Council budget shame

On Monday I emailed Councillor Simon Henig to ask permission! to ask a question related to the budget at Wednesday’s Cabinet meeting: When Cabinet was to approve the final budget. He refused my request and I was told that no back bench member (116 councillors) would be permitted to ask Cabinet ANY questions on their budget proposals.

So I then asked if he or any of his Cabinet colleagues would be attending the budget scrutiny meeting on Friday (today). To date he has still not responded to me, and NOT A SINGLE CABINET MEMBER ATTENDED!!

In that meeting, the only one before the budget is voted on by Full Council, I brought along some recommendations for Scrutiny to put to Cabinet. This related to stopping service cuts to neighbourhood wardens, museums and local AAP budgets as well as trying to stop reductions in staffing numbers in planning. I also had three proposals asking to provide funding to road and footpath repairs, careers advice services for young people, and stopping the council profiting from essential work to school buildings.

I gave 20 copies of this to the Chairman Councillor Joe Armstrong prior to the meeting. The only issue on the agenda was the budget. The whole purpose of the meeting was to make recommendations to Cabinet and to provide comments. Cllr Armstrong told me that he would not allow the proposals to be discussed because “It was too late to make any changes to the budget”. So why then bother with holding the meeting?

In the meeting I was refused the opportunity to discuss the proposals but I handed round the single A4 sheet anyway. Other than these proposals which I was refused to discuss, not one single councillor put forward a single proposal on the budget.

SO SCRUTINY DIDN’T MAKE A SINGLE RECOMMENDATION. THAT’S 116 BACKBENCH COUNCILLORS AND NO RECOMMENDATIONS PUT TO CABINET.

My proposals from the Lib Dem group have been passed to Cabinet with no comments from scrutiny. I was refused a vote on any of them, refused discussion on any of them, and at no point in any meeting has Cabinet allowed a single question to be asked of Cabinet members about their budget plans.

Next week full council will vote on the budget. Labour will simply vote through the report. Every single Labour councillor will then be responsible for that budget.

Expect just £5m of council money to go on repairing roads with the £10m from government – despite us having a backlog of £250 million of repairs needed.

Expect the council to continue to make profits at many different levels from repairs to the schools they own, and to put that profit not back into school repairs, but into reserves.

Expect neighbourhood wardens to be cut. Expect the planning department and the support departments around it to have their staffing reduced so less proper scrutiny of planning applications will be possible.

Expect an excellent plan to help young people with careers advice not to be implemented by September – partly the fault of the Conservative government delaying European funding (I wonder why), but mainly the fault of DCC for failing to agree to fund it.

Expect a budget which will see us spend hardly any reserves, and still have over £200 million in the bank.

Expect a hike in council tax of 3.9% and for much of that money too, to end up in reserves this year.

On the bright side. The six communications departments that we have been telling the council to bring together for years are now to be brought into one department.

If they had done this years ago when it was first put forward by opposition councillors – indeed its been put forward every year for many years – we would now have MILLIONS  OF POUNDS more to improve our roads or schools, or other services.

Why wasn’t it done earlier? Why have Labour wasted taxpayers money delaying so many areas of saving which do not affect front line services?

Answer?

Incompetence.

The undemocratic way in which the budget is put together at Durham County Council is unacceptable and must change. The only way to do it is to change the political leadership.

Labour Cabinet members seem blind to the fact that if you are transparent and work with the public, the opposition and even their own back benchers, good ideas can benefit not only residents but also them, the Council and even the Labour Party.

Simply ignoring everything which comes forward from outside that clique of 10 Cabinet members simply results in bad publicity all round. To coin a phrase from Forrest Gump – Stupid is as stupid does.

BT Broadband box still empty after 8 months

After finally running out of patience with BT Openreach and the Council we are now trying the press route to try and get some action to bring proper broadband to the area. Parts of Rosemount in Pity Me and Finchale Abbey Village have less than 1mb broadband.

