A few of my overseas readers asking if we’ve been hit – no is the answer – No Beast from the East….only a light dusting.
10th December 17 03rd March 18 18th March 18
There has been some mild and spring weather in March.
Well if only….. What a disastrous (putting it mildly) state of affairs ‘Whittlesey’ has reached….many would have read in the local press some of the ‘going on’ – but this is only a very small part of the situation.
Ex FDC leader ‘off’ to Conservative HQ to seek advice.
I am knocking the system that the Conservatives have brought upon themselves….
That’s up to them and as they have found to their costs… I’m having a go at what it means for local democracy – and I’ll explain in more detail.
Selecting would be candidates (If you belong to a political group that is) should be a ‘serious affair’ on all parties involved, be it the candidates or the selection caucus.
Cllr S. Tierney (Wisbech)
This ‘should ideally’ be by local candidates and by local members to a group.
Whittlesey has found itself – (Whittlesey caucus) choosing a candidate only to be overturned by the wider Fenland caucus.
It’s like me choosing would be candidates in Wisbech (for example) – I know very little about Wisbech or its politicians – a short interview and Bingo I’ve been selected.
Surely in any local political group – selection should be done by ‘Local members’ who probably know a lot more about their prospective candidates than those from miles away.
The caucus – has chosen one candidate who lives in Whittlesey and wants to stand in ‘his’ old area, Christchurch – that’s 20+ miles away – Okay it’s his ‘old’ ward area – but once you move away from an area (20+ miles) you tend to loose touch and contact with local going-on.
So where does this now lead too – well its my understanding (please correct me if I am wrong) that not only are the Conservatives ‘struggling’ (I could say desperate) to find suitable candidates, but the local Labour party is in exactly the same situation.
Only (2) ex Councillors penned in to probably stand in next Mays local elections.
Lib-Dems even worse and low and behold a single UKIP candidate still on the horizon.
Not enough space and time to write about The’ Martin Curtis’ – factor but this has caused great upsets – again locally, when he was selected to stand in the village ward of Coates.
I’ll cover this in the future – but being an ‘old’ Coates boy and have friends live there, I have the feeling that MC (irrespective of his campaigning skills) will not find it ‘a walkover’ in this ward.
Finally if discontent is an understatement – although in front all seems happy business as usual –
Not so – several – (I mean more than one) threatening to relinquish their political union and ‘possibly’ stand as an Independent – We will see ‘if’ that happens –
I welcome that. – I am on my own – Independent is my stand.
Have a good (cold) weekend.
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If you have been affected by this, or any other type of fraud, report it to Action Fraud by visiting www.actionfraud.police.uk or by calling 0300 123 2040. |
Well as usual a ‘funny’ week…with lots going on, plus the ‘sorry state of affairs’ @ The Whittlesey Conservatives – more on this later.’
Planning meeting, Full Council meeting and a visit from a potential future candidate…yes someone might be up for it.
An invite from ‘another’ political group to have a ‘talk with’ – well I’ll talk with anyone – but never fear I started as being ‘Independent’ and hopefully will remain ‘Independent’ – I and my friends value my ‘Independence’.
The very ‘sorry’ state of some of our roads (again) and how about a bit of ‘paint’ on our Zebbra Crossings’ – looks like a Zebbra with NO stripes….
Good to see that after over a year of refurbishing – the Whittlesey Vets have moved into their state-of-the art facilities on Church Street the site of the ‘Hero of Aliwal’
Also opened now for a couple of weeks – on Broad Street a shop called ‘Saxon Muscle Click Here for their Website
this is where Sharman Quinny was located – at least another shop now occupied.
The Friends of Whittlesey Library (FOWL) Quiz last night was enjoyed by all so I am informed – I set the questions and was Quiz Master for the evening. The event was a sell out, very good Fish & Chips supplied by the Royal Fish Bar – High Causeway
http://www.causewayroyalfishbar.co.uk/
Funds raised during the evening go towards events and enhancements to our Library.
Next … as per the poster on the left….
Another good event being put on during the school holidays and only £1
The ‘Friends’ are always looking for ‘help’ – as little or as much as people can spare. They are like many other groups in our town – a small group of dedicated volunteers – which I am also proud to be involved with.
One thing I forgot to mention on my Council report – WTC will be putting ‘Music on The Square’ again this year and further details will follow….
Various reports from partners & FDC…
Click on Pictures to enlarge….
Disclaimer: These observations are not the ‘official’ minutes of the meeting, these are supplied by Whittlesey Town Council, normally (1) month following the meeting and can be viewed on their website.
