Ask The Leader 2010

A. Dear Mr Hills,

I would like to explain the reasons for the job of Transformation Programme Support Officer. Wealden District Council launched its Transformation Programme 18 months ago to examine better ways for the Council to operate whether by improving the methods of working, sharing services with other public bodies or outsourcing to the private sector.

The programme has already delivered substantial savings and our aim is to make further changes in response to the Budget announcements and the results of the Government's Comprehensive Spending Review due to report in October. This will require making further reductions in the budget of between £2.5 - £3m.  Ensuring these changes are completed successfully is in my view a correct role for the Council and the temporary post is certainly not a “non-jobber” as you suggest.

The Council does try to write all job opportunities, and indeed other documents, in plain English. I agree the wording could have been simplified but I am pleased to say we have had a good response to the advert.

Regards

Bob Standley

I have been trying to get to the bottom of an issue that every time I see it annoys me. There is a stretch of tegular paving in the highway outside Waitrose. After the spell of bad weather a couple of months ago potholes appeared which were given temporary repairs by the Highways department with tarmac. It looks absolutely awful.

I have spoken to Brian Young at Highways who advises that they will undertake permanent repairs with the tegular paving but cannot give any sort of timescale and they will not undertake individual repairs of this nature unless there are others to do. Mr Young also said that it would not have been their preference to put tegular paving in the road because of its lack of durability especially in bad weather .I do fail to understandwhy the Highways department don't keep a stock of this type of paving to do repairs without having to wait for other similar areas to be repaired.

I have been trying to ascertain who was responsible for this decision in light of its obvious disadvantages and consequences ie tegular paving with tarmac inserts looks worse than plain tarmac. The Town Council say that it is nothing to do with them as do the highways department.I do get frustrated with the sea of bureacracy and lack of accountability fordecisions of this nature.

Are you able to assist at all?

Verity Ellis

A. Dear Verity,

Thank you for your question regarding the tegular blocks. I agree that the tarmac repair looks unsightly although I am also aware of the huge amount of work East Sussex County Council has been doing to repair and re-surface our highways as a result of the 30,000 + potholes caused by the cold winter.

The road surface is a County responsibility so I cannot promise when the restoration of the blocks will take place but have forwarded your email to the Highways Authority which I trust will reinforce the messages you have already sent.

Regards

Bob Standley

Q. Dear Sir,

What are the implications of the removal of regional housing targets onthe Council's activity and timescalefor producing the Local Development Framework?

Kind regards

Thank-you for your timely question.

In the light of the Government's recent announcementof its plans to "rapidly abolish Regional Spatial Strategies,"  Wealden District Council is carefully considering the implications for its emerging Core Strategy andLocal Development Framework. The targets forhousing numbers that were set out in earlier versions of the South East Plan havebeen overtaken by events.The Council has consistently argued that any new housing needs to be supported by adequate infrastructure whilst also respecting local environmental constraints. Our officers are preparing a report for the 7 July meeting of the Cabinet Local Development Framework sub-committee setting out the possible implications for the LDF.  The  agenda for the meeting of the Cabinet LDF sub-committee will be available here http://www.wealden.gov.uk/moderngov/ieListMeetings.aspx?CId=534&Year=2010

five working days before the meeting.

Regards

Many thanks

J Ognjanovic

Play equipment tends to cater for children up to 12 years of age. Above this age, consultation with young people is the best way to find out what facilities they would like. In some cases young people may just want a place to go where they can hang out. Whilst the provision of play and youth facilities in the Polegate area is the responsibility of the town council and other agencies such as the Youth Development Service, Wealden District Council does encourage activities by working in partnership with Towns and Parishes.

In parts of Wealden, specific activities for girls such as cheerleading/ street dance is proving very popular. Many of these activities are provided as after school clubs at schools/colleges. The Wealden Active Play team are also able to coordinate some outreach activities where young people have identified what they would like to do. For more information regarding the Active Play team, they can be contacted on 0771 777 6788.

Wealden District Council is able to offer support to town and parish councils by giving advice on consultation and helping to identify funding opportunities for activities for young people.

There are no current plans to build a leisure facility in Polegate although the provision of Leisure is currently under review with a report coming to the Council in the summer.

If you would like any further information please contact our Cultural Services Manager, culturalservices@wealden.gov.uk

regards,

Bob Standley

Q. Dear Mrs. Doodes,

Today is St George's Day, and a good day to put my question to you. Why, on your web survey site when asked about ethnicity, you ask which group do I belong to?

You give a choice of:

White

Mixed

Asian or Asian British

Blackor Black British

Chinese or other ethnic group

Of course I ticked "Chinese or other ethnic group".