A box I managed to get BT Openreach to install for Rosemount remains empty after 8 months of being installed and BT have failed in their promise that residents would have broadband by last summer. The story is on the front of today’s Durham Times, as well as in the Northern Echo.

A very senior BT Openreach manager told me last week that the reason the broadband was not installed was because they had to use all their resources to complete the Digital Durham program for the Council and that as a result their commercial program was further delayed.

A less senior employee told the Council and press that it was because of the cost of getting an electricity supply to the site, despite it being on the main road where there must be some supply available. I strongly believe that the Council could do more and also think that the government should intervene to make sure that all areas which have poor broadband should be treated equally.

We are trying to arrange a meeting with the Council head of service and the BT regional manager to try and get this concluded.

In addition we continue to fight to get improvements for Finchael Abbey Village where broadband speeds are even slower and residents ahve been told they should get Satellite broadband – which costs an arm and a leg.

Hopefully we can get both of these issues sooner rather than later for residents, despite the fact that actually it is not an issue for which councillors are responsible.

Northern Echo Story:

http://www.thenorthernecho.co.uk/news/14272227.Super_fast__Eight_months_after_broadband_unit_is_installed__all_Durham_residents_have_is_an_empty_box/

 

 

Street lighting column crashes to earth – Please check yours!

A rotten streetlighting column crashed to earth across two driveways in Framwellgate Moor earlier this week.

streelight down holmlands

The column on Holmlands Crescent came down in the middle of the day and it could have been a disaster if someone had been stood there at the time, or driving off their driveway or if it had fallen into the road. Thankfully no one was hurt and residents were quick to report it and the council promptly removed it.

I have been asking the council to improve the state of the footpath at this location for many years, including again in July and September last year as reported on this blog. Whilst the column failed because it was completely rusted, the pavement is in such a poor state that it may have contributed to water sitting and rotting the column, and the lack of any firm pavement to hold it up can’t have helped.

I took a look on google maps, and there is rust visible around the base of the column on pics in 2009, 2014 and 2015.

Needless to say I have put a list of questions to council officers at the highest level today including about maintenance schedules, the state of this particular path and who is supposed to have been checking columns . (Which I will report back on ).

Years ago both before and after budget cuts started Lib Dem councillors complained about cuts to street lighting painting, maintenance and testing budgets by our Labour-run council.

Can I urge all residents to take a look at the street lighting column outside their house and if there is corrosion around the base to report it and let us know so we can make sure it is checked out.

Help us tackle flytipping – Do you recognise this kitchen?

The council has to deal with a lot of flytipping incidents. It costs a fortune and is completely unacceptable. Some time in December all this was dumped down near Finchale Abbey Village on Cocken Lane, when the road was closed off. Thankfully the road is back fully open. Unfortunately the flytipping is still there.

Residents reported this but it fell into the Council’s black hole. Thankfully after I was asked yesterday to report it again, our neighbourhood wardens team has sprung into action and is arranging for a full clean up, in what is a difficult location to clear. Our wardens service does an excellent job, so if there is anything like this anywhere please let me know so I can arrange a clean up and hopefully we can catch the culprits.

If you recognise this kitchen or think you might know who dumped it please let the Council know.

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Reporting wind blown rubbish

Following requests from residents we have asked for various sites to be cleaned up including Kira Drive and Rylands Way. I am also speaking with Sainsburys about items blowing off their petrol station forecourt and repeating calls for action on Porterhouse Lane. We have also asked for Framwellgate School Durham to the action to tidy up their boundary fencing where a lot of litter has blown. If there is an area with a build up of litter please let us know so we can arrange either a community or a council litter pick

Brasside finally has a path out of the village

For some time I have pushed to get a short stretch of path installed on the way to Brasside. Council officers repeatedly said it wasn’t necessary or couldn’t be funded, however I felt that forcing residents to push prams/ walk across across mud was unacceptable. Someone in a wheelchair would ended up covered in muck. After numerous attempts to get this improvement I am pleased to say that the pressure has finally paid off and the footpath has now been linked up. Before and after below.

