Torch Relay

Bunting

The story of the Penzance Bunting, it was decided not to put the Bunting up in Market Jew Street, Penzance too early as we had some fears that it could well get damaged before the day.

So late yesterday afternoon the team were out getting the bunting strung,  but few people would have had the chance to see this effort as at 4 am this morning some young men decided to rip the whole lot down again.

Unfortunately for them the CCTV was working and their antics were caught. As were they a few hours later by local Police Officers.

By 8 am the team were back out again re-erecting the bunting. Fingers crossed for tonight.

Newlyn Coombe

Yesterday morning I waked down the Coombe and into Penzance and all was right with the world, in the afternoon I walked back and in my absence “Health & Safety” for the Olympic Torch Relay had passed that way. For those not familiar with Newlyn Coombe it’s a fairly narrow road in Newlyn (the site of “The Newlyn Meadery”), bounded on one side without a pavement are a range of fish merchants and other business, on the other a narrow pavement with a guard rail stopping you falling into the raging torrent that’s the Coombe.

In the time I had spent in Penzance a row of crash barriers had appeared stretching for about 200 yards connected to the existing guardrails by cable ties, the feet of the crash barriers now took up over half the pavement, I cautiously made my way up the Coombe but having tripped over the protruding legs a few times decided the road was safer. But do not fear the works had not finished as returning down the Coombe in the evening this new trip hazard had been recognised and cured by giving every crash barrier its very own cone. No wonder  “Health & Safety” gets a bad name. 

Found a hazard that was not really there, made a trip hazard, cone for the trip hazard, people now in the road.

Penzance Mayor Choosing

Penzance Mayor Choosing

The recent Mayor choosing in Penzance this year has raised a few questions after I and one other councillor voted against the election of the Mayor. This is the first time this has happened for a good many years and was not a decision which I took lightly. Prior to this formal meeting of the council, a meeting is held where all nominations for the post of Mayor are debated and a vote taken. This year, two nominations were received, so the nomination’s are put to a vote, the outcome of the vote was tied at 10 – 10, the vote was taken a further two times with the same outcome, there is no casting vote. This impasse was only overcome when one of the nominees stood down. The mayor elect is then formally voted into office at the Annual Meeting of the Town Council.

The role of Mayor is a complex one, on one hand you are the public face of the town attending public functions on behalf of the town, representing the town at civic ceremonies, meeting and supporting other groups within the town and further a field, this very public role is an important element of the job.  On the other hand, the mayor is the chairman of the council, chairing full town council meetings, as mayor you are also a member of all the councils committees.

The supporters of the mayor elect have stated in the press that it was his turn, this is a phrase I have not heard before in my twelve years as a councillor, certainly regarding mayor choosing, the mayor is not chosen on the basis of turn and never has been, I have also read that the role had become too political, again from an unnamed source, strange then that the elected mayor is a member of a political party and the other nomination very much an independent.

So how do I judge who should be mayor, firstly I look at their ability to carryout the required roles of the mayor, basing this on what I have seen of that person acting as a councillor over their time as an elected member.  I do not care if I agree or disagree with them politically. Normally they would have been the chair of one of the committee’s, how have they conducted themselves in this role? Have they done well.  What working groups have they volunteered to be members of, what has been their contribution? Is this a person who I feel will represent the town well and finally I look for that indefinable extra that would make them a mayor.

In the past I have not always been in total agreement with those elected to be mayor, but on balance have felt that it could just be me and have been happy to vote for them at the Annual Meeting, sadly on this occasion I could not, I looked at all the factors detailed above, considered my own prejudices and after much thought decided that I could not support their election. I will continue to work as a councillor and continue to offer support to those holding office and hope and trust I'm proved wrong.

Fence Sitting or Pre Determination

As a local councillor, the other day I was accused (among many other things) as sitting on the fence. A very common complaint made against Councillors, so why is it that Councillors are very careful about getting behind a local campaign group, wishing to build or not to build, this or that, here or there.

Well the simple answer is that they are banned from doing so, by law.

Many from outside Councils I’m sure are now asking what!

Councillors currently are governed by a set of rules set out in the Local Government Act 2000 and Local Authorities (Model Code of Conduct) Order 2007, which members and councillors must abide by.

Within these documents is a section about what is called Pre Determination.

This in part, is what it says:-

“Predetermination is where a councillor’s mind is closed to the merits of any arguments which differ from their own about a particular issue on which they are making a decision, such as an application for planning permission. The councillor makes a decision on the issue without taking them all into account.

