September 2005 Councillor Report

As the cold days and nights start to creep in, Dale and I have had a varied month with the areas we’ve had involvement in. From Dale attending meetings as diverse as the Education Transport Appeals and discussing design codes for the new Southern Development Area, to me being chairing another St Ives Court Forum and keeping on top of Swindon Commercial Services. Dale has also been writing to the Fuel Poverty Minister with a whole range of queries, including the duty on fuel.

New Council Powers for Dumpers

The minority of people who seem quite content with dumping their waste in quiet corners of the Borough should now be more careful. Under new powers the Waste Enforcement team can issue £50 fixed penalty notices to those found doing so, which if left unpaid will result in court action with the risk of a criminal record and a £50,000 fine. The first ticket has been issued in Swindon and was been paid by the offender.

I'm pleased that we have another tool available to help clean Swindon up. If you suspect that someone has been dumping waste or have seen it being dumped, residents are urged to call the hotline on 01793 463463.

Bus Stop Improvements

Local residents will be pleased to hear that from October a £100,000 scheme to improve the 21 bus stops along St Paul's Drive, Kingfisher Drive, Merlin Way, Covingham Drive and Dorcan way will start. Dale and I have contacted the Transport department several times about this kind of improvements and we are both delighted that this is yet another example of the Conservative Administration delivering.  Each stop will be provided with a raised kerb to assist bus boarding by disabled users and parents with buggies. In addition, dropped kerbs will be provided to allow users to cross the road. Some of the Bus Stops will be provided with larger areas of hard standing and improved footpath links.

 

Bus stop clearways will also be provided to prevent stops being obstructed by parked cars, ensuring that buses can pull up level to the new raised kerbs for the maximum benefit of passengers.  Council Officers will be carrying out the final preparations this month, with a view to finishing all of the work by the Spring.

 

New Worthy Inn

I had the pleasure of meeting the new manager Lyn and her husband earlier in the month and see some of the improvements they have made to the pub. The inside of the site now looks considerable better than previous and at the time of writing this there has been no problems and long may it stay like that. However if you have some concerns, Lyn would like you to pop in to chat directly with her, or give her a call on 719449. I wholeheartedly welcome this open approach and wish them every success in making it a successful local public house that the entire community can enjoy.

 

Planning Issues

Patheon: This application is still on hold with the Council because they are waiting on the applicants to provide a flood assessment. Vicarage: No application is planned at this moment in time.

 

St Joseph's School

Shortly after the planning application for the site was refused, Dale and I joined Council Officers and the developers to a meeting to discuss the application. It was unfortunate that Cllr Dilley was unable to attend as this was a unique opportunity to discuss face-to-face with the developers the issues we had on the project and where we would like them to focus their attentions before resubmission.

 

Dale and I are keen to leverage the £100,000 Section 106 monies previously targeted for public art to the to spent on the Public Realm, which would allow us to various improvements nearby the development.  Our possible "shopping list" is growing and includes footpath repairs and road resurfacing. If you have an idea that you would like to see, please contact Dale or I as soon as possible.

 

The plans which maybe ready as early as the end of the month will be fully scrutinised by Dale, myself and the planning department in line with the previous issues that were vocalised by the residents.

 

Redlands

Dale has been talking to the Planning department and Council Officers about Redlands for the last couple of months. Currently the Council is conducting a monitoring exercise to find out what the exact situation is and whether Redlands is breaking any of its Planning Application restrictions. Part of this process is that residents are requested to send a diary of events when they feel they are over head, along with the plane numbers (a bit like car registration numbers) to the Planning Department via the Civic Offices.

 

Councillor Allowances 05/06

At the start of the month, the Independent Remuneration Panel started a review of the level of Councillors allowances in Swindon. They intend to submit their recommendations as part of the 06/07 Budget Process. Dale responded by completing their questionnaire and called for Mileage Allowances to be scrapped for Council Meetings. Dale's view is that when you are elected you know you will be expected to attend meetings at the Civic offices, why should Councillors be paid even more? Councillors can claim additional money each month for making the trip to and from our homes at a rate of 40p a mile. Unlike other councillors, neither Dale nor I claim any of this. The article from the local paper can be found our website. In addition, I have asked them to investigate the use of Councillors IT and how it should be financed.

    

Swindon Half Marathon / Fun Run

Readers may remember seeing in the Swindon Advertiser that Dale will be taking part in the 4.3mile fun run on the day of the Swindon Half Marathon. Dale has a target of raising £200 which after talking to the Mayor, Stratton Councillor Ray Fisher, everything raised will be donated to the Mayors Charities. I hope he has fun on the 16th and I am sure that local residents will give him their full support for this fantastic effort!

 

Cllr Glenn Smith, glenn@CovinghamAndNytheInTouch.com

Cllr Dale Heenan, dale@CovinghamAndNytheInTouch.com