I agree with the mayor (well this time anyway!)

Interesting story today about how Liverpool's elected Mayor, Joe Anderson, wants a review of democratic processes including a look at whether the number of Councillors should be reduced and whether elections should move to every four years instead of once a year (with a gap in the 4th one).

I'm agnostic about the timing of elections but I think it really is time we had a look at what elected councillors do, whether ward boundaries are right and whether the number of people we elect is correct.

The role of an elected councillor is really important... or it should be .  But I wonder if everyone who takes it on sees it in the same way.

I know from personal experience just how much work and effort it can take to do the job properly.  Don't get me wrong, people volunteer and compete for these posts so they are clearly volunteering for hard work. I didn't feel sorry for myself and I don't feel sorry for anyone with a huge workload now.

But effort and engagement varies hugely across the group of 90 Councillors and it's crazy to pretend otherwise.

I know of people who I have literally never heard speak in committee or council for a full four years.  I know of people who are unavailable to their constituents and who don't do the work I consider basic. I know people of people who turn up to vote on an issue and the first they see of the paperwork is as they open their envelope on the way in to the room.  These are all unacceptable.  Sure, speaking at a committee is not all a Councillor should be doing but shouldn't they be willing to at least open their own mouth when their area is under discussion.  Sure, we don't all have hours to pour over paperwork but a little reading before a meeting is not an excessive expectation.

I rather suspect that if the number of Councillors was reduced and there was a proper focus on what the role should be, performance would improve and it would not be in any party's interest to select someone to be a passenger.

It could also make the role more attractive to people who have not thought about it before.  The Council has, to be fair, made considerable efforts to encourage some people to think about putting themselves forward and the Operation Black Vote scheme has resulted in at least one new councillor who perhaps would not have thought about this in the past. But despite this and the Liverpool Commission, the understanding of a Councillor's role remains vague and on the whole people don't apply for jobs that are that vague. The vagueness can also lead to all sorts of misconceptions (some good some bad)

Looking at ward boundaries is also important.  Personally I think there should be smaller wards with one elected representative.  This may help remove problems caused by communities being stuck together in a large unit to justify the three reps.  It is much easier and more logical to represent a defined community but often ward boundaries split and combine communities in bizarre ways.  Speke Garston ward to me  would make much more sense as a smaller Speke ward and a separate Garston ward for example.  It may be that some wards make sense with two reps and some with one, and it would be nice to get away from the "one size fits all" thinking.

I imagine this review will also throw up the issue of whether or not a Councillor should be a full time job.  It is true it can be hard to combine a job with being an elected representative.  But I would be 100 percent against all Councillors being full time politicians.  Being a representative must include some element of being representative and there is a real risk of losing touch if all you do is Council stuff and politics.  That's not to say that some people shouldn't choose to be full time, just that most shouldn't be.

So it's good that a review looks likely to take place.  And I very much hope that as part of that the Council will make a real effort to consult people who have been Councillors in the past as well as those that sit there now!

African drumming taster session

Healing sound, which is run by a musician in L19, is inviting people to a taster session to try out African drumming.

It's at the Penny Lane Development Trust (on Penny Lane obviously!) on 14th March from 7 to 8 30.

There's a small charge of £4 to cover the room hire but that's it.
I'm told its a lot of fun!

Greenhill takeaway update (4 March)

We've just heard that the committee to decide whether or not to give the go ahead to the takeaway on the corner of Greenhill Road and Melbreck Road is meeting later this month on 12th March.

Here's a link to the agenda.  The Greenhill Road item is number 14.

The bad news for those many residents who wrote to object, is that the planning officers are recommending that the committee says yes to the scheme.  That doesn't mean they will, but it makes it more likely.

Richard Oglethorpe and I will carry on speaking up for local people and will carry on pointing out that this is a very problematic location for this idea.

People who sent official letters to the planning department may well get an official letter about the meeting but whether you get a letter or not you are entitled to attend as it is in public.  The location is the Town Hall.

Why won't the Council take action.

This is flytipping that the Council is refusing to do anything about in L19.  There are plenty of pix showing piles of stuff over quite a space.  Today I saw several piles of deliberate dumping plus meals left out for animals (presumably urban foxes) on land right next to houses.  The Council says .. not our problem as not our land.

Well I've just been doing a land registry search and guess what.. some of the land is owned by the Council and the Council could use powers to get the stuff cleared up even in the case where it doesn't own the land. This is all being followed up now, including my contacting the land owner myself .

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

What's going on on the Heath?

UPDATE: The Council has now spoken to Redrow and will be going through with them what the want to do and what is allowed under the planning conditions.  We don't know yet if they have actually broken any of them but work will stop until a discussion takes place and they are clear about what they and can't do.

People living on Cressington Heath were shocked to discover a digger on the bit of land that's meant to be maintained (including through their management fees).

The digger was hacking into the ground and damaging trees.  When challenged residents were told that the company doing the work had been paid to remove the trees etc.

It was claimed the Council had told them to do this but many of us smelled a rat.  In fact it turns out that Redrow housing, wanting to hand the management of the site over to a particular company, wanted the trees taken out to "make it easier".  These are silver birches.  They are not diseased, or dangerous.

Anyway, we've (that's me, and  Richard Oglethorpe and residents) have been in touch with planning enforcement and with any luck they'll be able to enforce any conditions on that land to protect the trees if the conditions exist.

It's a mystery to me why those who were meant to be managing the land didn't bother to inform or consult residents. 

Forthlin road traffic problems

My colleague, Cllr Richard Oglethorpe, and I met a manager from the National Trust recently to talk about problems facing people living on Forthlin Road, and round the corner in Hurstlyn, caused by some visitors to 20 Forthlin Road (usually tourists visiting a series of Beatles related places)

The National Trust manage their own visits carefully, but it seems that selfish parking and noise and intrusion at all times of the day and night is being caused by some other organisations (not all)

We've agreed to work with the National Trust to see if there is a solution that at the very least eases the problem.

Residents did send a petition in to the Council Leader in 2011 but no action followed.

We suspect this is something that will take a while and we have written to residents to keep them in the loop.  I'll update again when I can.

Garston Historical Society meeting tonight

Late notice I know but here's a link to the info about tonight's meeting of the Garston and District Historical Society

http://www.garstonhistoricalsociety.org.uk/