complaints about the cost of broadcasting Council meetings over the internet.

Well last night was a resounding success. Over 500 people watched at least a part of the meeting – if we are not careful we will be in a ratings war with Eastenders!

If you click here you can see the entire (5 1/2 hours!) council meeting.

Speaking in the Council Chamber

 

If you want to watch my contributions on:

Children’s Centres

The Deanes School

Whole Council Elections

then click on the links above.

The viewing gallery appeared to be packed at the beginning of the meeting last night (c.50 people?), but that is dwarfed with the number of people who watched online. I hope the residents of Southend remember that it was the Conservative Administration who pushed for opening up democracy like never before.

Hamstel Children’s Centre – Saved!

I was delighted to be able to make the following statement at tonight’s meeting of the full Council, where I was able to confirm we have managed to save Hamstel Children’s Centre from having to merge with Temple Sutton. We are still looking for the two centres to work closer together, but the two children’s centres will remain, thanks to the Council obtaining additional Public Health funding:

“I am, as is the whole Administration, committed to children’s centres in Southend and the role they play in early intervention. My primary concern, when delivering the Council’s required savings has always been to do so with the least impact possible on children and families.

I have listened carefully to the views of providers, residents, members and most importantly those who use children’s centres – parents and carers.

Despite every effort to make a saving through merging Hamstel and Temple Sutton, whilst maintaining adequate services there; I share the concerns that the impact on children, in this area of high deprivation and need is too great.

However, I am still required to deliver the full budget saving, as set by this Council in February.
Therefore I have worked tirelessly to identify an alternative way to balance the books.

I am pleased to report that this Administration recognises that early intervention for children is a key priority for the use of the new Public Health ring-fenced grant, alongside all other competing demands. Therefore we propose to use a small allocation of the new funding to support the health related services across all of Southend’s children’s centres. This contribution will allow us to make the full £224k on-going saving as Council required, whilst still maintaining both Hamstel and Temple Sutton Children’s Centres.

I am delighted to be able to report this innovative solution – allowing us to act on members’ and residents’ concerns – retaining more services across the town, ensuring we focusing on those most in need, whilst still finding a way to achieve the required savings, accepting and delivering on my responsibility to ensure this Council delivers a balanced budget.”

Full Council meeting – a busy evening ahead. The Deanes School, children’s centres and all-up elections

Long day today. Got to work ‘nice’ and early so I could leave to get back for a full Council meeting this evening.

There is plenty on tonight’s agenda, and I suspect the odds are about even whether we will finish the wrong side of midnight or not!

Three things I will be heavily involved in this evening:

The Deanes School – I, along with West Leigh ward councillor Nigel Holdcroft who is seconding the motion, and I hope 49 other councillors will be looking to send a strong message back to Essex County Council about their plan to close the school. Put bluntly – don’t do it!

Children’s Centres – the matter of the way to save the last bit of the 224k a year from the children’s centre budget has been referred up to full Council. I will be leading the debate on this difficult topic.

All-up elections – Something I will be speaking about, urging my colleagues from all political parties to support. It offers stability, the ability for the ‘winner on the night’ to form the next Administration,  but most importantly it offers savings of at least £50k a year without affecting front line services. Given the cutbacks local government faces at the moment I think this is a good way of making a saving – it’s hardly trying to create a tin pot dictatorship if parliament, the London Assembly the most powerful man in the world, Barack Obama and even BoJo can be elected for at least as long as suggested for Southend Borough Council!

Match sticks at the ready for work tomorrow!

Save money without affecting front line services? No say Southend’s opposition!

At the next full council meeting (17th October) we are due to discuss whether the council should move to ‘all-up’ elections.

At the moment the council is elected by thirds – yearly a third of councillors come up for election (one in each ward) and they are elected for a four year period. Every forth year we get a year off elections.

The proposal is to move to having an election every fourth year, where every councillor is put up for election (three in each ward).

This would save over £50,000 a year (more if we don’t have a by-election). Every year. With no effect to frontline services. A no brainer if you ask me. If MPs can be elected for a five-year period, the Mayor of London and the President of the United States for a four-year period, I’m not quite sure why Southend-on-Sea Borough Councillors can’t be elected for a four-year period as well. If we hold these elections at the same time as other elections (such as General Elections (2015) and European Elections (2019)) we will be able to reduce our costs even further.

But, surprise surprise, my inbox is already getting full of emails from opposition councillors telling me that “it is only proposed to gratify the present administrations ambitions” and “It will have to be made very clear what the advantages of whole council elections might be. Democracy is precious and money-saving is not an acceptable argument” (I won’t say who said these comments as I don’t have their consent).

The first comment is quite right – I will be voting for four-yearly elections to gratify the present administrations ambitions – that is to save money without affecting front-line services wherever possible. If the opposition’s ambitions are to have us trapes to the polls yearly, then I look forward to hearing from them about which Children’s Centre I have to close, which roads should be left with pot-holes in them, which refuge centre should close for another day or how much more we should tax our minimum-wage workers to fund their unnecessary extravagance.

Council elections cost YOU every time we hold them. So let’s hold them a bit less often! Money-saving is not an acceptable argument – Please!

Standing up for Southend’s primary school kids!

Nigel Holdcroft and I are standing up for Southend’s primary school children’s right to have the maximum choice when it comes to that important decision of what ‘big school’ to go to.

Nigel and I have put The Deanes School closure on the agenda of the next full council meeting, on 17th October, where we will be asking for all councillors to put their differences to one side and support our motion that:

“This council is concerned at the decision of Essex County Council to progress towards the closure of The Deanes School. We believe the case for closure has not been made out and that closure would have a detrimental impact on parental choice and the quality of education in Southend and South East Essex. We call upon Essex County Council to withdraw the statutory notice proposing to discontinue the school to allow further discussion and work for a sustainable future for The Deanes School to be undertaken”

I have been moved by the support The Deanes School has, and really feel Essex County Council has missed the point here. Parents do not care where the dividing line between Southend and the Greater Essex area is when it comes to school places. We take lots of pupils from Essex into our schools so it is only fair Essex pull their weight and take some of ours.

Last year Southend Schools, chiefly our grammar schools, but ten schools across the town in total, took 512 pupils from Essex, with Essex County Council Schools take less than half that number.

I was moved by the passion and number of Southend parents that attended the meeting we hosted before Essex made their decision, and I really want us to do what we can to ensure that parents have what they want and deserve: a mixed provision of schools and maximum choice as to where their children go.

We have had a surge in pupil numbers over the past few years and these will move through into the secondary sector in the not too distant future.

Deanes is a popular school, for its SEN (Special Educational Needs), sport and gifted & talented stream.

I hope that all Southend Councillors will join with me in sending Essex County Council the strongest message we can, that The Deanes School must stay open!