Poor Consultation root of poor Regeneration

Gillingham Station - funded by government grants lobbied for by former MP, Paul Clark

This blog was particularly interested to read the party-piece column the deputy leader of the Tories in the Friday' Medway Messenger piece whilst on the 7.20am train to the City of London.

Coming off the back of the slavish support for the efforts of Councillor Les Wicks on Thursday night, it seems that lessons really arent being learned by an increasingly out of touch clique, and it is a clique, at the top of the Tory party locally.

The Tory leadership have an increasing habit of re-writing history - as we saw below over national foreign affairs - it is the same locally.

Regeneration in Medway and the funding for major programmes - some £127m- was, and is, absolutely nothing to do with the Conservative leadership. The money came from central government grants under the previous Labour Government, working alongside SEEDA and the regional agencies.

The Council though had a responsibility to consult locally and get public support - and that incidently is usually where it went wrong, as we can see with the lack of political leadership over projects.

One visit to Maidstone and you can see the juxtapose on regeneration. In Maidstone the agencies and the Council have got it about right, irrespective of the other poor decisions by the ruling Conservatives, there are few complaints about the regeneration work. Contrast with Medway and you can see that jobs are half-done, half-baked and usually as a result of poor consultation.

New bus stations in the wrong place, roadworks unplanned and delayed and Strood Riverside no further forward than in 2002.

The Tory leadership locally are in a hole; regeneration ostensibly funded by Labour is running out; but the clique are desperate to pretend to their back-benchers this is all the improvements is a result of the Conservative leadership. It isnt and never was:

Take two examples:

Gillingham Railway Station improvement - the piece claims this is as a result of Council action but it is actually an investment by the national stations improvement programme and Community Infrastructure Fund which was lobbied by former Transport Minister, and Labour MP, Paul Clark. This plan has nothing to do with the Conservatives.

Incidently this blog is reliably informed that Rochester Station improvements are at later stages but have still not received any information on it...

Brook and Chatham bus stations - whilst the blame for the delay and subsequent failure to scrutinise can be pinned on Tories; because they were responsible for the Planning and consultation behind the station. The money for it came from central government coffers allocated by the previous Labour government.

On regenetation; the opposition to local Conservative leadership has not been on the proposals; who could not want better bus facilities, and more regeneration, but it has been the manner it has been managed and the lamentable consultation and local implementation of projects.

Opposition also to the manner in which costs are hidden: the Tory leadership keep talking about budget outturns on regeneration projects but never ever tell you how much they are above the original budget estimates. The Council spin room, under orders from the Tory leadership no doubt, can try and obfuscate the truth badly, but the press statements from years previous are out there for all to access. You cant hide it when a bus station whose original budget estimate of £5m is now costing an expected sum of £7.3m.

Some back-bench Tories do get it. Though I do not agree ideologically with many of them, there is an attempt by those on the aspiring and community-based right to consult with people more actively - to take people with them - especially over Lodge Hill. That is good to see - because a new cabinet, comprised of a more dynamic breed of Tory Councillors could see projects better managed but also better consulted upon.

But until that generation step up. We are left with the clique, and that is where the Luton 'Healthy Living Centre' comes in.

The original proposal for the Luton 'Healthy Living Centre' was consulted upon with residents in 2009 and the location for the centre was rejected by the community - the location being behind several narrow terraced streets with very poor vehicular access. The Council also indicated that the centre was supposed to be built with additional funding for the Luton School improvements and the two were linked together. The suggested location for the living centre was dictated to by the PCT who indicated the centre had to be in the Luton area, whilst another centre would cover Wayfield, proposed at Hook Meadow.

Roll on two years and the position has changed. Not only have the Tories locally cut the funding for Luton School improvement, caused in my mind by a lack of funding partly as a result of overspends in Walderslade and Woodlands, but they have simply rehashed the same proposal that the public in the area rejected in 2009.

What is different though is not only cuts to the school improvements but that the PCT have also indicated that the original proposal for a Wayfield centre at Hook Meadow, has been kicked into the long grass.

Take into account also the poorly executed application; which proposes to bulldoze over green land without any ecological surveys and dodgy dates on consultation and yes, you alienate public support pretty quickly..

The residents in the area have not rejected a centre - they have therefore supported a new health centre but at a location that can benefit the whole community; on Barnfield or Street End Road.

This is what consultation should be about; and what Tory remarks represent is not a failure of campaigners opposed to development, but by agencies not speaking with residents, or each other, until the last moment and a foisted agenda of improvement without public support.

We have spent the last fortnight trying to get a compromise - perhaps better access via Pheasant Road, perhaps working with PCT on expanding the boundaries on the PCT guidelines given the situation on Hook Meadow, perhaps engaging with residents on more positive aspects of the scheme and getting information out there.

We do not support the scheme but compromises in politics are always an option. Alas not with the Tory leadership it seems.

It is the same old story.

