Cllr Roy Gerstner – Community Activist

My apologies for lack of posts – holiday priority – and not that much to report…’appears’ fairly quiet unless you know otherwise!
So 5 weeks away – 1 week Land Tour of Alaska, 1 week Glasier Cruise on with ‘Princess’ and finally a 3,000+ mile self drive tour of the Canadian Rockies….. worn out – you bet.

 
From some serious ‘Fungi/Toadstools’ to beautiful weather at 29C on several days – only 1 day rain in 5 weeks….

  
Entering Jasper National Park with the very scenic ‘Ice Road Route’
 
We were lucky to see several Black Bears, 1 Grizzly, and many other ‘wild animals’

A revisit to The Brandywine Falls near Whistler – first visited in 2003 absolutely beautiful.

Looking forward to our next – more relaxing holidays…..

Fantastic Glaziers, Wildlife galore, Snow Mobile trips and the beautiful Lake Louise ‘Fairmont Hotel’ with ‘English’ afternoon tea…..

As mentioned in my previous post – even though I have travelled to well over 100 countries, I am so, so impressed with the cleanliness and how proud the Canadians are in keeping their country so well kept – everywhere we have been (along with plenty of other tourists) the place is so CLEAN.
Every Lay by (100’s of them) has at least one toilet – yes FDC/CCC every Lay by – this is nothing new to them they’ve been doing this for many years.
Believe it – every toilet has ‘Paper’  and a hand sanitizer – no one has defaced them, set fire to them or trashed them.

Come on councillors – time to up the act –
and get something like this at the Kings Delph Lay by – where humans regularly defecate by the roadside….
Stop telling me there is NO MONEY.

Connie & I are enjoying temperatures of mid 20’s with no humidity/flees/flies/or midgies..
After our exciting and very scenic tour of Alaska – we joined the beautiful ‘Island Princess’
where I was honoured on several occasions by the Officers and Crew who treated me like ‘Royalty’ – I wasn’t quite the ‘Oldest Seadog’ onboard but had certainly covered more mileage than the others…
   
Heli/Glazier Hop                 The fantastic Hubbard Glazier        Huskies and Mushing

Not much happening on the Whittlesea Scene at present – I can say that ALL the verges, motorways and parks in British Columbia and Alberta at present have the Grass mowed like bowling greens – that is except where there are vast amounts of wild flowers….
Maybe FDC’s Parks and Open Spaces should come to British Columbia on an all expenses paid visit to see how it is really done….wouldn’t that be nice…

Revised-FC-agenda-13th-July-2016

Wilderness of Central Alaska

Time for some R&R but urgent notices will be posted….

‘Stealth Brown Bin Tax’  – I can only urge as many people as possible to support the ‘NO’ I don’t want a Brown Bin thank you to FDC – it maybe!!!! only £40:00 but it will only go up.

                                           ‘BIN THE BROWN BIN TAX’

Having read the ‘blurb’ which FDC have sent out – I and ‘many’ others I have spoken with get the distinct impression that FDC would like us to believe that ‘everything is FREE at the council…..Whilst I accept what they have written in the ‘blurb’ is factual and true, most people ‘thought’ (wrongly) that the collection of ALL waste was included in our Council Tax/Rates.
The £10,000 consultation is very ‘engaging’ for a decision already made.
Having spoken with ‘a Peterborough Refuse Bin Driver (25 years @ PCC) he informs me that when the ‘Brown Bin Tax’ was introduced the majority at that time did not take up the offer – most rubbish went elsewhere – the other bins became ‘overloaded’
Only last week in Mayors Walk Peterborough – all bins had notices put on them – to the effect that -If the incorrect waste was put in the bins – they would not be collected in future’

Of course part of our ‘democratic’ process of this ‘consultation’ are several ‘ leading questions’
One being how many times ‘we’ use’ the re-cycling centre. The centre is owned and operated on behalf of Cambs CC – and it is only 2/3 years ago that we had a very big campaign to keep our Recycling Centre open – we were successful but it will be back on the agenda at some stage – when (not if) this happens – where are we then going to take our waste!!!!

Since my wife does most of the gardening I have left her to complete the FDC questionnaire.