Agenda to this meeting was published on this site – 10th March
10 Councillors in attendance – absent Cllrs Mrs Mayor, Jolly, Curtis and Garratt.
6 Members of the Public and 2 PCSO’s
Points of Interest:
Police & CCTV Report : PCSO Michael Froment attended and gave a report the same as reported to the NHW meeting on Tuesday evening. (See previous post NHW)
PCSO Froment informed us that he would be transferring to re- train as a fully fledged PC and would hope to return to Fenland
in the future – A new partner would be found for PCSO Green
Presentation by Mr Steve Bass FDC Senior Environmental Protection Officer
Air Pollution in Whittlesey.
This subject has been mainly driven along by Peter Baxter who has been championing the issues in/around Whittlesey on Air Quality for a considerable time.
Mr Bass unfortunately was suffering from cold/flu and we couldn’t hear him very well.
The main thrust of ‘measurement’- was that of diffusion tubes – in essence giving ‘very basic’ results – Mr Bass stated that from records and monitoring there were no concerns in or around the Whittlesey area. (Mr Baxter disagrees with this).
To measure more accurately – more expensive equipment is required (He quoted £10K -£15K) or to hire – however he said there was no budget or justification to have this equipment.
Some questioning about EV Chargers (Electric Vehicles)
None supported by FDC – although a few private installations. (See below)
Questions from Councillors were few – mainly to do with pm 2.5 (particulate matter 2.5mm) which can affect peoples health. Mr Bass said that he thought there to be little or no concerns about pm 2.5 (Although no conclusive measurements made)
Public Forum: Mr Gary Hook gave a short insight on the traffic issues, that the closing of the A605 last week due to a burst water main caused to residents on Snoots Road.
The amount of HGV’s using Snoots Road during the period the A605 was closed.
R.G. – Highlighted that ‘some paint’ was required on all of our ‘Zebra Crossings’
I also highlighted that the Government has £££M millions available to local authorities to install EV Chargers and there is no excuses that Fenland is lagging behind many other authorities.
I also covered research into Air Quality monitors and how Peterborough has better than basic equipment.
Air Quality on the news today + Peterborough parkway has illegal level of pollution says government see article on this weeks…. Peterborough Telegraph
Town Council Finances: A healthy surplus (underspend) for the year gives the Council a buffer for future finances. Kudos given on the -2.7% precept for 2018/19 – and that ‘Social Media’ in Whittlesey had got their maths wrong (again).
Must Farm: Scoping for a state of art visitor centre is moving forward – application for Lottery Funding will go ahead (£9M) – in conjunction with P’boro Museum & Flag Fen.
Straw Bear: Again rumours are incorrect – Straw Bear will be going ahead – there is much work being undertaken in respect of future ‘funding’
New Council Offices/Chambers: Councillors and we public were shown outline plans for the ‘The Old Police Station/New Council Offices’ – looking very impressive and an excellent asset to the town. Councillors were mindful about keeping the project to their budget.
CRP: Community Rail Partnership – with meetings scheduled for
20th & 28th March with the AGM on 26th March – more on this to follow. The recent clear-up undertaken at the Railway Station.
Still much more to do.
Syrian Refugees: The Council voted unanimously to allocate the (2) x 3 bedroom flats above the ‘New’ Town Council Offices to (2) Syrian Refugee Families. This they said would be financed Central Government funding to the sum of £75,000 over a 5 year period.
This also made good financial argument.
Water Tower Play Equipment: Progressing forward and Councillors voted unanimously to support this with a £4,000 donation.
A605 Closure: Council will be writing a letter to Anglian Water – that their contractors had left a ‘A’ road closed for 3 days – when more urgency should have been given to get the road re-opened ASAP after the repair work.
Here are documents in relation to Air Quality results – In Whittlesey.
You will find it interesting – that by these readings – Pollution levels have decreased by a large margin over the 7 year period measured.
Want to know more about Air quality plan for nitrogen dioxide (NO2) in UK (2017)
Visit Government Website Click Here
Date of next meeting: Wednesday 11th April 2018
The guy in the White Van was actually seen dumping this rubbish, the witness wisely did not approach Van Man – This is the result – Mortons Leam.
After my previous post of substantial Fly-Tipping along the Millennium Cycle Route near Ball Bridge – THEY have returned and dumped more rubbish…. this is how some people treat the environment. It has been reported, but if the land is privately owned it could be the land owner who has to remove it.
A good meeting even though many of our regular members still had the dreaded ‘Flu’ –
Since January, Secretary Robin Sutton and myself have had complete control of our own database within the system, this has allowed us to tidy up the membership.
