Alison Halford, Councillor

On Sunday I made a couple of visits to my patch. Level Lane Play area was first and as I suspected from heavy silence from the dog poo bin overseer/manager that only two of the three assigned three bins had been installed. As council staff were erecting them in December, a nameless man passed by threatened to wreck it as he had objected to its position. I was cross. I had the agreement of the nearest resident who did not object and thus the choice of position should not have caused any problem. So having installed one, the men left and no more was heard. This battle for the bins has dragged on since August. I had meantime identified another site close to the cut through leading to Green Meadows and yet again, my quest for information fell on stony ground. Now, I ‘ve asked Executive Member Nancy Matthews if she can wave a magic wand and get her staff to finish the job. Nancy as been under huge pressure from waste collection complaints but answered at once that she would see what she could do. The one complaint I received regarding brown bin collection was dealt with promptly and …..

The Corporate Resources Meeting was more interesting that I had expected and the Chief Executive played a major part in taking members through the complexities of the forthcoming budget proposals. As I had expected, I did not learn much more about the Early Retirement issue that was up for discussion. Both the elected chair for the meeting and another member closed any debate down, an action I accepted as the press was present. The press is frequently used to get a story out that a member wishes to have published in a round about way, but obviously my story and my concerns of a certain early retirement did not press the right buttons on this occasion. I was chuffed when the Head of Human Resources credited me with pressing officers to bring the costs etc. of early retirements to members’ regular attention. Head of HR graciously agreed that this policy had fallen by the way side and my doggedness had put it back on the agenda once more. I was happy to praise officers in return as I thought our Chief Executive, Colin Everett had displayed a masterful command of the budget brief. He answered detailed and complex questions without …..

The last site visit scheduled for 9th January Planning bus was in Magazine Lane, Ewloe and the matter would be decided by members on Wednesday 11th. It was a mean little site tight against the A55 with its constant roar of traffic, deep in mud in which wallowed 5 inquisitive ponies I felt sorry for the livestock and their conditions and I would have felt even unhappier for young children to live in such conditions particularly when a properly laid out site was available down the hill. A break before the start of the 1300 Planning committee allowed me to pop out and explain procedure to the people who were speaking against the proposal for the residents. I then met the applicant’s agent & my breath was taken away with his gratuitous rudeness to me and to Planning Officers. Yes, he would want three minutes to speak to the first part of the application and yes, he would then want a further three minutes to tell us how we had got it all wrong if we dared refuse the first application. He then threatened all in hearing with how he would take the Authority to the cleaner’s with massive costs. …..

The Council’s been in recess but started up again in earnest on 4th January with a members review of the demolition of Flint Maisonettes. I had spent New Year in a very soggy New Forest doing a fiendish jigsaw; the subject being owls. I’d bought it years ago for a friend who died. It was a total and absorbing challenge and when upon meeting Joan, my wonderful cleaning lady in the New Year, she told me that she had purchased some too years ago as they stimulated the brain! Having spent a week on the puzzle & hardly making an impact on all those almost identical owls, clearly my brain is in serious need of re-stimulating. For the time being owls are definitely having the last hoot! Stormy weather on 3rd January made me delay the return journey as I was just not willing to risk driving in suicide road conditions with 4 dogs in the back of a heavily laden car. Regret I missed the “Call in” but had read the papers and find the timing of this decision very strange indeed. How ever it is argued, it seems that the maisonette residents have been disenfranchised from the Choices …..

Attended last Community Council of 2011 and I hate the Institute car park as its a sea of mud and pot holes and the security light positioned to light up the path is erratic. The car torch comes in handy. A journalist and our local CBO, Sian joined us and agenda soon moved to police matters. The Chair of that committee has strong feelings that we MUST always have a police presence although the local inspector has firmly indicated that with stretched resources this is just not possible at times. Before the cuts, we could expect the full compliment of 4 officers. I am more & more disinclined to push for a police presence as it eats into officers’ patrol time and they are little more than messengers taking complaints back to the bosses on historic issues. The crimes that concered two members were missing hanging baskets & a broken window, all having occurred a few days ago. Sian knew nothing of either incident nor was she able to add any more to the collected sum of our wisdom on damage to a member’s van and some other long past vandalism incident. Sian sat making the list & I thought …..

