Cllr Roy Gerstner – Community Activist

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.

The last full council meeting was in July – There is no meeting held in August.

The Agenda was published on this website on the 13th September see belwow.
The ‘usual’ 4 members of the public present including myself. Cllrs absent Dorling, Garratt, and Bristow. Cllrs Boden, Laws and Curtis arrived during the meeting.

Policing: There were No Police in attendance as they were busy elsewhere, there are still on-going concerns about ‘Speeding’ & ‘Parking’ issues. There was some statistical information from the ‘Community Road Watch Scheme’ – however Cambs Police do not engage with this group (There is history!). Later in the meeting Cllrs voted on making a small donation to the CRW team for their work.

Public Forum: SB, Thanked the Council for the recent ‘Yellow Lines’ at the Commons Road/Stonald Road Junction, this appears to be working and has made the junction very much safer.
RG, Thanked the Councillors who attended the Community Rail Partnership meeting on Monday, and although not that well attended as previous stated Whittlesey 11 – 0 Wisbech.
BEG: Commented again the lack of any Police what-so-ever with-in Eastrea for many months.

Other Business:
Kings Dyke Crossing: My updates as published here last week, there were no further updates – however it was stated last week that Network Rail had made a derisory contribution to this £18+Million scheme – derisory is an understatement – Network Rail have committed £70,000 (No I have NOT missed any zero’s off – (That reads Seventy Thousand) – I stand corrected in my statement last week that Network Rail has nothing to gain by the bridge –  and will cover this in another article.

Neighbourhood Plan: Is progressing well as planned and good funding schemes and grants have been obtained thus far. The result of the Public consultation are available on the WTC Website.
There are ‘Workshop’ sessions planned for Friday 13th October 2017 – I will advertise this shortly.

Community Rail Partnership: Cllr Mrs K Mayor gave the meeting an update on the ‘Dire State’ of Whittlesey Railway Station and the very ‘little’ progress that is being made either with ‘Greater Anglia’ and the almost ‘None communication with Network Rail – she stated that The station resembled a scene from ‘Beirut’.

Ward Matters: Mainly concerning the state of Ramsey Road, Cllr J Windle has had meetings with residents and Cambs Highways, a temporary ‘Fix’ was completed yesterday on the part just before the Ramsey Road Level Crossing.
There is plans in place for the re-surfacing of the road from The Boat Inn all the way to Pondersbridge – sometime in January 2018

The next full council meeting will be held on 11th October 2017

The public are invited to take part:
Whittlesey Neighbourhood Plan – Vision and Objectives Workshop
Friday 13th October – see Flier below.
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We would like your views on proposals to increase penalty charges issued to drivers by TfL, from £130 to £160, reduced to £80 if paid within 14 days.
To have your say, please visit tfl.gov.uk/penalty-charge

This consultation ends on Friday 10 November.

More workshops on the future for libraries in Cambridgeshire .
We have recently started an informal discussion with library users and stakeholders on the future for libraries in Cambridgeshire through a series of workshops. The first round of events is drawing to a close but the conversation continues over the coming weeks with more workshop dates and venues in September/October.

The county is changing and the way people use our services is changing. We want to take this opportunity to ensure our services are fit for the future and meet the needs of the community. We would like to hear your ideas and suggestions on how to sustain, improve and develop your libraries and the services they offer. We’ll use this discussion to inform our work over the coming months to define how libraries can achieve long-term sustainability and continue to thrive.

This new set of workshops is intended to offer as many opportunities to as many people as possible to get involved and will follow the same format as the August events.

• Monday 25th September 10.00 – 12:30
  The Eastrea Centre, 2 Roman Gardens (Coates Road), Eastrea, Whittlesey PE7 2BA

Here we have ‘another’ consultation, is it worth it I ask – does anyone or quango’s take any notice of what their ‘consultee’s have to say.
Well it’s up to you the information is here…
Also attached are :

   
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(1) Requirements for the new East Midlands Long Term Rail Franchise August 2017

    
Click on picture to enlarge – Click a 2nd time to further enlarge.

2) The minutes of the last CRP Meeting 27th March – see if anything much has changed compared to my article previously

  
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Whittlesey  11 –  0  Wisbech

At last nights Community Rail Partnership Meeting, out of the 15 people attending, 11 from Whittlesey (Including 3 Councillors) and (2 Ex Whittlesey Signalmen).
No Councillors from Wisbech, March, Chatteris or Manea, and MP Barclay wants to spend £100+ Million on the Wisbech to March Rail – Link – Hey Mr Barclay are you not getting the message (again) – No one from Wisbech bothered has to turn up as is usual.
(Other than Cllr King – the Chairman)

Back to the meeting, I am sorry to report that ‘very little’ progress is being made in respect of Whittlesey Station or the number of trains that might call in, the earliest any increase that may come about is 2020 !!!! (In your dreams)

Our 3 Whittlesey Councillors (Cllr’s Mrs K. Mayor, Wicks and Curtis) put a number of questions to The Chair Cllr Simon King and Alan Neville from Greater Anglia, Mr Neville has made some statements (NOT Commitments) in the past, and is extremely versed in NOT answering the actual question!
So he admitted that Whittlesey Station is in a very poor state, it took some considerable time and effort to even get a ‘dangerous/insecure’ electrical cabinet door replaced – arguments on ‘who’ owned or was responsible was the on-going issue.