We have 32 active members and 48 inactive members.
Pleased to have our PCSO Shane Green in attendance – who brought the group up to date with his work within the area, remember he not only covers Whittlesey, but our 4 villages and Benwick.
An example of Police resources – being that within Fenland there are 3 to 4 missing persons reported – every week, these are usually children and this takes up a lot of Police resources during a shift – fortunately these ‘children’ are found.
The usual issues were highlighted – Anti-social behaviour, Inconsiderate Parking and Identity Theft.
The ‘big push’ being ‘Bogus Police’ contacting people asking them to withdraw money.
The Police or you Bank will never ask you to withdraw money from your Bank.
One person in Whittlesey has already been a victim of this ‘Scam’ – please if you have elderly neighbours, please make them aware.
I have 90 year+ old neighbours who trust and open their doors to all the knock on it.
| On 12/03/2018 20:15 Someone has smashed the front window screen of the victims car with a car jack. The offence location is Dandelion Drive, Whittlesey and the victims car is a Silver Audi TT. If anyone has been witness to this or has any information please contact 101 or email us at March.Npt@cambs.pnn.police.uk and quote crime number CF0134940318 . Kind Regards PCSO GREEN |
| Message Sent By Shane Green (Police, PCSO, Fenland – March) |
It would have been very nice and engaging if our (For-ever changing) Sector Inspector had made ‘some’ contact with us in Whittlesey – alas I’ve heard absolutely nothing….
See below his so called engagement with ‘Wisbech’.
Posted: Tue, 13 Feb 2018 15:55 by Susanah Farmer – Wisbech Town Council©
I would like to introduce myself as the new inspector in charge of the Neighbourhood policing of Fenland.
Over the coming weeks I will be sending out invites for council members to attend March Police station. This will not only be so that I can meet them in person but so that I can explain the changes in context and how it will benefit the residents of Fenland.
I have been made aware of rumours circulating in the press about the complete removal of neighbourhood policing from Fenland.
This is categorically not true and I will give a basic overview below.
Fenland will not be losing their local policing team.
However, there will be some changes to the way Neighbourhood Policing is managed across the force.
The Constabulary has recently undertaken a review of how local policing is delivered across Cambridgeshire. This includes moving from six command areas to two:
The result is a leaner management structure, a reduction in the number of senior officer posts and an increase of warranted officers in increase front line strength.
With the agreed increase in precept as approved by Police and Crime Commissioner Jason Ablewhite, there will be a further increase in police officer numbers, with a combined total increase of in excess of 80 additional officers.
A significant number of these will be committed to delivering neighbourhood policing, including in Fenland.
March police station and Wisbech police station will remain as operating bases and still operate as enquiry offices.
Each area will have a Neighbourhood Policing Team to provide local policing.
In addition to the neighbourhood policing teams there will also be Community Action Teams.
These teams will be deployed to areas of greatest need to address particular issues.
Roads and Policing will continue to operate across the region, including Fenland.
Inspector 1797 Lombardo, Fenland Inspector, Post Incident Manager, Cambridgeshire Constabulary
Hang on a minute, Jason Ablewhite the PCC has ‘promised’ 105 ‘new’ police offices.
55 from ‘savings’ made and 50 from the increase in Police precept – that makes 105 by my maths.
So Inspector why are you quoting only 80 that’s a difference – Um – let me see oh yes 25 difference that’s -Minus 25 Officers – someone has either been telling me stories or getting their numbers mixed up.
Most people in Whittlesey with not know Terry Jordan, I have known Terry for well over 10 years.
Terry has been employed by various councils within Fenland, and has been clerk to Manea Parish Council.
The excitement at Manea makes our Town Council meetings somewhat mundane – that said I agree with Terry 100% that the public forum should be for either informing councillors of ‘things’ they may not be aware of – or asking questions of the council,
(Not always getting an answer is the norm – but write a letter or e-mail instead then)
Manea Parish Council clerk resigns over public’s poor behaviour at meetings and says ‘I’ve had enough’.
Mr Jordan told the Citizen© meeting of Manea council have become increasingly bad tempered over the past few months and he said: “I’m simply tired of all the nonsense as meetings which have become consistently confrontational with certain members of the public who appear to have no respect and simply chip in and make comments on decisions the council makes that goes against their opinion.
He said the 15 minute public forum at the start of meetings is open to residents to raise issues they feel need addressing by the council. But instead people are turning up and using it to have a go at councillors.
See the full story Fenland Citizen
Terry is also the Town Clerk to Wisbech Town Council
http://www.wisbechtowncouncil.gov.uk/
