focus 53
DESCRIPTION
The FOCUS Newsletter is produced and delivered by volunteers in and around the SOUTH WERRINGTON and NORTH GUNTHORPE local area. For more details on the team please visit our community website. http://campaigns.libdems.org.uk/SWNGTRANSCRIPT
NEW SHELTER
CAMPAIGN
A SUCCESS We are pleased to report that
after a long campaign by local
residents, supported by the Lib
Dems’ FOCUS Team, a new bus
shelter has been installed outside
Werrington Community Centre. Local Lib Dem councillor Darren
Fower said: “It’s great to see the
installation of the shelter and work
to raise the kerb completed.
“We have been working hard,
meeting lots of people and running
a petition and it just goes to show
that campaigning can pay off.
“More importantly, this means
that bus passengers should now
have a more comfortable
experience.”
Darren has also welcomed the
news that the Werrington
Neighbourhood Council has
agreed to maintain the new shelter.
He said: “It’s great that they are
wiling to help. They already do so
much throughout the ward that they
must save the city council hundreds
of pounds every year through their
efforts.”
Now, let’s take a
vote – hands up all those in favour of doing something
sensible …….good, that’s no-one ..
Planning
Committee
TEAM CONTACT DETAILS: Councillor: Darren Fower FOCUS Editor: Richard Olive Tel: 570238 or 573813 Mobile: 07932 021 349 Email: SWNG_FOCUS @peterboroughlibdems.org.uk
Ward website: www.campaigns. libdems.org.uk/SWNG Post: Cllr Darren Fower, Town Hall, Bridge Street, Peterborough PE1 1HG
FOCUS www.peterboroughlibdems.org.uk
“Working All Year Round”
SOUTH WERRINGTON and NORTH GUNTHORPE RESIDENTS’ NEWSLETTER
Edition: 53
CAR PARK FIASCO A “fiasco of the highest order” – that is how local Lib Dem councillor
Darren Fower has described the announcement that the city council will not
enforce a planning application with the developers of the Werrington
Centre to guarantee a community car park. The decision is likely to cost
local tax payers tens of thousands of pounds.
Last year the council approved a planning application for the Werrington
Centre which made developers responsible for building a community car
park on land which the council would provide. This would ensure that
people could still park free of charge when using the centre even if Tesco
(as expected) starts to charge for parking in future.
This agreed planning application cited the tennis courts at Ken Stimpson
School as the preferred location. However, there were alternative options
(such as building on other council-owned land) agreed in case any problems
arose with this preferred site.
Sadly, the council failed to check
the legal position with regards to
the Private Finance Agreement that
exists on the preferred site and so
that option became impossible.
Still, we had the back-up plans
…. but actually, no, we did not.
There is no council-owned land in
the area suitable for use. To make
matters worse, it turns out that the
city council had hugely under-
estimated the actual cost of building
a car park!
This has now led to the council’s own planning committee deciding not to
enforce the previous planning agreement.
Instead, the developers will now make a ‘contribution’ to car park
building costs which is less than the total required, leaving the council to
find the rest of the money needed.
Cllr Darren Fower, who attended the planning committee said: “Given the
financial position of the council, these latest recommendations are madness!
“The bottom line is that the developers signed the original agreement
requiring, as advocated by this very committee, that spaces be reserved
until there was an alternative site provided either by Tesco or by the
council. That will not now happen.
“At least now when people ask me how much influence Tesco has over
our local authority, I’ll be able to cite a valid example of how they can get
the local authority to change its mind and previous agreements. This
episode has proved to be a fiasco of the highest order!”
Printed by P’boro Liberal Democrat Printing Society c/o 37 Swift Close, Deeping St James PE6 8QQ. Published & promoted for & on behalf of Liberal Democrats at 92 Swale Avenue, Peterborough PE4 7GT
WARD ‘SURGERY’ DATES
Speak to Cllr Darren Fower at one of his
regular ‘surgeries’.
Brookside Methodist Church, Gunthorpe Road
Time: 6pm – 7pm Date: 3rd
Friday each month
Werrington Village Centre, Church St
Time: 6pm – 7pm Date: 1st Friday each month
BUDGET WASTE Lib Dems on the city council have attacked the Tory budget
as wasteful and misguided. They have put forward
alternatives which redirect over £1 million to more essential
services without any additional increase in Council Tax. The Lib Dems are calling for a number of cuts proposed by the
Tories to be reversed. Among them are:
• Scrapping the charge which the Tories will impose on people
who have one of their wheelie bins stolen.
• Keeping open public loos which the Tories will close.
• Reversing the cuts in bus service subsidy and the cuts in
subsidy for school meals.
• Ending the sale of allotment land to developers.
• Reducing the cuts in the adult social care budget.
We would put more money into essential services:
• Improved maintenance of street lighting.
• A speeded up programme of pavement repairs.
• Extra investment in winter road gritting and snow clearance.
• Increased support for the Primary Care Trust to help improve
the health of people in Peterborough.
This would be paid for by:
• Scrapping the propaganda sheet “Your Peterborough”.
• Postponing the Tory council leader’s pet water taxi scheme
until the need for it has been evaluated.
• Making the council employ fewer consultants. Currently it
spends £8 million a year on lining the pockets of consultants.
• Looking at cheaper options for waste management, including
scrapping plans to spend nearly £60 million on an incinerator.
Local Lib Dem councillor Darren Fower said:
“All the time, council leader Councillor Cereste tells us that the
council is short of money and the Council Tax needs to go up
yet again. Yet he is more than happy to waste money on pet
projects such as the fountains in Cathedral Square, the water
taxis and the massively expensive waste incinerator.
“To pay for all this they are proposing a staggering £15
million of cuts and borrowing over £60 million next year.”
DARREN FOR MAYOR? Liberal Democrat councillors in Peterborough
have unanimously agreed to propose that local
Lib Dem councillor Darren Fower for the post
of Mayor of Peterborough for the next official
year that starts in April.
With a huge Tory majority on the city council,
though, it is unlikely that Darren will be
donning the robes at any time soon. It is far
more likely that the Tories will (once again)
pick one of their own members for the council’s
‘top job’.
ALLOTMENT THREAT As we reported in our previous issue, the park
area between Hallfields Lane and Gunthorpe
Road is under threat because the city council
wants to turn the area into allotments.
The council needs to create new allotments to
replace those being lost at Itter Park where land
is being sold for housing development.
After raising their concerns at a recent
neighbourhood panel meeting, residents have
now collected over 400 signatures on a petition
which will be presented to the next council
meting by local councillor Darren Fower.
The recreation area separates three electoral
wards - South Werrington, Paston and Walton.
This means that there are eight councillors who
could have taken this issue up and supported
local residents. In reality only two did!
Darren has campaigned on the issue, held two
special ‘surgeries’ (one of them also attended by
Nick Sandford, the Lib Dem councillor for
Walton), met with residents, secured media
attention and is now presenting the petition.
Darren said: “Representing people is about
speaking to people, listening to their concerns
and making sure that their voices are heard.
“The council is out of touch with people in
this area. Although, given that it is a Tory-
controlled council, I’m not surprised that local
Tory councillors are failing to do their job!”
And as a lifelong Conservative, do you think you will be (A) disappointed, (B) very disappointed or (C) extremely disappointed if there is a David Cameron Tory government?