I live in England, my nationality is English. I am very proud to be English despite of what is being done in our name by our politicians. I do not appreciate my nationality being suppressed by the government, local government the EU or political correctness.

I think it inappropriate that you have to ask about ethnicity in the first place. Everyone should be treated equally.

So if it has to be asked, how about English British, Mrs Doodes? I think there are a lot of people in England who want to keep their identity, as do all the other people mentioned in your list above and I do not blame them at all for wanting to hold on to their ethnic back ground, I certainly.

I wonder if Wealden District Council will be flying the St George's Flag today Mrs Doodes, what do you think?

Happy St George's Day Mrs Doodes and to everyone at Wealden District Council, where ever they come from.

regards

Tom Cooper

A. Dear Mr Cooper,

I am sorry if the questions on our Equality Monitoring Form have upset you. We ask users of our services to answer these questions so we can see if there is any discrimination in our services towards people from different races or religious beliefs, or to those with disabilities.

Only by monitoring such information can we make sure we are being fair to everyone who is entitled to use our services. I believe fairness is important, and agree with you that everyone should be treated equally. This Council needs to make sure this is the case.  All  the information we gather is treated in the strictest confidence and not referred back to any individual.

I must thank you for your St George's Day greetings. I am pleased to tell you the Flag of St George was flying above our offices in Hailsham and Crowborough on 23 April.

Best Regards

Pam Doodes.

Q. Hi. Can you tell me why the council let people that don't care for their gardens into houses/flats with gardens?

I was under the impression that it was in the rules and regulations of the council that the gardens have to be clean and maintained, so why isn't something done about it ?

These people should be moved into accommodation without gardens and make way for families that do want gardens.  Also, when the gardens are unattended by occupiers, why do the council have to take it out of their budget -our taxpayers' money - to clear it?  Why aren't these people made to dispose of their own mess, or at least billedfor the disposal of their mess?

C Beail

A. Dear Carole,

Thank you for your inquiry. The tenancy agreement for every Wealden tenant includes a requirement to keep the garden tidy and cultivated, and also not to use the garden for storage. We do try to adopt reasonable standards in our interpretation of this as not everyone is an enthusiastic or able gardener.

When we receive comments about gardens, we often find that the garden in question does not belong to a tenant, but someone who is now private owner.  In these cases, we do not have enforcement powers as a landlord; although our colleagues in public health, environmental protection or indeed planning enforcement may be able to take action. It would help us if you feel there is a problem, to get in touch with one of our housing officers, who can be contacted on 01323 443365 or by emailing housing@wealden.gov.uk.

Where we do need to take actionto clear up a tenant's garden, either by engaging people to clear the garden or going to Court for enforcement action, we always seek to recover costs from the tenant.

Best Regards

Pam Doodes

Q. My council tax bill has been stolen. Well, it must have, as normally I'd have had it by now. Now I think it was by a Dutch man, well he's started stealing my council tax.

Hopefully now I have your attention. I do not like the fact that Wealden are handing MY money to the people of Holland. You use TNT now for 2nd class mail deliveries. They are Dutch owned.

We have a perfectly good functioning Post Office, which is British and employs in excess of 600 Wealden residents, who have seen you going away from Royal Mail, after the recent Council Tax Notices. We only got about 20% of total addresses and thought then rest would turn up later in the week. Three weeks later and they still haven't, that's worse than any service Royal Mail would ever dream of selling. Surely in times of recession we should be supporting British business, even if the price is not as competitive, the service certainly is.

I also hear the Council staff are not getting a 1% pay rise as promised and budgeted for, but the council tax is still being increased! Please could you explain this and how you expect your staff to pay the increase to the council tax when in effect being paid less, bearing in mind your supposedly making savings using TNT!

So 600 Royal Mail voters and in excess of 400 Wealden staff wondering what you are doing with are council tax money and will vote accordingly.

I still have yet to receive my Council Tax Bill and someone send me one, please. 1st Royal Mail at least I know I'll get it.

Thank you.

Steve Vince

A. Dear Mr Vince,

Thank-you for raising these points. The reason why the Council has decided to allocate its contract for second class mail to the TNT is because it will result in savings of at least £20,000 a year. The benefits of these savings will be passed on to Council Tax payers, like yourself, in the future. However, if the service does not meet the agreed delivery obligations, we will consider making new arrangements.

The Council has embarked on number of initiatives to keep any council tax rise as low as possible in the future, including moving to a single office site.  I am unwilling to be drawn in to any debate about staff wages as this is a matter between the Council and its employees.

Best Regards

Pam Doodes

Q. Dear Mrs Doodes

When is the rubbish that has been laying along the A26 for months going to be tackled?  I sometimes have overseas visitors from civilised European countries who can't understand the mindset that allows our rural environment to deteriorate in this way.

