WTC Offices are open Monday to Friday between 9:30am-1:00pm
Tonight it is my final homework for tomorrow’s ‘PLACE Assessment’
For a number of years, I join a very small team – who carry out an assessment
(none- clinical) of our hospital(s) (Peterborough & Stamford).
This year I will be doing 3 x 1 day sessions.
No we do not get paid for this – it is purely volunteer based
Good environments matter. Every NHS patient should be cared for with compassion and dignity in a clean, safe environment.
Where standards fall short, they should be able to draw it to the attention of managers and hold the service to account.
PLACE assessments will provide motivation for improvement by providing a clear message, directly from patients, about how the environment or services might be enhanced.
The assessments involve local people (known as patient assessors) going into hospitals as part of teams to assess how the environment supports the provision of clinical care, assessing such things as privacy and dignity, food, cleanliness and general building maintenance and, more recently, the extent to which the environment is able to support the care of those with dementia or with a disability.
Recruitment and training of patient assessors is the responsibility of those organisations undertaking assessments.
The assessments take place every year, and results are published to help drive improvements in the care environment. The results show how hospitals are performing both nationally and in relation to other hospitals providing similar services.
Note that PLACE assessments focus exclusively on the environment in which care is delivered and do not cover clinical care provision or how well staff are doing their job.
Again, I am very proud and privileged to be of help and member of this group.
Below will be the press statement sent out from Fenland District Council in respect and response to the Governments implementation of new planning laws and regulation.
‘Local Democracy’ has been eroded.
Now that some 90/95 % of applications that may have been brought to FDC’s planning committee for determination will NO longer happen –
All if not most will be determined by delegated power by planning officers.
Now just to clarify, planning officers are highly qualified and mostly experienced, however ‘local’ knowledge in planning matters they do not process.
This now brings me to ‘why’ it is even more relevant now, that members of the public are aware of the importance of your/our own Whittlesey Town Council Planning Committee.
However there are issues …..
(1) All councillors are ‘volunteers’ at Parish/Town level, receive little training on planning matters, some have the experience of being a District Councillor and ‘may’ have had some training.
(2) Some Councillors do not or have not lived in the Whittlesey area, they will be severely
restricted in their ‘lack’ of local knowledge.
From now on……It is vitally important that residents/businesses look at planning applications.
They can and should contact either their local councillor or one that is part of WTC’s planning committee.
The WTC planning committee maybe they only way to ‘influence’ on planning terms applications that come to our town and villages.
On Friday afternoon, we received a call reporting suspected hare coursers in Guyhirn.
The vehicle involved was spotted driving dangerously in the Peterborough and Whittlesey area, reaching speeds of up to almost 100mph!
Neighbourhood officers, traffic officers and rural officers worked together to locate the vehicle, and later found it abandoned in a field near to Ramsey Road, resulting in it being seized.
Thank you to all those who called us to report the behaviour.
Hare coursing remains a priority for the force, and we will continue to target offenders, work closely with our rural communities, and respond to help protect our countryside.
Signs to look out for are:
🚗Vehicles parked in or near fields, gateways or tracks
👥Groups of people with lurcher-type dogs
🐕Dogs being released to chase hares across farmland
🌾Damage to crops, fences, or land
👀Suspicious activity in rural areas
If you see anything suspicious, please report it to us by calling 101 or online.
If a crime is in progress, or someone is in immediate danger, always dial 999.
I am proud and honoured to be a ‘member; of The Citizens Advice Bureaux’ in my own right – I do not sit or attend as a representation of any Council.
Both Whittlesey Town and Fenland District Councils nominate representatives.
WTC and FDC make generous donations to the CAB annually.
CAB attend Whittlesey Town Council Offices every Tuesday – It is advisable to book a slot.
He is supporting the charity as his father has severe dementia so he wants to help fund research and raise awareness for neurological conditions
Support Nik @ Brain Research Uk – Click Here
Read NQS Article On Nik’s Campaign
Yesterday I attended the FDC full council meeting regarding new planning law.
Back to Whittlesey for the WTC Finance & Policy meeting @ 6pm….
(Cllr Nawaz late as usual).
Two requests for donations,
Pride in Turves and Whittlesey Christmas Extravaganza.
Some debate albeit again ‘confusing’ in respect of the ‘Solar Panels’ installed some 5 years ago.
‘We’ have never found out whether they work correctly, how much/less we as a council are benefiting and how much longer they (if they are working as they should be) have a lifespan.
Personally, I believe they have been of little use to us or the public….take them out and have a look again at what may be available.
Live streamed on FDC’s YouTube Channel – can be watch later at anytime.
Click Here FDC Cabinet Meeting 19th October
A very important delayed move forward in the Manor Leisure Centre Upgrades.
Cllr Count presented the cabinet with the latest details.
NO decision to be made today and all relevant documents will be presented to cabinet in December for the decision to be made.
Although Cllr Boden had to declare he Does NOT want to be seen as pre-determined.
He is vying towards ‘OPTION 2’ but will wait and decided once all the documents are presented.
Option 1A: Option 1A – Maintain Existing Facility with Pool Tank Replacement
(£7.35m)
This cost to include the replacement of the pool tanks and is estimated
based on 2021 condition survey reports, inflationary increases added to
that sum and an estimated £1.5m cost to replace the pool tanks and all
associated pipework.
Or
Option 1B: Option 1B – Maintain Existing Facility with Pool Tank Repair (£5.2m)
This cost is to reline the existing pool tank with a crack repair that is
unwarranted, with an expectation of further failure at an indeterminable
point in the future. This cost is based on the 2021 conditions survey
uplifted for inflation.
2.2.2 Option 2: Comprehensive Redevelopment (£20.506m)
Total projected Greatest Maximum Cost £20.506m, net of a £2.5m
Sport England grant for a full replacement and extension of the pool
building and demolition of the sports hall facelift.
