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 …..
Community & Housing Scrutiny Committee met on 14th September and the meeting progressed well without any Executive input. We debated the hard facts of the escalating cost of living and cuts in benefits with more promised. Tenants are facing difficult times and unusually, politics entered the meeting over reduced benefits. Members of this Coalition were accused of wanton cutbacks Others argued it was the result of a toxic legacy of the previous administration that brought the country’s economy to the brink of bankruptcy. With the Press in attendance political show-boating is always irresistible. The real issues, regardless of who is to blame is that tenants face the problem of sliding in and out of work and risk falling behind with rent payments and all those stressful consequences. The “Council’s Million pounds in arrears” on the front page of the Leader made uncomfortable but accurate reading. Despite the challenging climate, Head of Housing, the housing team are putting considerable support into helping families who are falling into arrears or have debt problems. Staff are keen to prevent arrears escalating and and people falling into homelessness. The message is to offer help before the wheel comes off in vulnerable people’s lives. Tenants …..
It was raining hard with a cold wind when I got up and found my conservatory filled with goldfinch feathers and the headless body of that attractive little bird. Moving the chair to hoover up the mess, I found junior cat caressing a dead dunnock that she was waiting the moment to play with her catch. Having cleared up all the feathers I turned round and found one of the dog’s had left a calling card on the mat despite all having been pushed out into the garden for easing of springs,etc. Then I saw the puddle. Thankfully the floor is tiled but it is worrying that dogs that were fully house trained and would not dream of making a mess have started this unacceptable routine every now and then. I’ve taken the main culprit for a check up and its not physical only behavioural. Not only do I still need an answer to who is chewing my courgettes, I need to discover how I can get particularity one dog back to a clean routine and finally dispense with the bucket and mop! If any one can recommend a dog psychologist, I’d be very interested. My domestic woes shrink into …..
It took me a few moments to comprehend why my porch floor was littered with envelopes and letters hours after the normal post had arrived. I though the postman had lost the plot and dumped a whole sack of mail into my porch by mistake. As I began to scoop them up and read Cllr A Halford on every one I realised that I was being petitioned over the Council’s proposal to close Argoed High School. I wondered, why me! I am not on the Life Long Learning scrutiny committee and have no responsibility for any one else’s ward. I counted them. 279 envelopes or letters, two of the letters used identical wording. The same hand had addressed the documents to me and names and addresses of the signatories were clear to see. No anonymity in this petition. I was seriously impressed as someone had taken hours to prepare what fell onto my mat. I rang Cllr Nigel Steel Mortimer, my Group Leader and the Executive member for Life Long Learning and asked if he knew what was going on. He thought that every cllr would receive the same as there was a well orchestrated campaign to protest against any …..
The Christians who belong to Cornerstone prayed for good weather and it arrived in full measure last Saturday when I sat-naved my way to Upper Bryn Coch in Mold as I had been invited to a BBQ by Monica, Pat and Terry, the main movers in this excellent charity. Shirley led prayers which were most innovative as a bowl of fruit was passed round and instruments handed out to ensure we all joined the sing-a long together to celebrate the day. Cornerstone is undergoing a tortuous but worthwhile process of being accepted by L Arche, a world wide charity founded by a French sailor, Jean Vanier who saw the desperate need of deeply disabled young people, several of whom endured a life of misery, locked up and given minimum care. Jean must have been touched by God and I was fortunate enough to hear him when he came to Southport some years ago. He is an inspiration and we all returned home burning to bring a L’ Arche type set up in Flintshire to care for our own disabled. I am sure there will be a carefully chosen place in Heaven for this good man. Terry multi-tasked as he cooked …..
Just 7 months ago, I gave homes to a couple of young cats whose owner had moved; leaving them behind. As they had lived together I took them both on and they grew glossy and sleek in the lap of luxury. My own chocolate tabby who was boss of the roost for several years had shown her metal when she took on the cats next door and did her bit of terrorising one for a time so I felt Coriander would exert her will again. Wrong. As the weeks rolled by, Cranberry began to seriously chase the senior cat, waiting for her, hunting her and frequently chasing her out of the house. Coriander became terrified, appeared less frequently and slunk around always worrying that the new cat would attack her again. The cats exchanged blows at first but Coriander knew she had met her match and just fled. I tried everything. Fed Coriander separately, got her out of the house by the front door to cut the confrontation and and threw things at Cranberry to deter the pursuits. Last Friday, she met Cranberry in the kitchen and I hastily closed the door as the new cat geared up for another …..
The Wales Audit Audit team were present at the Audit Committee meeting on 30th June. I’m not sure they will want to attend again as we bowled them a few tough questions especially on the escalating cost of the ongoing Ombudsman tribunal as £2million is now thought to be what’s been spent so far. “Did the auditors know of such heavy costs and what part were our auditors playing in protecting the public purse in the face of such huge costs?” “We are aware of the case” was the answer but this is always the problem with the Audit system. They cannot intervene until the money’s been spent! The same frustration arose when I was a member of the North Wales Police Authority when the force’s Head of Legal Service was suspended for months. I asked the District Auditor to intervene then as it was clear the case would have to be settled and Mrs Trigger would be awarded costs. I even met him in Cardiff when I was an AM but the meeting reached stalemate. He said he could not interfere. Auditors must wait till the money is spent and then report on the waste and the drain on …..
Attendances at County Hall have been less than normal recently but Council business ticks by with another meeting of the Housing Project Board on 3rd June. Unless the Choices documents are ready by August-(essential as they give the terms of remaining with the Council or jumping to a Social Registered Landlord), then the ballot may have to be delayed into the following year. Getting approval of members, the Executive and now WAG, as I will still call it, is going to be quite a challenge. There was dismay that yet again the Executive member for Housing offered apologies. I fumed that I could make the effort on a hot sunny Friday afternoon and yet the member responsible for briefing Executive colleagues on this important subject could not. I’m sure there was an excellent reason for the no-show but they are now far too frequent. The minutes will be noted. Only three councillors are on this Panel and the decisions we are being called upon to make are complex & far reaching. Things lightened up when we discussed the CD that will be made & distributed to all tenants to help them make a choice. I suggested we should offer a …..
The Leader of my council( the name I dare not print for fear of further reprisals from my friends in South Wales) dismissed fears over the Coalition in the Flintshire Standard. Responding to suggestions of divisions in County Hall and a possible breakaway by some members the Leader stated that “ we are perfectly sound or solid with our without the particular group!” Cllr Fred Gillmore, who must be congratulated for his recent progress from back bencher to leader of the Alliance group and is now the County’s vice chair was also mentioned in the same newspaper. Now that Cllr Gilmore will be featuring regularly in the press from now on, may I offer a word of caution. It is he who was quoted in the Flintshire Standard in his flat denial of any infighting and “It was a typical council meeting”. “We are all determined to keep making this (Coalition) work”, he said. Hang on vice chair! More disenchanted members may feel this statement is a trifle hypocritical! It is said that you demanded that the New Independents ( the breakaway group whose Leader you yourself defeated by one vote last October) should be thrown out of the ruling …..