10 days

I’m not in the habit of simply processing Waverley press releases, but this one is certainly worthy. In the light of the economic circumstances, the council will aim to pay as many bills from local businesses as possible, within 10 days. A challenging aspiration, but a good one.

There’s no specific target as yet, but I’ll see if I can get a measurement after the first month.

Blink and you missed it

That's the quickest AGM I've ever been to. Probably a reflection of the skills of our chairman, fellow councillor John Ward, and also the agenda being mostly compiled of business / admin items.

Anyway, it was a only a little over 30 minutes long, and there were no questions from the floor! That was the bit that surprised me.

I'm also pleased as on a Sunday I'm really loathe to attend political meetings. It's a family day for us, and from now on I'm going to follow the example of our MP, Jeremy, who keeps it a private day.

How local is local?

This week the Conservative Party issued a paper on local democracy (you can see it here): sections 3 and 4 have some sound, sensible, and essential proposals that will help change the nature of 'local government.

But before I go further, and risk giving the impression of a sweeping endorsement of the paper, I am struck by the question "How local is local?" Today, some neighbours from across the road, who've been here a few years, and who like us, live just 7 minutes walk from the Farnham Pottery where we have our farm shop and coffee shop, came up for coffee and cake this afternoon for the very first time. After two years.

I'm sure many before me have asked this question, and possible answered it in many ways. I'm thinking about what non-physical barriers there are - such as circle of friends; living in a town that acts simply as a place for commuters to sleep; working so many hours that very little interaction takes place in the evenings nearby; driving everywhere meaning that no-one bumps into each other and chats on the way to or from somewhere; and, possibly, the irony that in this time of communication coming out of our ears, (where anyone is wants to be can publish everything they do on the internet for all to see), it can actually be fairly difficult to either tell everyone, or find out, what's going on locally.

Considering these items then drew me to think on whether the existing constructs of local government are expressions of natural communities, centred round historic centres - towns, markets etc. - or whether what we have now is more the consequences of decades of political posturing, leaving us with un-natural boroughs and districts etc.

Ask 10 people what local community means, and I think you'll get 10 different answers. But, ask 10 people if local community means their respective council, and I'm pretty certain that 9 or 10 out of 10 will say "No".

And so, while resonating with most of this paper from the Conservative Party, I hope that in the not too distant future, another paper will be released, that outlines the vision for revising local representation such that the natural geography, economy, and history of our communities, is counted as paramount.

Actions, not words

A quick snap to show that actions are being taken to rectify the water leakage on Pottery Lane. The two carrying out the work haven't sourced it yet, but in any case will put in something that's known as a 'correlation point' which will measure where the leak is coming from.

However, I'm sure that will only work if it's a leak from the mains, and if, in actual fact, it's simply groundwater - from an extremely high water table round here - I don't know whose accountability that will be. Must find out.

STOP PRESS! Again...

My brother-in-law tells me that the guys from yesterday were back again this morning. Apparently they were doing a bit more of a survey, and think that the water leaking onto the roads is a mixture of ground water, mains, and perhaps even some drainage. Let's hope we find out soon.

My nice neighbour

A day off today (after 3 weeks business travel including weekends), and my first job is to fill the skip in the driveway with rubble and earth from the front garden which we're completely re-landscaping.

So, good exercise certainly, but not exactly fun - until that is Ian, our next door neighbour, popped round with his wellingtons on, gloves on, and a shovel in his hand: "Can I help? I could do with some exercise."

It was then that the job became fun, and chatting over a shared endeavour became simply the best thing in the world to do right then.

Email is a wonderful thing

I may be 4 hours ahead, and a few thousand miles away, but because of technology and concerned residents, I'm able to know that in the past couple of days there have been some serious accidents on the main road through Wrecclesham.

My colleague in the ward of Wrecclesham and Rowledge, Pat Frost, was quick off the mark and has been able to speak with David Munro, our county councillor, and the county highways dept, and although I'm sure there's no immediate quick fix, I'm certain that much attention will be given to the root cause of the accidents, and what, if anything, can be done.

Speedy

Perhaps my new nickname for PC Simon Anderson, although I'm sure I should check with him first :-)

It's because I've just seen his picture in today's Herald, riding his new electric bike. My father-in-law has one and uses it daily in the summer. I tried it once and couldn't quite get used to it - although my bad memory of it is probably more to do with my wife beating me up the hill home than anything else!

Clash

I found out this evening that I'll miss the next Neighbourhood Panel at Weavers Gardens, as I'll be at the Community Overview & Scrutiny instead. It's a special pity, as I'd love to raise the issues of litter and grafitti, particularl blights on our village at the moment. However, my wife will be there, and probably will do it more eloquently and passionate that I.

