This evening’s Amenities Meeting had a lot of items to discuss in it – as part of my commitment to transparency I want to highlight how I voted on items and explain my reasoning – and I welcome you to get in touch whether you agree or disagree.
Remember: Please check my posting policy – these are my words and not to be taken as the view of any Town Councillor or the Town Council – the minutes will be published in due course if you want that view – this is my representation of what I’ve voted on:
Veteran Oak – Tillhouse Road
This item had a lot of discussion – it is a very sensitive issue. Personally I am quite fond of trees but I am also very aware that there can come a point where you need to consider if a tree becomes a danger (for example by falling down) or is otherwise going to be a problem (be that financially or otherwise). A representative from Benger provided some information as well as seeing the documents provided to us, and I heard various views from around the meeting table from other Councillors. I think it would be fair to say that a significant amount of time was spent on this item to consider the best approach.
Being realistic, the amount of money to be spent is considerable – over £4000 now plus the costs of further Static Load Testing (which I’m told will be £4000 or so – and currently every 3 years) – so attempting to preserve and keep the tree does come with large additional costs. There is too of course ultimately no guarantee it will survive long term. Alternative options were looked at including potential removal – and some costs were ‘guesstimated’ (eg there wasn’t a formal cost, just a broad guess of what might be likely) – they’re also expensive. Having heard all of that (and remember I’m briefly summarising here – there was a lot of discussion!), I decided to vote that we do agree to the works outlined in the proposal despite the cost and do our best to help the tree survive. I hope that in time the costs and work will allow the tree to remain – it’s a great reminder of the history of the land that has come to be the town.
St Martin’s Play Area – Path Remediation
I voted for this to be done – the park is well used – and existing works that were done I’m told have held up well and been better than the original so given the volume of use of the park seems a reasonable next step.
St Martin’s Play Area – Maintenance & Repairs
I voted for this work to be done. Representation was also made that we should amend the proposals to get budgets considered for the long term replacement of the park – it’s now 10 years old and one day significant spend would be needed to replace it.
Crannaford Play Park – Path Remediation
I voted that we should not approve this work to be done and refer it for more review first for a variety of reasons. There are questions over the work proposed, the cost of it, and what the best outcome is to avoid repeatedly going through this type of thing as well as be better prepared for future projects. I think it is important that work done is sensibly priced and where possible has a good long term outcome.
Vehicle Activated Sign Management
I was not satisfied that the proposed cost of £1300 (estimated) for a years outsourcing management/maintenance of the VAS is good value for public money. I believe if implemented properly the sign will be a useful aid to help reduce issues of speeding & remind drivers of the need to keep speeds down in the town, but I am mindful that the amount of money was not guaranteed to be fixed (based as it is on a ‘per visit’ charge) and it is not yet fully clear how effective it will be for the town. Other Councillors clearly felt likewise and an amendment proposed and accepted to look at trialling/doing this 6 months and then review again – including consideration of matters such as Solar being a potential option to reduce maintenance visits perhaps (although you also need to consider the need to physically move the sign periodically). With the revised 6 month before review and a maximum cost of £700, I voted for the revised proposal.
Weed Control
I voted for this work – having heard representations from another Councillor on the proposed treatments and low risk to the environment and living creatures etc. In time I would hope perhaps as more and more roads became adopted we might be able to consider another approach (perhaps done by some in-house maintenance people etc) – but that’s for another time and would of course need discussion as/when it was felt appropriate – but in the meanwhile I felt we should try and keep things tidy.
Crannaford Allotments – Path Remediation
Having heard from various residents over this proposal, and visiting the site on multiple occasions and then hearing from other Councillors with mixed views, I voted against this work – the problem is that the recommended option would not fully resolve the issue for all allotment holders in my view, but the more expensive proposal would be unreasonable in terms of expenditure – especially when you consider the allotments only generate £75 per allotment with 28 allotments – so roughly £2100 per annum – and when I heard from allotment holders they likewise said they saw no real point spending almost £5000 on a partial resolution of the concern. It was raised and I have recommended we revisit the Association thing – I know some I spoke to felt it would not be worthwhile but Councillors did raise that if there was an association it could take over the site but importantly would be able to get grants and funding to help with some of the improvements and things people want – but that the Town Council whilst operating the facility cannot do so – I think that’s an important point – we have to remember that there are 28 plots, which generate a small amount of money and effectively doesn’t ‘pay for itself’ – and nobody wants to be paying more for the plots, so the Council is faced with finding pretty significant sums for works which it cannot recover realistically, and it would amount to a reasonably large spend for a small number of beneficiaries. I know this issue is pretty contentious of course. I think the best next steps for now is to go and find out what options are for an association and then see if I can help you find a sensible way to achieve it so that we can balance the interests of allotment holders who enjoy the facilities with the problem of how you pay to keep it in good condition and suitable for those who use it. A topic for another day I think…
Crannaford Allotments – Maintenance
I voted for this item – we should of course maintain the water troughs and the costs are low and perfectly reasonable in my view and again I know allotment users feel it is necessary and reasonable.
Final thoughts:
Hopefully you find that useful – as I said earlier, the full Council decisions will be released in the minutes in due course and I’ll try and update this once it is so you can see the Council’s position and not just my own thoughts – this is ultimately just my ‘commentary’ on my decisions.
Remember – each Councillor on the committee is entitled to a viewpoint and a vote and must decide for themselves – it is healthy to consider a wide range of views & it is important (required even) that I make my decision once I’ve read any reports, heard from any public representations made, and listened carefully to the thoughts of other Councillors and as a result I’m publishing what I’ve agreed/not agreed in order to help you understand my rationale and be transparent with you in my representation. If you don’t agree with it then I’m happy to hear from you – and likewise if you do!
UPDATED:
23/05/23 – the Town Council Amenities Committee Meeting Minutes have been published – view those here.