I won’t bore you with the rest of the meeting, but NOTHING is going to happen in the short term.
When Mr Neville stated that ‘Ticket Machines’ were going to be installed at all stations –
I asked  – When – to which he replied he didn’t know!!!! – and that just about sums up the meeting (nearly 3 hours).

So thanks to the other Whittlesey residents who showed up  –  just now on the news, Greater Anglia Train Drivers have announced a planned strike…..can it get any worse….
So here are some slides and photos…

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There has been a number of incidents in/around the New Road area over the past few weeks, the Police are very well aware and are asking residents to report anything suspicious.
The latest being between 08th @19:00 and 09th @ 13:00 – 20 Gallons of Red Diesel was stolen from a shed in the New Road area.

Any information please phone 101

I plan to attend.

Update 110917 – 10:05 In addition to the meeting advertised below, there is a very good website with plenty of information re- local railways.

Fen Line Users Association

http://www.flua.org.uk/

The Whittlesey Festival 2017 10th Year

Okay – so the weather could have been kinder, but I arrived at 09:30 and there were already a few people there, as the morning progress hundreds and hundreds milling around the expanded event. There was something for everyone.
I eventually left at 5:15pm just as a few spots of rain appeared.
No fly-by the ‘Dakota and Hurricane’ unfortunately.
A very big thank you to the organisers and all the event support staff.

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Been a somewhat very busy week – along with my wife Connie – falling down a ‘Rabbit Hole’ on her health walk some 10 days ago and having a small fracture in her ankle making our busy life even more demanding – still worse things happen at sea!

Today Saturday our centuries old ‘Fair’ comes to town and although not what it was in the 60’s & 70’s – the weather has not been very kind.

Tomorrow is our annual Whittlesey Festival – well organised but unfortunately can not control the very autumn like weather, still I’m sure a good time will be had by everyone.

What is the point I ask….. I was one of a few thousand people asked to take part in the consultation looking into Cambridgeshire planning to remove NHS support for specialist fertility services. Our own GP at NQS, GP Dr Gary Howsan heads this conglomerate ‘quango’ – some 1,800 respondents took part in the consultation of which 80% were against the removal of this service within Cambs.

Whilst when interviewed on TV Dr Howsam ‘said’ it was a difficult decision to make. The group says it can save £700,000 if it scraps specialist fertility services, making it one of only five CCGs to do so.
The point I and many who are well informed is that whilst saving a relatively small amount in their £800 million budget – they continue to spend some £1.2 million on dishing out Ibuprofen a painkiller available over the counter without a prescription. It’s one of a group of painkillers called non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs).

Dr Gary Howsam, CCG chair, told the Cambridge News©  : last July
“We have had a good response to the consultation, with over 1,000 responses received so far.
“We want to hear from as many people as possible, so I would encourage local people to give us their views on the proposal.”

“We have to make some very difficult decisions about how best to spend our allocation. We have a growing demand for all types of healthcare services, as well as a significant deficit to clear. We are now in the difficult position where we have to evaluate every service we commission.”
“Once the consultation is complete, the CCG’s governing body will consider the feedback and views given during the consultation before making a decision.”
So Dr Howsan and CCG why was No Notice taken of the 80% of those who bothered to complete the consultation paper who asked for IVF to carry on within Cambs CCG.
No wonder this and other so called consultations are seen purely as ‘lip service’ to organisations – who by staute have to ‘consult’ the public.

So besides covering the New Queen Street Patients Group meeting, there was updates on the Kings Dyke Crossing, the emotive Councillors allowances and attendances article.
Wednesday saw the WTC planning meeting and some very positive feedback on my article regarding ‘The deposit scheme’ for cans, bottles and plastics….

Overall not a bad week for ‘a member of the public’ –

Next week – kicks off  on Monday with a meeting of the Community Rail Partnership meeting at Fenland Hall 6pm
A public open meeting…

No we will not be moving to Scotland, although some people would like us too….

One of my great passions as I have publicised many times is for a deposit scheme for Bottles/Cans/Glass and other recycled materials (MacDonald containers for example)
I have spoke too and written letters to our MP Stephen Barclay over many years – and was told by him incorrectly that there would be a cost to the Government.
I covered this and his reply earlier this year.
His commitment appears to be ‘Zero’ – all I am asking for is his support.
Sky News and other organisations have had a very big campaign on the amount of ‘Plastic’ being dumped, their campaign is almost daily in highlighting the problems.

So at last….The government of Scotland is bringing in legislation for a deposit scheme.
This proposed (hopefully successful) legislation has been in the making for some considerable time.
There was and still is considerable opposition to such a plan, mainly by drinks manufacturers such as ‘Coca-Cola’© – although they have now withdrawn ‘most’ of their opposition.
There are news articles (Not too long on the following links)
Sky-News 1

Campaigners say cash-back on empty bottles would reduce the number of littered bottles in Britain by 50,000 every day. Sky News 2
To get involved in Sky Ocean Rescue, visit the campaign website here. You can also watch our documentary, A Plastic Tide.