One thing I'm interested in though - would any reader like to explore setting up a Neighbourhood Watch group? With the best will in the world, it will be nigh on impossible for our local bobbies to organise evening meetings for each small neighbourhood, to which Waverley representatives attend to discuss important issues about the community.

Neighbourhood Watch can provide this framework, led by residents themselves. If you're interested, do get in touch with me, or go direct to Farnham Police Station.

Prohibition of Traffic

No, not the latest (temporary) amendment to the US Constitution, but a notice I received today about the work at the crossroads at the top of School Hill and Sandrock Hill Road. It's a Temporary Prohibition of Traffic Order for roughly the first six months of 2009, although it's likely to actual occur from 5th January for 8 weeks. You can see information on the proposed scheme by clicking here. And you can see it on my ward map here.

This answers a couple of questions I've received recently about the various works on the stretch from Ridgeway Road, along Shortheath Road, and onto Echo Barn Lane, which has ended up with the road surface looking like a patchwork quilt. The junction upgrade has been waiting until the gas works were completed, and with this now done, it can begin.

It's easy to agree that the entire length of the ridge should be resurfaced, but money is tight and so it's unlikely to get done any time soon. Sorry about that. David Munro, our County Councillor, managed to get three roads in the area prioritised - Weydone Lane (done), the A287 through the Bourne (just started), and Gardener's Hill Road (next year's programme), and that's some achievement in itself.

Local?

Local politics in Chicago means a very different thing than local politics in Waverley. Here, it refers to an expensice juggernaut of corrupt authority that measures its budget in the billions. So, it's a little odd listening to the news channels talking of the Governor of Illinois' arrest, in the same breadth as talking about the local machine politics of Chicago.

Please rest assured that I have no intention of trying to sell on my ward seat at any time in the future!

Trading Standards? Not of common sense

My breath is taken away by the ludicrous nature of some over-zealous officials in Northumberland. James Cookson sells vegetables from the end of his driveway, with an honesty box next to them for purchasers to leave their money.

I'm sure that most of you are thinking that it would wonderful to live in a community where leaving food and / or money at the end of one's driveway is safe, and neighbours can be trusted.

But it would appear, the trading standards in Northumberland are much more concerned with the 'gold plating' of EU regulations.

Now, I don't normally use my blog to vent my frustration. However, in this instance - WHAT ON EARTH DID THEY THINK THEY WERE DOING?

I mean really, haven't we all just about had enough? When such lovely examples of community trust and support and relationship are penalised by our local authorities, isn't it time we all agreed things have gone too far? Legislation and regulation are the not the panacea of a perfect world.

Seriously, laws are not the answer to ensuring certain behaviours in society. They show to us all the bounds of acceptable behaviour, certainly. But they make no claims, and cannot, to conformity by the citizens of our country.

Sadly, we have moved to a state (of being, not a nation state) where laws are (a) created for the most insignificant issues, (b) implemented unquestioningly when handed down from Brussels to our sovereign nation, and (c) relied upon as the only means to regulate behaviour.

Please, please, please, can we all wake-up from this sleep-walking into a police state (nation this time), and acknowledge that unless we multilaterally encourage right relationships in all spheres of life - family, community, work, politics - we will soon be too far down the slippery slope to fight our way back.

William Wilberforce wrote eloquently and persuasively two centuries ago about the Reformation of Manners needed in our nation. The same must be said of now.

P.S. I'm sympathetic to the argument that this was simply a standard letter sent out because the stall had been seen by an officer passing. BUT, my point is why oh why did it cross their minds to send the letter at all? How have we arrived at this point when it's an important thing to do?

FVF and S&C CM 2008

I'm back from a Farnham Visitors Forum meeting. It was the first one I'd attended, and it was very stimulating. Many businesses and local organisations working together to improve the opportunities for visitors to Farnham, and thus benefit the local economy, and ultimately local jobs and families.

I guess I was there more on behalf of Smith & Causey, rather than as a borough councillor, but it did fit both roles in many ways. I'm not that experienced as a councillor, but we do get opportunities to learn about many organisations, and therefore can often suggest business or other networking connections that can help those to whom we speak.

I'm now back at my Farnham Pottery desk - we have our Christmas Market here tomorrow and there's lots to do - bit of a plug I know, but can't help it :-)

Rowledge School Fair

Just back from the Rowledge School Fair. I was there manning the Smith & Causey stall rather than as a councillor, but it was lovely to walk round and see all these wonderful children engaged in simple and enjoyable activity.