I would suggest the ‘we’ all ‘Boycott’ the Brown Bin Tax’

As stated in my previous posts – the suggestion of £40 per bin, depends on how many people take up the offer? – less than expected – then it will be more than £40
It maybe that the Brown Bin Tax is ‘popular’ and the cost ‘could be less’
(and I ‘could win the lottery’)

Year-on Year – it can only go one way – Upwards – this is a stealth tax.

I don’t care about other Councils or areas, I care about here where I live and am retired.

Okay – ‘we’ will never win with Fenland District Council, I am referring to both Grass Cutting (It is someone else fault/problem) or The imposition of a ‘Brown Bin Tax’
My thanks to several who contacted me re the FDC website ISS Grass Cutting Website
This is very informative and now gives the ‘planned’ dates when ‘we’ expect the grass to be cut – and now we can all leave ‘comments’ (I have done so) on ‘How are we doing’ – I would respectfully advise all who look on this site and other social media to do the same.
Another disappointing issue – being I have now been in contact with 5 if not 6 (loosing count) of our ‘elected representatives’ about the for never ending issues – only so far (2) have got back to me –  and no feedback what-so-ever from FDC.
Naturally being an extremely big supporter of making our Town/Villages clean, litter free and ‘blooming’ – what would happen if the In-Bloom Judges – so happened to make a detour on their planned route – and saw ‘the state’ of some of the other areas around our town – Good luck and thanks to everyones hard and dedicated work..

Update : A male was found to have died in residence off/behind High Causeway.
Police, Ambulance & Fire Services attended.

Don’t know the details as yet – but my correspondent informs me 2 or 3 cars were in the area of High Causeway…

At yet another meeting last night – we were informed by Cllr David Mason, that Bruce Smith (The developer of land on Eastrea Road – See many, many previous posts) had advised him to inform the membership present, that ‘He is in negotiation with ALDI’® to possibly take on the planned supermarket on Eastrea Road which Sainsburys® pulled out of last year.
Mr Smith also indicated that ‘if’ his negotiations with Sainsburys were to be in his favour, he would purchase the land intended for the ‘Whittlesey Country Park’ and gift/donate/trust it to Whittlesey.
Still early days but ‘if’ all comes off – what good news we may well have.

Report as given to members of Whittlesey Neighbourhood Watch last night 28th June.

As chairman of Whittlesey & District Neighbourhood Watch (NHW), I requested a meeting with the Fenland Police Inspectors – – last Tuesday 21st June.
I had One and a half hours of pretty intense questions and answers about various topics/issues around Policing,
(or None-Policing – depends on how you see it).
The final decision to actually close our Police Station is yet to be made/signed off – but on a scale of 100 –  I was told they are at the 90 mark in this process.

I have held back on breaking this news in order to update the membership which I represent.

It is my understanding – that negotiations are on-going with the Fire Services to utilise facilities at our Fire Station (to use as a base and vehicles etc)
We are a town & villages of 14,000 people, we are approximately 20% in area of Fenland.
Inspector Davies, explained what resources he had at his disposal for Policing Fenland 24 hours/365 days a week.
The Thin Blue Line is an understatement.
Whittlesey and Villages are ‘seen/perceived’ as a ‘Low Crime’ area – We are NOT a Crime Free zone/area. A couple of weeks ago I reported there were 40 individuals on probation in the Whittlesey area!
My initial request for a meeting was triggered by me being contacted by 8 individuals reporting crimes to me (a member of the public) for incidents they could not be bothered or found it too difficult to report to the Police.
These incidents may have been ‘low’ of the crime scale – never the less were incidents – and by not reporting throws out the whole reporting and crime statistics, I received 4 incidents the following week and I have receive None this week.
Our Police Station opened in October 1968 – Policing and crime was very much different then too what it is today – there will never be a ‘Bobby’ doing his walk-around late evening checking shops and premises, we have all but lost our Neighbourhood Policing.

I could write a book  about this – but won’t – if your feelings are that here we go again!!! – another loss to our Town & Villages.  Then the only person that can stop the Police Station closing is YOUR PCC (Police & Crime Commissioner) – Remember He has just been elected – Fenland turnout was a very dismal 13,699 (18.23) of the electorate.

Again – If you are concerned about this topic/issue – then contact YOUR Councillor.

I am honoured and humbled to have been re-elected as Chairman of the Whittlesey & Neighbourhood Watch Group for another year – I took over the group on a ‘temporary’ basis in 2011