Progress into my complaint of perjury and malfeasance in public office against the Leader FCC. Submitted 21st September 2011. Dear Detective Superintendent, Over a month has elapsed and I have heard nothing from you regarding the serious complaint I lodged with your Chief Constable on 21st September 2011. I have an email from the Heesom Tribunal Clerk, Stephen Phipps, which confirms that the Heesom Tribunal will not release the Woolley transcripts until the case tribunal has finished its deliberations. The reasons given are that the Panel has not made up its mind over the evidence given to this tribunal by Cllr Woolley and the Panel will not allow any risk to the Heesom tribunal. I told Mr Phipps that the Panel is therefore refusing to assist me clear my name. He told me that he could not comment. The Tribunal is a civil arrangement. Its procedures are deeply flawed and no protection is offered as is the case with a criminal hearing. Perjury is an extremely grave offence that carries a seven year penalty on indictment. I cannot believe that no investigation will take place until the tribunal terminates which could take until the next council elections in May, 2012. …..

I was invited to the Hawarden High School service of Remembrance last Friday, the 11th day of the 11th Month of the 11th year. The event was a deeply moving and poignant occasion. Historic clips of Neville Chamberlains sad pronouncement that we are now at war with Germany, followed by the famous rousing Churchill speech “we will fight them on the beaches and never surrender”set the scene. Then with readings and music interspersed, more clips of life in the trenches, the mud , the battles, the animals struggling to pull huge artillery and all the horrors that came with all wars. The statistics of the dead, the casualties and how many had been affected were staggering and the saddest moment must have been when the list of those who were pupils who had paid that ultimate sacrifice were read out solemnly by serving pupils. The very last name, James Smart stood out on its own. He was the most recent departed boy who had very recently lost his life whilst serving in the RAF. His mother was in the audience as she was a few days later when we paid our respects at the Hawarden War Memorial. Sunday 13th, threatened …..

The insatiable desire of our top Oligarchy to control everything appears to roll on relentlessly. Of course, the Executive could have said no but they seemed collectively minded not to do so. Reel back to the 15th November Executive meeting that started at the usual time of 9.30am. (Its very clear by now that Leader has no intention of shelling out the same to Capricorn Animal Rescue that I shelled out in bacon butties. Readers will recall they were a well deserved snack because of the clumsiness by the Executive in causing Planning Committee members great inconvenience back in September. The kennels are in his ward, for heaven’s sake) I digress. After the Executive’s regular meeting, the final version of the Choices document that sets out the proposed terms that tenants can expect should they decide to ballot to leave council property in favour a social landlord was discussed. No big deal you say but: the Housing Project Board has been meeting for almost two years, diligently chaired by Cllr Carolyn Cattermoul who even attended in a wheel chair when she badly broke an ankle in the summer. As a member, I too made these meetings a priority as its …..

31st October. The cold that had been building up for days finally began to grow into a real stonker with a irritating cough and much lethargy. Not the best week to manifest itself but got though the site planning visit without problem. The number of members is dropping again and sending apologies is also slipping. I’ve always thought that to see the site is crucial and that was certainly true of Overlea Drive, Hawarden. Redrow acquired the land and had planned to develop it for years having won a the Planning Inspector enquiry. Another hurdle was cleared when it also passed muster from an internal planning panel of councillors so it stayed in the Unitary Development plan. That was partly my fault. I had been gullible and was prepared to support officer’s recommendation that the site was satisfactory and I had not realised politics was also being played. That’s all water under the bridge. The bus rolled up to a field squeezed between an an estate of bungalows and a railway line. Apprehensive residents & local councillors greeted us and led us onto the area to be inspected. The pond, the railway line running down a border, and a footpath …..

Another County Council Statement of accounts was presented to the Audit committee on 28th September. Preparation of the entire financial record for the Authority is a daunting task and Kerry Feather and her staff did well in all the circumstances. I winced when our new Auditors, the prestigious Welsh Audit Office found no problem with my old friend AD Waste accounts but I have to believe them. The company has not been finally wound down yet so loose ends are still swirling tantalisingly around, begging questions but still no proper answers. Amazingly, although Flintshire owned it, no landfill was left as a legacy and we taxpayers fund the hike to Cheshire to dump our rubbish. Normally keen to save money I hope this continues as if consent was to dump in this county, the wretched residents of Buckley, Northop and Ewloe would bear the brunt again. The Brock site in Pin fold Lane and the Robin Jones site in the same lane are being eagerly eyed for all Flintshire’s black bag waste. The only other weaknesses related to late payments of pensions to newly pensioned persons. The worse case was a delay of up to three months? Not too good …..