Labour will listen and act over Croft (From Swindon Advertiser)

Labour will listen and act over Croft

5:08pm Tuesday 31st January 2012 in Letters

Recently, the Adver covered a public meeting where an estimated 150 Old Town residents attended an open meeting to discuss how to fight Swindon’s Conservative councillors against their decision to propose a school on the Croft site, and the granting of planning permission for the school to be sited at Croft.

I have no doubt that the Conservatives will see those who attended this meeting as merely nimbys and self-interested. After speaking to some of those residents who attended this meeting, I hold a very different view and believe the large turnout highlights a recurring theme of the actions and decisions Swindon’s Conservative administration has taken.

l We saw it with the way this Conservative administration dismissed residents’ concerns over the administration’s wi-fi decision l We saw it with the Whalebridge changes where the Conservative administration decided to make a massive change to the town’s road network without consulting one member of the public or ward councillor.

l And we saw it with the allocation of the Haydon 3 S106 money, where Haydon Wick and Abbey Meads’ residents were bypassed in order for the Conservative administration to divert 83 per cent of the £15m pot to other areas of Swindon.

Swindon’s Conservative administration is neither listening to, nor working with, the people of our town.

While providing warm words about engaging with local communities and residents, the Tories’ actions speak louder than their words and over the last nine years of them being in administration, their actions have irreversibly alienated many of Swindon’s communities The local Labour Party have recognised this and we believe we have a package of policies that will begin to recover local communities and residents’ trust in the council after nearly a decade of neglect. Firstly, we believe local communities should have the right to properly challenge council policies that affects their local area and that is why we are proposing the establishment of Neighbourhood Forums across the town to do just this. These forums would be based on actual local communities, not draconian electoral wards that have been determined by a Government Quango.

Secondly, we would seek to devolve more powers and services down to a lower tier of local government – parish and community councils.

Finally, and most importantly, we believe that the council should agree a set of rights that each resident in this town will have when interacting with their council. These rights should be proposed by an independent local resident after they hold an Independent Review, where they will consult with local residents about what they want from their council.

Councillor Jim Grant Swindon Labour Group Leader

...Doublespeak

Isn’t technology wonderful? I have discovered a new App for translating politicians speak into plain English. Should make the forthcoming election fun. I have applied it to some comments made by Rod Bluh, reported recently.

He said: “I am willing to sit down and talk to anyone..”. My App says: “I am willing to give the pretence of engagement especially if there is some PR in it. Please elect me again.”

He said: “I know the ward councillors have also spent considerable time listening to residents concerns.” My App says: “I must buy those boys a drink for taking all the flak and deflecting the questions. Please elect me again.”

He said: “I spoke to two objectors.” My App says: “That’s my democratic duty done for the year. Please elect me again.”

He said: “Decisions were reviewed and upheld by the Scrutiny Panel.” My app says, “Hope no one remembers that the chair told the residents the panel wasn’t there to scrutinise planning. Please elect me again.”

Anyone want to borrow it?

Guy Green Old Town Swindon

...Not Nimbys

I think it is a bit limited to call the residents involved in the Croft School ‘nimbys’. These same residents have not objected to the football hub (despite the floodlights lighting up homes and gardens and the increased traffic congestion) or the Children’s Centre or the temporary school (despite promises which proved false that a permanent school would not be built), or the building of new houses or to extra yellow lines in the Croft area.

The residents are very concerned the new school will lead to injuries and deaths of children and residents because the Croft site is unsafe.

In addition, there is real concern about Swindon Council’s undoubted ability to keep wasting money on projects which are not needed – wi-fi, building of Croft temporary school and now the building of a Croft permanent school, when it is clear that children living in the town centre need a new school.

I believe that caring about your community and trying to make things better is positive. There will always be changes and most of those changes are supported by communities but when the change is wrong, the residents need to work together to prevent this.

Louise Macdonald Old Town Swindon

Taxing issue

In reply to Don Reeve (January 24) the £5bn a year tax increases that Gordon Brown put on final salary pension funds in 1997, has forced many pension schemes to close down.

This has also meant that an extra £5bn a year had to be sucked out of stockmarket profits to pay for these additional taxes.

Gordon Brown's £bn annual tax raid on pension funds has had the additional unexpected effect of preventing the the stock market from rising since the year 2000. That is 12 years with virtually zero growth in the stockmarket.

There seems little chance that the stock market will rise in the near future, because the Conservative coalition have continued with the very high tax regime that was started by Gordon Brown back in 1997.

Steve Halden Beaufort Green Swindon

Who’s the boss?

It's my understanding that Capita decided to close their cash desk without consulting the council, which raises a number of thorny questions. Does SBC work for Capita or is it vice versa?

Was the council not angry that Capita would take such a unilateral decision? Is there nothing in their contract that obliges them to consult over any changes to the service that Capita provides to Swindon residents on behalf of SBC?

It is our money, the residents of Swindon, which is handed over to Capita by SBC. Doesn't Capita feel any obligation to consult with the people who use the service? Or are we just there so that Capita can make a profit out of us?

Martin Wicks Chair, Parks & East Walcot Forum Welcombe Avenue Park North Swindon

Help the blind

Leading sight loss charity, the Royal National Institute of Blind People (RNIB) is urging the public to save their used stamps to help raise vital funds for blind or partially sighted people.

With over two million people in the UK living with sight loss, the need for the charity's services increases year on year. All funds raised will go towards offering information, support and advice to anyone with a sight problem.

If you are able to help, the charity asks collectors to leave at least half a centimetre of envelope around the stamp to prevent damage. All stamps are welcome and the charity can expect to receive £4.50 per kilogram for British stamps and £12.50 for foreign ones.

Kevin Deacon, 57 from Reading with registered blind in 2007 having developed an eye condition, Bilateral Maculopathy. He said: “I was devastated when the doctors told me that I was losing my sight and that very little could be done for me. Coming to terms with that was a very slow progress but RNIB helped me show that it wasn't the end of the world. With the charity’s help, I learnt how to pick up the threads of my life and now I live very independently.”

All stamps can be sent to: RNIB, PO Box 6198, Leighton Buzzard, LU7 9XT.

Gabriella Brooks RNIB Leighton Buzzard

Bad for OAPs

Recently in Parliament, David Cameron, the Prime Minister, snapped at 80-year-old MP Dennis Skinner, calling him a dinosaur.

This clearly reflects Cameron's cavalier attitude to pensioners in general and bodes ill for our ageing population as long as the Coalition remains in power.

J Adams Bloomsbury Swindon

Show the way

Your article about the new (Wichelstowe) bypass on January 28, was interesting but not very instructive.

Perhaps a simple route map might have told the story better than photographs of grinning councillors and empty roads?

Norman Hancock Badbury