The Council are plainly failing in this duty and what is being done to raise the will and frequency of dealing with this? Do residents have to resort to Abatement Orders?

A. Dear Mr Hunter

Thank you for your enquiry regarding the presence of litter on the A26. The Council takes this issue very seriously and targets its resources to clear the strategic routes across the District at frequent intervals.  Our schedules were disrupted due to the severe weather during December and January and, as a result, the gap between visits has been slightly longer than normal. This road was previously litter picked at the end of November 2009 and was litter picked again earlier this month.

We have to combat the attitudes of some elements of the general public who feel it is acceptable to throw litter from their vehiclesto spoil our highways. Changing these attitudes is a national issue and, despite repeated campaigns and occasionally prosecutions of offenders, these attitudes do not seem to change.

This does not affect our commitment to try to keep our roads and verges clear of litter. Wealden District Council spends a significant sum of money each year removing litter (almost £12 for every household) and will continue to prioritise its resources where they are most effective.

Best Regards

Pam Doodes.

Q. Dear Mrs Doodes

Having seen your replies to previous concerns of residents I can see that it is very easy to hide behind a semi standard statement by saying that ESCC are responsible for the gritting and clearance of our paths and roads, but I would ask the members of WDC (as our elected representatives) what are they doing to promote the safety of its citizens.

Do you make any representations to ESCC on our behalf? Why is the Duty of Care ignored when it suits? You must be aware of the large increase in broken bones, particularly to senior citizens being treated by our hospitals thus putting more strain on financial resources for the NHS. I witnessed several people falling over in the town centre.

Whilst WDC may not be responsible for the inadequate gritting it is far too easy to blame some other department.

Please do something to assist the population for a change; get out and away from your offices and find out from the public what is really needed.

Incidentally, I and others were unable to get out or out road for nearly a week and only then because the residents cleared the road.

John Mee

Crowborough

A.Dear Mr Mee.

I am sure I speak for every Wealden District Councillor when I say that we are concerned about the safety of our residents and take seriously what can  be done to ensure that they suffer no serious injuries.

To this extent we have been able to re-deploy our refuse and recycling teams to clear pavements in the town centres of the district when they have been unable to make collections. With the agreement of East Sussex County Council they have been using sharp sand to help improve the grip on the pavements.

I am also pleased to report that after last weekend's snowfall, our office staff in Vicarage Lane, Hailsham, volunteered to help colleagues in our grounds maintenance team clear snow from car parking spaces to free up more parking for the town.

East Sussex County Council's current Winter Service policy for keeping roads open can be found here. When I have been contacted about problems with gritting I have made sure that the local County Councillor(s) are made aware of the individual's concerns.  As County Councillors, they have the votes on the relevant authority to make change happen. But whatever part of local government you serve, the problem all too often remains one of having to decide which services are the most essential for all sections of the community.

Does the public want pay for an expansive fleet of gritting equipment which may only be used for a few weeks every five years?  Such investments make sense in other countries where extreme continental weather patterns are the norm but, perhaps, not in temperate Britain.

When we do get caught up in the extremes of weather, we all need to do what we can to help.

Best Regards

Pam Doodes

Q. Dear Mrs Doodes,

Having just completed the questionnaire on the Budget 2010/11 and Corporate Plan 2010/13 Consultation.

I was most concerned that question No. 5 of the budget paper read as follows, "Promoting arts and culture, giving grants to voluntary organisations such as Citizens Advice Bureaux".

Whilst I am sure arts and culture are extremely worthwhile projects, I hardly think that they should be lumped in with The Citizens Advice Bureaux. I for one would certainly have given a different assessment if these two categories had been kept apart from each other.

Yours Sincerely

Robert Pask

To begin with, I would like  to thank you for taking part in our Budget and Corporate Plan consultation. As a council we want to make the right decisions for the people for Wealden and, by taking the time to tell us your views, you are playing a vital part of that process.

You raise a good point about categorisation of  Promoting Arts and Culture alongside Citizens Advice.  Both are eligible for support through long term service level agreements under our Community Grants scheme.  This is a way of ensuring medium term support for organisations over a three year period. I believe Citizens Advice is currently receiving £146,000 a year from Wealden through this scheme.  Community Grants are also available for capital works and smaller on-off projects.

We  are called on to support a wide variety of very worthy facilities and services for the local community and this can make providing useful categories for a consultation like this a challenge.  It can sometimes be helpful to see how the money has been spent in the past.

I understand how this particular selection has caused you difficulty and we will reword this question when we next consult on the Budget.

Best Regards

Pam Doodes