Dear Sir,
The focus of the country has been on the behaviour of the people representing us in Parliament, our MP's, many have been found wanting and after scrutiny have chosen to leave.
But how well do our politicians in local government fair when scrutinised.
Are they any better?
At the bottom rung in our Ulverston Town Council, it would be difficult to criticise their financial affairs, all eighteen of them except for the Major and Deputy receive no payment and very rarely any expenses for their services. Our District and County councillors receive £3,000 and £10,000 plus expenses respectively.
As a frequent attender of their fortnightly meetings, I ponder the question: "Why do they do it".
I came away with my answer as I left the last meeting they had earlier this month.
I had gone to the meeting on the verge of tears with the thought that once again I would be ignored when I spoke as a member of the public about something I felt passionately about. I was not disappointed, the topic of "Support for Tourism" in Ulverston was not discussed even though this is a crucial time for the town.
What surprised me was I felt a lot better as I came away.
I had become part of what I believe the councillors enjoy - a well run meeting where the items on the agenda had been dealt with quickly by a skilful Chairman who knew how to focus attention on decisions and achieve results. All the councillors had been united in criticising the spokesman from SLDC over the reorganisation of the Ulverston Town Hall (which I discovered to my dismay was owned not by the town as in Grange but by SLDC). There had even been congratulations flowing across the party benches over the work done regarding Hoad Monument. Everyone left feeling they had done something worthwhile.
But the way the councillors gain their cosy club like feeling is by repeatedly avoiding tackling any issue that is difficult to resolve. An exceptional cllr Jack Rice had pointed out to the meeting that although it could be argued that what happened with litter being left by travellers on Birkrigg was not an issue the Town needed to address, he felt that even though it was outside our boundaries it was important. He personally had gone to considerable trouble to investigate the issue.
The issue of "Support for Tourism" is being brought to a head by a gathering of all the concerned traders and public at the Lantern House, this Monday 23rd at 5:30 pm when they will meet with Mayor Phil Lister, Cllrs James Airey and Judy Pickthall.
There are two issues of immediate concern:
The imminent closure of Ulverston Tourist Information Centre in March 2011 where, unlike Grange over Sands, the council have avoided becoming directly involved by passing the buck to the Ulverston Community Partnership who have meagre funds and organisation.
The second issue has been consistently avoided by the council over the past four years ; the need for a web site dedicated to attracting tourists to the town. An excellent attempt was made five or six years ago by Furness Internet but when this design was handed over to SLDC, the site rapidly went downhill due to the lack of time and skill available for its maintenance so that last week it finally ceased to exist other than to refer visitors to the Ulverston Council's site.
This site was never intended to focus on the needs of tourists but aims to provide information about the councillors and their meetings. The page that calls itself "Latest News" tells us what was happening in 2008 to 2009.
The result is that what faces the potential tourist researching a visit to Ulverston with Google is nothing less than a shambles. They will turn away disgusted with the same feeling that they get when they've just trod in some dog shit.
No wonder shops are closing all down the high street. The Council needs to face up to its responsibilities and not harm but help those that are struggling with real difficulties of keeping our town vibrant in difficult times.
There is too much talent in the town to allow a sleepy cosy council to ruin such a lot of potential.
Strong leadership, ready to do battle, is require.
The slogan of our successful Ulverston market ganden trader needs to be adopted " We're not brilliant but we're very determined"
Geoff Dellow,
Address The Coach House, Union Lane, Ulverston Cumbria LA12 7BU
The focus of the country has been on the behaviour of the people representing us in Parliament, our MP's, many have been found wanting and after scrutiny have chosen to leave.
But how well do our politicians in local government fair when scrutinised.
Are they any better?
At the bottom rung in our Ulverston Town Council, it would be difficult to criticise their financial affairs, all eighteen of them except for the Major and Deputy receive no payment and very rarely any expenses for their services. Our District and County councillors receive £3,000 and £10,000 plus expenses respectively.
As a frequent attender of their fortnightly meetings, I ponder the question: "Why do they do it".
I came away with my answer as I left the last meeting they had earlier this month.
I had gone to the meeting on the verge of tears with the thought that once again I would be ignored when I spoke as a member of the public about something I felt passionately about. I was not disappointed, the topic of "Support for Tourism" in Ulverston was not discussed even though this is a crucial time for the town.
What surprised me was I felt a lot better as I came away.
I had become part of what I believe the councillors enjoy - a well run meeting where the items on the agenda had been dealt with quickly by a skilful Chairman who knew how to focus attention on decisions and achieve results. All the councillors had been united in criticising the spokesman from SLDC over the reorganisation of the Ulverston Town Hall (which I discovered to my dismay was owned not by the town as in Grange but by SLDC). There had even been congratulations flowing across the party benches over the work done regarding Hoad Monument. Everyone left feeling they had done something worthwhile.
But the way the councillors gain their cosy club like feeling is by repeatedly avoiding tackling any issue that is difficult to resolve. An exceptional cllr Jack Rice had pointed out to the meeting that although it could be argued that what happened with litter being left by travellers on Birkrigg was not an issue the Town needed to address, he felt that even though it was outside our boundaries it was important. He personally had gone to considerable trouble to investigate the issue.
The issue of "Support for Tourism" is being brought to a head by a gathering of all the concerned traders and public at the Lantern House, this Monday 23rd at 5:30 pm when they will meet with Mayor Phil Lister, Cllrs James Airey and Judy Pickthall.
There are two issues of immediate concern:
The imminent closure of Ulverston Tourist Information Centre in March 2011 where, unlike Grange over Sands, the council have avoided becoming directly involved by passing the buck to the Ulverston Community Partnership who have meagre funds and organisation.
The second issue has been consistently avoided by the council over the past four years ; the need for a web site dedicated to attracting tourists to the town. An excellent attempt was made five or six years ago by Furness Internet but when this design was handed over to SLDC, the site rapidly went downhill due to the lack of time and skill available for its maintenance so that last week it finally ceased to exist other than to refer visitors to the Ulverston Council's site.
This site was never intended to focus on the needs of tourists but aims to provide information about the councillors and their meetings. The page that calls itself "Latest News" tells us what was happening in 2008 to 2009.
The result is that what faces the potential tourist researching a visit to Ulverston with Google is nothing less than a shambles. They will turn away disgusted with the same feeling that they get when they've just trod in some dog shit.
No wonder shops are closing all down the high street. The Council needs to face up to its responsibilities and not harm but help those that are struggling with real difficulties of keeping our town vibrant in difficult times.
There is too much talent in the town to allow a sleepy cosy council to ruin such a lot of potential.
Strong leadership, ready to do battle, is require.
The slogan of our successful Ulverston market ganden trader needs to be adopted " We're not brilliant but we're very determined"
Geoff Dellow,
Address The Coach House, Union Lane, Ulverston Cumbria LA12 7BU
No comments:
Post a Comment