Residents want a new health centre just in a location it would be better suited. They are accused of being against 'change' and being NIMBYists.

The campaign in Luton is not to oppose the Healthy Living Centre, it is to oppose the location and to call for it to be moved to serve all the residents of the ward.

Pot calling Kettle

It is getting quite tiresome to note the number of right wingers indulging in the puerile and facile act of putting photos of Prime Minister's shaking hands with former tyrants.

Of course foreign policy changes over time and anyone with a reasoned brain can understand the nuances of these changes and the times in which they were taken.

The right over the last four days have slavishly focused on the meetings of Labour Prime Ministers (Tony Blair and Gordon Brown) meeting and shaking the hands of Gaddafi over the last ten years.

Of course the picture of Tony Blair was taken as a result of Gaddafi renouncing his weapons of mass destruction and his apparent thaw to Western approaches on economic renewal. After the meeting Gaddafi opened up his oil markets and appointed a moderate Prime Minister. That is not to excuse the subsequent actions over the uprising or his muderous tendencies; but whoever said foreign affairs was easy.

Before Tories start jumping on this type of bandwagon its worth looking at some Tory Party Prime Ministers and some of those they have had diplomatic relationship with:

Mugabe shaking hands with former Prime Minister, John Major. Mugabe is of course a tyrant who is continuing to inflict huge suffering on his population.

The picture was taken in the early 1990s when Mugabe was seen as a paragon of stability

Pinochet with Margaret Thatcher. Despite Pinochet having a terrible human rights record of imprisoning and murdering political opponents - Mrs Thatcher always supported his attempts to destroy socialism in his country and for the support over Falklands.

Conservative Party Prime Minister, Neville Chamberlain shaking hands with Adolf Hitler after the Munich Pact was signed. Hitler later went onto invade most of mainland Europe.

If the Tories want to play this type of puerile game - be careful - the shadows of history have a habit of showing hypocrites up

Never Forget...

Grammar School snub as Wicks remains

The Medway Conservatives declared war on the grammar school mum and dad last night by backing the feckless Councillor Les Wicks to retain his education portfolio, despite plea's from concerned parents over the botched Chatham & Rainham 11+ tests.

Thousands of parents are simply aghast that the Conservatives could put partisan self-service before that of the public, and the 43,000 pupils across Medway's 100+ schools. The Council received huge numbers of complaints and the Medway Messenger board was inundated with comments calling for a full review.

The full review that had been promised by the Council leader had been delayed; a deliberate ploy perhaps to save the portfolio holder face at a public meeting. Yes, of course it was.

Councillor Les Wicks continues to retain responsibility for the important Child Safety, adoption and school entrance selection process and was congratulated by colleagues for his 'first rate' performance including in Rainham.

There was no apology for the mis-spent millions on school projects including at Woodlands and Walderslade. Instead parent-governors were blamed for poor financial scrutiny.

The management of the 11+ test system is a fundamental to the Medway system of secondary education. Parents from Rochester to Rainham prepare their children assiduously for the test so that their child can aspire and reach their full potential.

Yet, the failure of Les Wicks to manage not one but two test centres has left hundreds of parents feeling that their child could have been discriminated against their peers on the basis of increased stress caused by the organisational failure.

The fact it took 13 days for Cllr Wicks to apologise to Grammar School parents and staff at the Grammar schools concerned - because he was at Conservative Party conference - shows the contempt with which he holds these schools.

A ward colleague, Cllr Vaughan Hewett who was silent last night, was not even aware that one of his own schools was actually an Academy. An insult to the hard work of staff, pupils and the governors.

If Conservatives think that back-slapping and fawning over Wicks in the Chamber means a jot to the public they have another thing coming.

By clinging onto an individual who would be fired in any private-sector role for budgetary mismanagement they have sent a message that incompetence and feckless leadership is not only supported by Tories; it is positively rewarded.

They have failed the Grammar schools - parents, staff and future pupils in Medway - and that is unforgivable.

Purple Book Event

Whilst our MP in Rochester is drifting ever further to the right, flirting with UKIP, and the recent adoption of an English Democratic Councillor, is it time Medway had a less extreme set of representatives, who were more aligned to the centre; and the concerns of every day families across the constituency.

Rochester constituents have suffered under the reckless Tories. From rising unemployment, economic uncertainty, rising house costs, cuts in Police, schools and the privatization of the NHS. Meanwhile our MP is focused dogmatically on the European Union at the expense of more important matters.

Does the Purple book offer any moderate / progressive solutions for the future?

Progress will be in Rochester between 7:00-8:30pm on the 2 November 2011 in the Rochester Coffee Co. , 146 High Street, ME1 1ER and would be delighted if you could attend.