As I have asked before – come-on Steve Barclay – just asking for some support on this, not asking you to join The Greens or Hug Trees – just some common sense or is that asking too much.
By the way – there is NO Cost to the Government – as with the 5p Plastic Bag ‘tax’ the government make 20% on the vat element  and last year made £17 Million.

I have been collecting ‘other peoples’ rubbish and litter for most of my life, but somewhat more committed over the last 10 years or so.
I even collect rubbish when on holiday (sad I know).
We are very lucky here in Whittlesey in that our town and villages do not suffer to the same extent as other Fen Towns and Villages, plus we have a number of dedicated people who regularly go out and pick up other peoples rubbish and litter.

Only 5 Councillors in attendance including the Chair, 3 members of the public including myself.
25 applications….as some time since the last meeting.
The application F/YR17/0711/F was the most interesting…
Erection of a 3 story Extra Care Housing Scheme comprising of 13 x 2 bed and 47 x 1 with communal facilities (lounge, bistro, laundry, beauty room, scooter and cycle stores etc), offices and external works at Land North of Sorel Avenue.
This a the ‘Larkfleet’ development on Eastrea Road.
On reading through the application there are a number of objections from existing residents, mainly on noise, dirt, dust, and lack of progress on the developments infrastructure.
Whittlesey Town Council (As consultee’s only) proposed to recommend the development.
Once the developer decides to put in the application to FDC, it could be some time before this comes to be built, maybe Larkfleet will sell t on to a different developer/builder.

Is someone! winding me up! – asking me to comment on the above – well not a problem for me to comment on anything that may seem controversial – lets start with some basic information for those who may not know.

Town Councillors (Whittlesey) – Receive no allowances, the elected Mayor does receive a fixed out of pocket allowance and can claim mileage allowance. It is entirely up the individual whether they actually claim these allowances.

District Councillors (Whittlesey) Receive a basic allowance (£4676.64), plus special allowances if they are on committees or are chairman/woman of committees.

County Councillors (Whittlesey) similar to the above.

All District and County Councillors can if they so wish claim mileage allowances for work carried out directly related to their position, again Councillors can if they so wish not claim for these ‘expenses’.

All expenses must be documented correctly and are well audited before any payments made.  All Councils have to publish by law and make available ALL Councillors allowances, and expenses claimed.

Now we move to the recent ‘Allowance’ increase voted by Cambridgeshire County Councillors.

The 61 members of Cambridgeshire County Council currently take home a basic allowance of £7,933, the lowest in the country. But following a vote at a full council meeting recently a 30 per cent increase to £10,315 was agreed, bringing it in line with the national average for two-tier authorities.
This went against the independent pay review body – I believe as many councillors I spoke too was a big slap in the face to the public and electorate. Many councillors having just been elected in May 2017 and one of the first things ‘they’ did is give themselves a very large increase.

As I have commented before, I believe that a complete overhaul of Councillors allowances within Cambridgeshire should be carried out in a robust and fair way.
Councillors should not be out of pocket or have to subsidise out of their own money to carry out work on behalf of the electorate.
We have to remember no one is forcing a person to stand as a Councillor – it is a free choice.
The slap in the electorate face was and still is that other than ‘one’ councillor who abstained in the vote, the rest all went with the leader of the Council, but many (who privately disagreed) still voted themselves a 30% increase.
Will the electorate remember this come election time I doubt it – however I might just be the one to remind the electorate!!!!!!.

Councillors attendances, can again be subjective – I am very impressed by any Councillor who has attended 100% of meetings.
I believe all Councillors can have ‘time out’ for various reasons, whether holidays clash with meetings, or unfortunate health or medical problems cause none attendance.
I can hold my hand up in the respect that I/we go away regularly, however I would hope that any Councillor makes up time when they are able too.
There is no excuse for not being contactable even if you’re away. Naturally everyone understands someone being unwell and should try and contact someone else with their issue or question.

As far as Whittlesey Councillors are concerned Cllr Steve Garratt comes in as attending the fewest of meetings both at Fenland and at WTC attending only 3 out of a possible 11 meetings.

Unfortunately in the day and age of Social Media ruling the waves and many believing that everything they read is the truth – Councillors and activists like myself are in for a hiding irrespective of what-ever we do.
©FDC

We live is some sort of democracy and as I’ve said on many occasions – you/I have the opportunity to vote in or out who ever is brave enough to stick their neck out.
The be-moaners on social media are not brave enough to stick their necks out from behind their anonymity.

There is an article in last weeks Cambs Times© Page 33 regarding FDC Councillors attendances along with an editorial comment by John Elworthy

There is a ‘free’ digital edition of the Cambs Times© only requires registering.
http://www.cambstimes.co.uk/home

Whittlesey Town Councillors attendance can be viewed on the WTC Website
Click Here