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Another day of shame for Labour

Labour councillors today refused to scrap plans to cut teaching assistant pay by up to £5000.

And refused to allow a consultation on plans to close the DLI Museum. A link to the Echo story:

http://www.thenorthernecho.co.uk/news/14214963.DLI_Museum_set_to_close_as_last_ditch_attempt_to_save_it_fails/

The refusal by Labour councillors on both these issues marks a new low at County Hall.

South Terrace – Utter Council Failure

Ok, so after years of trying to get the council to deal with the problems on South Terrace, i have had enough.

Student properties have been built (doubling the population on the street) with no proper planning permission yet they have been occupied for years. The container in the photo has been there donkeys years in full view of neighbouring properties, which the council despite repeated requests has failed to get shifted – there should actually be a turning point and a bin storage area was requested.

The road surface has not been fully upgraded despite it being a planning condition and it is now dangerous near the entrance to Front Street.

The result of this inappropriate over-development and failure to act by the planning department is the worst kind of deteriorating conditions for the residents living here.

If I were to check back I expect I would find 100+ times when I have had to contact officers from one department or another over problems on this street.

Issues on this street have even been raised as high as the chief exec and leader. An internal audit report was even carried out at my request over elements of the problems. Yet still the problems persist.

Every few months there are overflowing bins or fly-tipping or some other problem and still the entrance road deteriorates.

Here are some photos from today. This is what happens when Durham’s planning department does not get to grips with a situation. It causes further continued problems.

Other council departments have to pick up the pieces at cost to the taxpayer and local residents to have to live in appalling conditions. It is an unacceptable failure by Durham County Council. at the highest level.

southterrace-1 southterrace-2 southterrace-3

 

 

State of Potterhouse Lane littering reported

I have reported the state of Potterhouse Lane from the roundabout past the Tip and beyond. The whole area is a complete littered mess and has been for weeks. Some of this is blown litter from the Tip but most is takeaway rubbish.

It is time the Council took this area seriously and installed some anti-litter signs and did some enforcement. I have asked before for a sign and it was removed as quickly as it went up.

Every few months I seem to have to ask for this area to be litter picked. I have asked Directors to take action when the evenings become light enough. Nearly all of the litter is car thrown.

Community Orchard Planted – Lib Dem councillors get hands on in snow and rain

orchard-closeup

Mamie, Amanda and I have helped to plant a new orchard between Newton Hall and Framwellgate Moor. This first local community orchard has fifty fruit trees will provide a wonderful display of blossom in the spring. It will also benefit wildlife throughout the year and provide fruit for local residents to pick in the autumn.

We came up with the idea after securing a big discount on the fruit trees from the local Pity Me Nurseries on the A167. Local residents including allotment holders helped us plant the orchard on a cold, rainy Friday last week.

It was freezing out there but the digging, carrying, wheel-barrowing and hammering soon warmed us up. The new orchard looks great and I am certain it will be a great community asset long into the future.

Pic of some of the residents who helped:

orchard-closeup-groupThe Council agreed to allow the land to be used for the orchard and provided stakes and straps to keep the new trees secure. The £300 funding for the 50 tree orchard came from left over local funding. The Council also provided waste chippings to spread around the trees to protect them and remove the need for weeding.

Comment from Amanda Hopgood: “A big thank you to all those residents who helped with the planting, especially the allotment holders who also provided spades and wheelbarrows. To get all that work done in just a couple of hours was fantastic.”

We are looking at other areas where orchards and trees could also be planted and would like to see more action across County Durham to promote home grown fruit and veg as well as more tree planting to help cut flood risk.

Comment from Mamie Simmons: “We want to promote locally grown food and recommend everyone tries to grow something in their garden, patio or home. It’s good for the environment and helps to promote healthy eating too.”

We also helped provide fruit trees at some of the local schools in the area and after securing the plants from the Woodland Trust we recently planted 400 hedgerow trees with the help of local school children.