And especially great to see so many parents there. I've often heard that the involvement the parents was second to none, and so it seemed, with the vast majority of stalls being run by parents and children.

A wonderful sense of community and joy.

Motion

Travelling to London on the train this morning, I’ve just read on page 12 of the Telegraph, that the government is considering banning the sale of electoral role information to the public by local authorities. Hurrah!

As regular readers will know, I posted my opinion on this some months ago – that the practice should definitely be banned; that officers at the council would be very happy to see this ended; and that it raises very little income and causes much work.

So, I’m writing today to the leader of the council, Richard Gates, to ask him to allow the inclusion of the following motion at the next full council meeting:

“This council believes that the practice of selling electoral register information should be ended.”

If allowed on the agenda, I will speak to this on the grounds not only of privacy, but also as it will very likely lead to the reduction of junk mail, and therefore, in this very difficult economic climate, prevention of mis-selling or over-selling to vulnerable households.

I recognise the potential complaints that some companies will be curtailed in their attempts to maintain turnover if sales opportunities through junk mail are prevented. But, as a business owner myself, I believe that much more targeted marketing, and considerate advertising, would be the more responsible approach.

What is a driftway?

I'm grateful to David Munro, our county councillor, for this post. In recent months he's been the key person behind the resurfacing of The Avenue, Rowledge, and he's sent me some background information on it which makes me realise how much works he does, and what a great result this is. As you can see from the photo (for those of you who use The Avenue), this is an amazing improvement, and looks a treat.

David says, "The Avenue is a driftway, which means that it only has to be maintained in a condition for pedestrians, horses and farm animals to use it. Although the residents also have a right of vehicular access to their properties, it isn’t the responsibility of Highways to upgrade it. [However] The Avenue now has a brand-new surface – in sympathy with the rural area but easily good enough to be used by everyone. And it should stay that way for many years to come"

David worked hard to gain the trust and contributions from residents, Surrey County Council's Right of Way service, and his own local allocation, and the results speak for themselves.

Thinking

Well, I'm sat at my desk in Stockley Park near Heathrow, with 8 minutes until my next meeting. I don't have anything particular to post, so thought I'd simply dump a list of things that are going through my head:

(1) I sometimes feel impotent as a borough councillor. Whilst I want to hear things that need fixing locally, it seems like once I get into it, there are simply too many layers of bureacracy to go through, and then no one person who feels empowered to make a decision, and, often, to spend money. Good control over finances and other resources of local government is absolutely right, but just sometimes, I wish for a small fund to help things move along locally. Maybe I should be a County Councillor!

(2) East Street - contract considerations will come along soon. Now that planning permission has been given (with many conditions to be met), the contract now has to be considered and the viability test reviewed. Watch this space...

(3) A couple of tree preservation orders need some attention. One is longstanding, and I simply can't see a way forward. Another is fairly new, and I need to get my head around it for the first time. The key thing is understanding the phrase 'amenity' and wondering how best to define it.

Food and councillors everywhere

What a lovely day at the Farnham Food Festival. Our Smith & Causey stall was wonderfully positioned next to Steve Drake's cooking demonstration, Grandpa's Spells band, the organics burger stall, and a chocolate stand - a real sensory overload!

So lots of food, but also lots of councillors. I enjoyed seeing many colleagues perusing the market throughout the day, and had rewarding conversations with one of two of them. In fact, at one point I think I spotted at least 6 councillors there at the same time!

The Place Survey

I assume this took place last year, but it might have passed me by somehow. Apparently there's an exact format handed down to local authorities from the Communities and Local Government department, and it's sent out to a random 2,500 homes in the borough.

Just in case you receive it, and wonder whether to fill it in, in my view, it's worth it. It will contribute to some national indicators - and whilst I'm not a great fan of statistics, the more people fill the forms in, the more likely the indicators will reflect something of reality.

Oh, and if you don't send it back, they will send you two reminders - again, CLG department rules.

A Rough Ditch in Rowledge

Not the one along the south side of Long Road, but a fantastic barn dance band who showed off their not inconsiderable skills in Rowledge village hall tonight, in aid of the band's "Family Charity", Riding for the Disabled.

Roughditch Band delivered what they promised, playing a wonderful mixture of tunes, and, most wonderfully, singing a great Aussie tune, with four-part close harmony that reminded me of barber shop in its pleasing delicacy and uncommon nature in the UK.

It's been a while since my wife and I have been out on a Saturday night, (we're usually collapsed at home after a long week), but this was truly worth it, for a worthwhile cause, and simply great fun.