If councillors are involved in making a decision they should avoid giving the appearance that they have conclusively decided how they will vote at the meeting, such that nothing will change their mind. This impression can be created in a number of different ways such as quotes given in the press, and what they have said at meetings or written in correspondence.

Rarely will membership of an organisation on its own, such as a national charity, amount to apparent bias. This is unless the organisation has a particular vested interest in the outcome of a specific decision that a councillor is involved in making, or the decision is quasi-judicial in nature.”

Some extreme but true examples:

·        Members of South Cambridgeshire District Council were warned that they may be disqualified from discussing a proposed new site for a mobile phone mast if they themselves used a mobile phone, and could not comment on a proposed new park and ride scheme if they owned a car.

·        Candidates standing for election to Reigate and Banstead Council were warned against discussing a controversial decision to close a local swimming pool and sell the land for housing, because to express a view would exclude them from voting on the issue if elected.

·        An independent councillor on Rushmoor Borough Council was prevented from voting at full council on a proposal to turn the Farnborough Aerodrome into an executive jet centre, because he had expressed his opposition to the plans during his election campaign.

·        Councillors on North Shropshire District Council were discouraged from expressing their views on plans to introduce parking charges in three local market towns until a final decision was taken, for fear that to comment before the vote could leave the council open to legal challenge. This was despite the plans to introduce parking charges provoking lively debate among local residents.

So before having a go at your local councillor, for what sounds like a luke warm endorsement for your campaign, remember he or she has to play the game by the rules or be banned from playing.

The good news.

Local Government Minister Grant Shapps has stated that :-

“The Localism Bill will change the law to allow councillors to campaign on local issues and champion the needs of their residents - ending widespread and long-standing uncertainty among councillors, leaving them free to better represent their communities.”

Street Trading

Last week Penzance Town Council’s General Purposes Committee had a hard decision to make regarding a Street Trading Licence. Although the issuing of Street Trading Licences is a Cornwall Council decision (more on this later) the town council is consulted.

The application was for a stall in Market Jew Street, by Lloyds Bank, operating for up to seven days a week selling Olives and other related items.

When considering a Street Trading Licence the most important area that is taken into account by the committee are the goods being offered for sale, if there is a business already operating from a shop/retail premises selling the same or similar items in close proximity to where the applicant wishes to trade, we have to consider the effect the issuing of the licence would have on that business.  

The reasoning behind this is, we, as I’m sure most others do, want as many retail shops to remain on our High Street as possible.  As a street trader will have a commercial advantage, in that they do not have the fixed overheads associated with maintaining a retail outlet i.e. rent, business rates, insurance, electricity etc. The shopkeeper’s viability could well be severely affected by the granting of a street trading licence, which pays a one off fee per annum.

Whereas the opening of a shop selling the same or similar goods, over which Councils have little or no control, is a commercial decision for the shopkeeper.

In this case there are two retail shop’s selling a similar range of goods in immediate proximity to where the applicant wished to trade.  Not withstanding this, the vote was tied and came down to the casting vote of the acting chairman; a post that I had stood down from at the last meeting, the recommendation was for refusal.

I can think of few areas that Town & Parish Councils could manage better than Cornwall Council than Street Trading Licensing.

The local clerk’s office could discuss with applicants before they submit their application, the criteria on which it will be judged, offer alternatives, explain developments that are in the planning stage, the applicant could still submit the application, that’s their right, but an application could be managed better. It would enable Town & Parish Councils to encourage street trading in areas of the Town that could do more to assist Town Centres to remain viable.

Do I think that Cornwall Council will hand over the managing of Street Trading to the Town & Parishes, no, they see it purely as a revenue stream and as such something to hang on to.

For the record I voted in favour of the granting of the licence, Cllr P Rendle was Chairman. 

Update: My thanks to Cllr A Wallis for pointing out that Street Trading is a Statuary Duty, so Cornwall Council can not pass to Town & Parish Councils. One, for the Localism agenda maybe.  

Core Strategy

Don’t know what’s it all about, I read something in the paper, it won’t effect me, I can’t be bothered, it’s only something Cornwall Council are doing, it won’t  mean anything, it will be forgotten in a few months, it’s just another consultation.

Comments above ring a bell?

So why is the Core Strategy important?

Well, within this document is the future of Cornwall, the future of your town or village, even for many your street.

