Latest Diary - August 2011
The news that Andrea Hill is to leave Suffolk brings to and end an era both divisive and damaging to Suffolk and its County Council. Within Suffolk County Council a period described by the new leader as one of truth and reconciliation has begun to rebuild confidence in the council both internally and externally. The slogans and strap lines of recent years including the New Strategic Direction, at its best a confused prescription for Suffolk, are history. Replaced by a simple renewal of the commitment given in May 2005 to provide ever better value for taxpayers money. I appreciate this might sound somewhat tongue in cheek given the pressing need to save money with its attendant need to deliver services in a different way. What it means is that councillors and council officers are going to have to work even harder in thinking outside the box of conventional council culture. Suffolk has always been good at this.
Arrangements are in hand to appoint an interim Chief Executive to be in post by early August for a period of six months to give time for a suitable permanent appointment to be made. These appointments will be made by the Staff Appointments Committee of the County Council as required by its constitution. For the very first time back bench councillors with relevant experience have been appointed to this committee; a departure from previous practice and a visible sign of a new open way of conducting County Council affairs.
There is still no definite news on the future of school crossing patrols beyond what is reported in my last diary entry. It still appears that they will be divided into two groups according to the risk to safety. In our locality this appears to offer the possibility that the County Council will continue to fund the Foxhall Road crossing. To date no crossing patrol officers have been made redundant so it appears the patrols will continue into the school year beginning this autumn.
It's all change on the plans for the future of libraries in Suffolk. Gone is the division of libraries into county, community and rural categories, of which the second and third were subject to the edict to communities, run them yourselves or they will close. In its place comes a plan to transfer the running of all 44 libraries into a charitable body legally charged with delivering the library service on behalf of the county council. There is a simple, non political principle behind this initiative which makes it possible to make the savings that the County Council has to make whilst retaining or even enhancing the service we enjoy at present.
The library service is very small in comparison to the County Council; the library annual running cost being £9 million compared with the County Council at £1200 million. Embedding a small unit in a very much larger organisation loads the small until with a heavy overhead; more than £4 million of the library's £9 million annual operating cost in this case. Taking the library out of the County Council into a suitably sized charitable organisation removes the overhead leaving the key front line services intact whilst making the savings needed.
Given that the County Council has now taken back the task of managing the transfer there seems little point in pursuing the plans your County Councillors had developed to run and fund our library locally. These have been withdrawn much to the chagrin of some of the Kesgrave politicos who had been rolling up their sleeves and rubbing their hands in anticipation of another bout of the political infighting that casts a blight over so much of the good work that is done in our community.
A few words on the continuing saga of the crossing. As sensible minds will appreciate anything done in a community will leave some people dissatisfied, who after an understandable measure of grumbling and complaint become reconciled, being part of a community, accepting that overall there has been a net benefit. Not in this case unfortunately where formal action against the County Council and against the County Councillors is being pursued if one is to believe the threats uttered. We shall have to see.
After years of campaigning on behalf of the residents of Deben Avenue repair work on the footpaths and road is scheduled for completion during August. This is the first phase of a multi year programme of works which will deal with the southern half of the road where its condition is worst. The work which will entail the closing of part of Deben Avenue with alternative access via Dobbs Lane and Gayfer Avenue will include planing out the existing road and inlaying with new asphalt at the end nearest Gorseland school together with fracturing the concrete section between the school and a point halfway down Deben Avenue and overlaying it with new asphalt, raising kerbs and resurfacing pavements and patching the area of damaged road close to the main road.
Your County Councillors are pushing hard for the final stage of the remedial works to deal with the flooding that occurs every winter in the Street, Rushmere St Andrew. It had been hoped to reconstruct the seventy year old pipe that drains Chestnut Pond into the fields to the east which needs to be co-ordinated with the growing season this year. Staff losses resulting from the need to make savings have reduced the highways engineers in the Saxmundham Area Office from eight to four putting the completion of the works this year under threat.
The Olympic flame will arrive in the UK from Greece on Friday 18th May 2012 and the 70 day Torch Relay will start at Land's End, Cornwall on the morning of the 19th May 2012. On leaving Land's End the Olympic Flame is expected to travel an estimated 8,000 miles across the UK, giving thousands of communities and individuals their Moment to Shine as the Olympic flame comes to their doorstep. The Olympic Flame will arrive at the Olympic Stadium on the 27th July 2012 for the lighting of the cauldron at the Opening Ceremony, signifying the start of the London 2012 Olympics Games.
We now know the Olympic torch will be coming to Ipswich on the 5th July 2012, it will be travelling through our County with confirmed locations and overnight stops to be revealed later in the year, what we do know is that on any one day, we will be looking for around 100 Torch bearers for Suffolk. In our locality several local people have been nominated as torchbearers though we have yet to know which have been selected.
This is an excellent way of expression our appreciation of those who work hard and selflessly amongst us year on year. The nomination portal is at www.london2012.com/olympictorchrelay and will stay open until 11.59pm on Wednesday 29th June 2011. Judging panels will be set up in each Nation and Region of the UK to select the Torchbearers for their area.
The latest SNT priorities arising from the community engagement meeting on Monday 11th July 2011 are, reducing Anti-social Behaviour at Cedarwood Play Space, Wilkinson Drive, Kesgrave, reducing Anti-social Behaviour and Arson offences in the areas of Centenary Play Space, Deben Avenue, Martlesham Heath and securing and Security Marking Pedal Cycles to reduce Thefts in the SNT area.
The following local websites provide a much wider range of information on matters affecting the Kesgrave & Rushmere St Andrew Division. My own website has been comprehensively overhauled to include a much wider coverage of information as well as matter of immediate interest such as road works, crime reports and bus service changes which can often fall between issues of this newsletter.
Suffolk County Conservatives
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Central Suffolk and North Ipswich Constituency
Dr Daniel Poulter
I am available on 01473 334843 or john@jtjaklaschka.co.uk
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