MEETING TO

DISCUSS

HEALTH BUDGET As this issue of FOCUS went to

print the city council was set to

hold a special meeting of the

Scrutiny Commission for Health

Issues to consider the increasing

financial problems of the

Peterborough Primary Care

Trust (PCT). In December 2009 the PCT said

it would have a record £7 million

overspend by the end of the

financial year but in early February

it admitted that the figure was in

fact £9.6 million.

The problems have already led to

the trust’s chief executive resigning

and increasing calls for the chair of

the PCT’s board to also resign.

The meeting was only arranged

after calls from local councillor

Darren Fower, the Lib Dem

representative on the Health

Committee, for some level of

accountability over the fiasco.

The meeting will have taken

place by the time you receive this

issue of FOCUS. We will report on

the results in a future issue.

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

Darren Fower – seeking your vote!

FOCUS www.peterboroughlibdems.org.uk

“Working All Year Round”

SOUTH WERRINGTON and NORTH GUNTHORPE RESIDENTS’ NEWSLETTER

Edition: 54

LIB DEMS

BACK DARREN Local Liberal Democrats have agreed that Werrington and Gunthorpe

councillor Darren Fower should defend his seat at the council elections to

be held on 6 May. In fact, the decision was a formality as Darren’s record of service to the local

community and his campaigning work on behalf of local residents meant that he

was ‘reselected’ unopposed.

Speaking after the meeting which backed his re-election Darren said: “It is only

right that local party members should have an opportunity to consider my record,

to ask me questions and to decide whether I should carry the Liberal Democrat

banner into another round of elections.

“I am delighted to receive the

unanimous backing of local

members and look forward to

working with them in the

forthcoming election campaign.

“Receiving this backing is just

the start, of course. Whether or

not I continue as city councillor

for this area will be decided by

the votes of all the residents.”

Local Liberal Democrats hope

that Darren’s commitment to

serving the community –

including regular publication of

these FOCUS newsletters, now

on issue number 54 – will

encourage people to turn out and

vote for him at the elections on

Thursday 6 May.

As this issue of FOCUS went to press there was still no confirmation that the

general election will also be held on 6 May – but it is widely expected that this will

be the date. By the time you receive FOCUS you will probably know more about

this than the FOCUS Team did when we wrote it!

Whenever the general election takes place, the Liberal Democrat candidate for

Peterborough will be another local councillor.

Nick Sandford, who represents the nearby Walton ward on the city council, is

seeking to become the city’s first Liberal Democrat MP.

He said: “I am delighted to support Darren’s campaign for re-election in

Werrington and Gunthorpe. It is difficult to imagine a more hard-working

councilor than Darren who really gets ‘stuck in’ in support of local residents.”

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

LIB DEM CANDIDATE

QUERIES COUNCIL TRUST Peterborough’s libraries, sports and cultural services are to be

handed over to a ‘trust’ – an un-elected, unaccountable body

– and this could come at a heavy price for local people, says

Lib Dem parliamentary candidate Nick Sandford. Nick asked some searching questions of council officers and the

proposed chair of the new trust at a city council committee

meeting. The questioning established that:

1. The new trust will also be a company limited by guarantee.

Once appointed, most of the trustees can only be removed by a

meeting of the members of the company. And the members of the

company are …you guessed it…. the trustees. Nick called this a

“self perpetuating oligarchy” and what it means in practice is a

severe lack of democracy and accountability.

2. Councillors will lose any control over charges levied by sports

centres and other facilities. Officers said charges will be

determined by “market forces” and the aim will be to provide high

quality services. Gyms and other facilities in the private sector do

provide high quality services …but at a much greater cost to users!

3. The main performance measure of the Key Theatre will be the

number of tickets sold, leading to concern that there will be

dumbing down of content to put on the most popular shows, at the

expense of a number of minority and cultural interests. Good for

fans of the Chippendales maybe, but what about people who like

opera, ballet and other less popular shows?

Nick said after the meeting: “The Tories have been discussing

hiving off these services to a trust for nearly ten years but the fact

they choose to do it in the middle of a recession indicates that it is

more about making quick savings than about improving service.

“Even if there are savings, it could well be at the expense of

higher charges to users and a severe reduction in democracy and

accountability. How many people in Peterborough actually want

their libraries to be run by a private un-elected body and how many

were consulted about this or other aspects of the proposals?”

FENCE COMPROMISE After weeks of hard work and negotiation, the

controversial issue of the fence around Norwood

School (Gunthorpe Road) has now concluded in

what local Liberal Democrat councillor Darren

Fower says is “an acceptable compromise”. At a meeting at the Town Hall involving parents,

residents, teachers, council officers and Cllr Fower,

it was agreed:

1. To replace the damaged and existing fence with

a ‘non prison-like’ fence about 5 feet high.

2. To erect signs stating that the field is available

for use by the public outside school hours.

3. To elect key holders from residents in Elter

Walk who will lock the gates each evening.

4. To replace the existing gates .

5. To have signs to explain that dogs are not to be

walked on the fenced-off area.

6. To put several new waste and dog dirt bins

around the edge of the field.

7. To establish a committee to manage the field.

After the meeting Darren said: “I think this is an

outcome that most people will be happy with.

“I’d like to thank all those residents who signed

our petitions and to those who ended up becoming

more involved.”

PLANS TO BE DISCUSSED Controversial plans to create allotments on behind the Paston and

Gunthorpe Community Centre have been put ‘on hold’ (at least for

the moment) after local Liberal Democrat councillor Daren Fower

presented a petition from local people opposing the proposals. As we have reported in previous issues of FOCUS, the council needs to

create new allotments to replace allotments being lost at Itter Park where it

plans to sell land for development.

Now residents are invited to have their say on an alternative proposal to

create an allotment site on part of Werrington Recreation Ground. There is

to be a consultation event at the Education Centre on Church Street,

Werrington, on Tuesday 13 April 2010 from 4.15 pm to 7 pm. You can

turn up at any time between these hours.

• Please accept our apologies if you do not receive FOCUS before this

meeting takes place – our monthly schedule sometimes makes it

difficult to give you news of forthcoming events. You can keep up to

date by visiting our website (www.campaigns.libdems.org.uk/SWNG).

where you can sign up for our electronic FOCUS – something which

we can publish much more swiftly than this paper version.