While out delivering my newsletter to some of the last few streets in Winton East, I struck up a conversation with a gentlemen who has lived in the area for nearly forty years, in the same house, which he bought from the council with a big discount under the right to buy scheme. His house has increased in value to more than ten times what it was when he took ownership of it and it is a lovely house. Our conversation meandered, as they do, to many different things including, of course, the work of the council and the lack of social housing for those that need it – I didn’t mention cause and effect. I figure that if you sell a lot of council houses and then don’t build sufficient new ones you will not have enough for those that need them. Not this guy’s fault, he did what many of us would do in his position – he purchased his own home, and he has made the most of it.
This chap who, until I interrupted his morning, was tending his much loved and well looked after garden whose early spring flowers could be enjoyed by all who passed by, although probably not the car drivers racing past at over 40 mph (in a 30 area). It was, most likely, enjoyed by the volunteers who were out the previous Sunday litter picking around Winton clearing up other people’s thoughtlessly dropped rubbish or, in some cases, not so thoughtlessly. As we were talking, this band of happy do-gooders came up (in conversation not physically). Why, I was asked, do we need volunteers to go out litter picking? We pay our Council Tax for things like that.
I was among those who gave up an hour or two to walk along the streets with our litter pickers, buckets and bags. We tried to separate what was recycling (Can you recycle those thin plastic ham packets?) from what was not and we piled it high ready for the Council to take away, as agreed, and deal with. It can be therapeutic to wander up and down picking up discarded beer tins, sweet wrappers, crisp packets, the odd shoe (why did one shoe get the boot, so to speak, and not the other?) and rather a large number of unused pink balloons (I have not a clue as to why). It is an hour or two away from the day to day, giving one time to think about all sorts of things and to plan appropriate courses of action. It could be seen as an act of public spiritedness, making things nice for one and all. That afternoon I was only slightly disappointed to see my efforts had not solved the problem in perpetuity and more rubbish had replaced that collected in the morning. Why do manufacturers use so much unnecessary plastic, often to put unnecessary plastic into?
Yes, we law abiding citizens of Bournemouth pay a not insignificant amount into the Council.
I voted against the merging of Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole. I was the only Bournemouth Councillor to do so with three abstaining[i]
I had a number of reasons for voting that way, and I spoke on the matter at full council.
“I don’t think the big bang approach of uniting Bournemouth, Poole and Christchurch into one authority will work and I am not convinced it would be in the best interests of residents.” Those are not my words they are the words as reported in the press of Councillor Beesley[ii], the leader of the Council (November 2013). I think he was right when he said that “Seeking to create a super council would seem to be a retrograde step towards making local government more accountable, more accessible and more flexible to changes in the needs and demands of local businesses and residents.”
The short consultation process has been criticised and was fundamentally flawed. The business case was not published until after it was completed how can people have made an informed choice? Many questions remain about the merger, reorganisation or (perhaps in Christchurch’s view?) take over.
Christchurch Council have voted, albeit by a small margin, against the merger so could be perceived as an unwillingly partner that does not wish to be part of Greater Bournemouth, West Wessex or whatever a new council might be labelled (I did hear ‘By The Sea’ Council was a suggestion, I hope that was a joke!). Christchurch Councillors and residents may be suspicious of the motives behind such an arrangement – They may ask whether Bournemouth is only after their land to meet its housing targets?
The main driver for this reorganisation of the Councils of Dorset appears to be the national Conservative government’s emaciating of local funding and power, something this council should be fighting against on behalf of our residents who are seeing their services at risk because of ill-conceived national policies.
People are rightly concerned about the reduction of representation they will get with one unitary for an area previously cover by two unitary authorities and more.
I am not persuaded that the Local Government Reorganisation ~ option 2b is going to be beneficial to the residents of Bournemouth. This does not mean that I am against the reorganisation, it means that I do not believe that the pros and cons of each option, including staying as we are or forming one Dorset authority were clearly laid out and the residents given the opportunity to make an informed choice.
We are told that the cost of the reorganisation will be recouped within one year, would the comparatively small cost of a referendum have been too much to ask for a decision that will have an impact on the area for many years to come?
It is now in the hands of Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government Sajid Javid, and his decision is expected later this month, I am not expecting any surprises from him.
If you would like to keep your area cleaner visit: DorsetDevils.org for all the details.
Councillor Simon Bull
Contact: [email protected]
[i] One due to declared pecuniary interest, the Mayor (who usually abstains from any vote) and Cllr. Rochester.
[ii] As reported in the Daily Echo (2013)