Identified within this document are the sites scattered throughout the Duchy as to where housing is going to be built, developments take place and there are a lot of them.

Doing nothing now is not an option. In favour or against if YOU do not make your views known NOW it will be too late.

Let’s jump forward a year or two.

Developer wants to build 400 houses on a site, which is just across the road from where you live, currently the site is used by you and all your neighbours to walk the dog, children play there, it’s the only bit of green space open to all on the edge of the estate where you live.

Planning application submitted by developer, you form an action group, write to newspapers, set up website. Lobby local councillor, councillor asks what colour do you want the doors, what?

Cornwall Council officers at the planning meeting, point out that the site was identified within the Core Strategy as suitable for housing, at the consultation on the Core Strategy 100% of the comments for this site were in favour, (there may have only been two comments, both from developers). Local councillor has nowhere to go, can object, but it’s in the plan, no one objected.

Cornwall Council wants to build 48,000 houses and their media department is working overtime to convince you and me that these are needed. Read here about that need. 

When you look at the Core Strategy, imagine that every area marked as an area for development is actually an outline planning application, if you want your view to be heard NOW is the time. 

Penzance Harbour Options Review

Yesterday afternoon I went along to the Penzance Harbour Options Review, and good fun it was, got to meet lots of old friends, had a good chat with a lot of people. The turn out for the Review had been very good, with over 350 having turned up by 2 pm so with 7 hours still to go,  I’m sure it went very well.

So what did I learn, I should point out that I spent over 20 years of my working life at sea, but I’m no expert, but it would seem that hidden within Penzance is the greatest gathering of marine engineering, sea transport, harbour design experts in the world, if, as I’m sure there is, an International Conference on Harbour Design, Penzance would be very empty. I spent some time speaking with an old friend, he did not claim to be an expert, but as he gets to drive the Scillonian, his views were good to hear.

All the usual suspects were there, spouting as to why their scheme was the only one that would work, accusing everyone else, ( Town Council, Andrew George, Friends of Penzance Harbour, True Friends of Penzance Harbour, Chamber of Commerce, et al ) of doing this or not doing that, so all in all proper consultation.

As an exercise in consultation and engagement the Harbour Review Board could not have worked harder, having been as open with what they have been doing, as anybody could be, they came to this process with a blank sheet of paper, (much decried by some, who went out of their way to misinterpret their intentions), a limited amount of money and a very tight timetable. They brought in Hydra as consultants ((true experts) to cries of what do you need a bunch of consultants for? Well if you don’t know the answer to that, you really don’t have any idea), who had not been involved with the previous scheme, but already had a lot of information from work carried out for Penwith DC in the past, cutting both costs and time.

The presentation boards were good, in that options were put next to each other so a comparison between the options could be made.

I’m told that after yesterday all the comments will be taken into account and final options prepared.

Now if only we could get those, from all sides, to just stop for a minute, engage their brains, look at what’s on offer, see this as the start and not the end of redeveloping the Penzance Harbour area, use their energy in a more positive way, we just may get somewhere. Hope springs eternal. 

St Erth Park and Ride

Today I watched the Strategic Planning Meeting from Cornwall Council on its plans for a Park and Ride at St Erth. (Planning officer favourite for the year)

Whatever the merits of this plan, my overriding impression was that not enough, well planning, had gone into it.

Remembering that the applicant is Cornwall Council, you would have though the officers would have some idea of what was going on outside of their offices, public meetings etc. But no.

The officers did not seem clear as to what the park and ride was for, one saying it’s to relive traffic in St Ives, then it’s Penzance and later still Penwith, it’s for tourists, no commuters, to take traffic off the A30.

How many cars will use it, we don’t know. 

How will it be funded once in place, don’t know. 

Can you buy a parking ticket and train/bus ticket, we haven’t looked at that.

How much will it cost to park, we don’t know. 

Which busses will serve the park & ride, the bus companies have indicated that they have no plans to divert busses to the site. Park and no Ride?  The 300 will go to the site, (the 300 is the open top circular route, summer only service).  

How will you address access to the site, lights on the A30, will this not cause congestion, we don’t know. 

What about the narrow bridge? 

How will a pedestrian get to the site?
And so on, you get the idea I'm sure.

Cornwall Councils bacon saved by late intervention of legal suggesting a site inspection, stops what looks like  a refusal. Decision deferred. 

Now a bit of a rush to do some planning and issue Hymn sheets before the next meeting.