Speakers:

· Author: Rachel Reeves MP
· Author: John Woodcock MP
· Response: Cllr Wes Streeting
· Chair: Naushabah Khan (Kent Young Labour)

You can also tweet about the event here:

Rochester #PurpleBook event w/ @RachelReevesMP @JWoodcockMP @wesstreeting @NaushabahKhan

The Tories in Medway represent the past and an extreme right wing agenda; come listen to what could be the Progressive solution

Poor timing for EU debate

It is with bewilderment that I note today that whilst Medway residents are worried about simply staying in the black, about jobs, schools, hospitals and the economy our MP is once again banging on about Europe.

It's like one of those broken records... we have heard this all before... time and time again.

There are times and places for these things and a vote on whether we leave or stay in the EU, whilst we are embroiled in a full Eurozone crisis is not only baffling but also positively foolish.

It is a massive economic risk if politics were to be put before the economy at this crucial time - but dont let that stop the right wing opportunists - who sense an opportunity to rubbish Europe at a time when closer fiscal integration must be considered.

The focus for our local representatives should be stability and jobs. The Office for National Statistics (ONS) reports today that consumer price inflation in the UK was 5.2% in September, up from 4.5% in August. Increases in gas and electricity prices were largely to blame but - although these were well known about - the jump in inflation was bigger than anticipated.

The surge in inflation was driven by a rise in utility bills, with gas and electricity costs increasing by 13 and 7.5 per cent respectively following price hikes from Scottish & Southern Energy, E.ON, British Gas and Scottish Power. The retail prices index (RPI), which includes housing costs, rose from 5.2 to 5.6 per cent in September, while the consumer prices index (CPI), used to set benefit levels, increased from 4.5 to 5.2 per cent.

With unemployment hitting a 17-year high of 2.57 million in the three months to August, the benefits bill is increasing, which is putting further strain on the public finances as the chancellor wields his axe.

The people of Medway are really feeling the squeeze at the moment; but instead of articulating that concern we have another vote on Europe... and we all know it will be totally rejected by the same Conservatives who promised a referendum in the first place.

You think we should be talking about Europe?

Thought not.

Lodge Hill Consultation ends

Dark Green / Light Green is protected and designated green space

As predicted by this blog in August, the Lodge Hill Consultation by the Tories has been anything but an exercise in generating local opinion.

I suspect the overwhelming opinion of those that did respond was negative; but dont let that change your minds...

This blog suspects the Conservatives will steamroller this proposal through the local Planning Committee and give a green light to building over our cherished green land.

Dont say we didn't warn you. Same old Tories; same old tricks

Estuary Airport back on agenda

London Conservatives publish 167 page scoping document on air travel today

The two-faced Tory attempt to rubbish the idea of an Estuary Airport with polling, has suffered a major set back this weekend as the London Mayor released a 167 page scoping document on the necessity for additional airport capacity.

The paper which includes detailed breakdown of economic flows makes it clear that the Birmingham option is not sustainable over the medium term and rubbishes the 'Heathwick' proposal.

The publication of this report comes conveniently after the appointment of Justine Greening MP who has been vociferously opposed to any further development at Heathrow, which could put any plans to expand Heathrow/Gatwick on hold. The paper makes clear the option for Birmingham is a non-starter due to mid-term capacity problems. Medway Tory Councillors had, this blog believes, been briefing the press informally that this option was potentially the likely outcome...

Daniel Moylan, the Deputy Chairman of Transport for London, is leading on aviation matters for the Mayor.

“Several ideas have been put forward to try and address our increasing lack of runway capacity. But I remain to be persuaded of there being any workable solution other than the creation of a new hub airport. And the obvious location for a 24 hour airport with the least possible impact on the local population is the Thames Estuary. A true ‘airport city’ of the type never seen before in the UK would provide the capacity we need and provide vital support to the UK economy.”

Outrageous view from the Conservatives. Atypical attitude we have seen over the last couple of months which show the simply dont care about the ecological and historical significance of Medway heritage.

If this proposal is put down into a white paper the three Tory Councillors on the Peninsula should do the honourable thing and become independents so that they can fight any proposal without hindrance to Party loyalty. The public are already cynical about why this proposal is still on the agenda after years of internal Conservative conversations.

This blog made clear a mere 48 hours ago that we are now at risk of having an airport agenda foisted upon us. Our local MPs and Councillor's have been utterly ineffective, and have opposed campaigning proposals, which could be an argument for saying they are trying to protect their electoral base. This ineffective campaign posture could have allowed this airport proposal to gain ground over the last four years.

In 2008, the proposal was merely for an island airport in the Estuary, but local Conservatives have allowed, via support of the Conservative Party ticket in London, the slow and rathet like slippage of an on-site option on the Peninsula. A proposal which is causing severe distress to residents and which could impact house prices in the area.

Our Tory MPs need to get a grip; a clear and unequivocal statement from Justine Greening MP that no scoping or consultation paper will be released on any proposal for an airport in North Kent.

Any deviation of this position will lead residents to think they have hoodwinked us for four years over on an idea which the community has overwhelmingly rejected.

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