PLANNING FOR GREED NOT SPEED |
The other day I was trying to post a letter in the mailbox in Rushclffe Rd when Central School released all its pupils. The result was chaos three coaches were trying to turn right into the Manthorpe Rd. Within 5 minutes total deadlock.
Lincolnshire Education Dept. Plan to change Central School to Academy status this will double the number of pupils thus pouring more traffic onto an already overstretched road network.
As the people who still have a job fight their way through the traffic chaos. The bad news is it will get worse as more new builds come on line without the infrastructure that is needed to support this kind of growth.
It takes a special kind of Planning ineptitude to create a situation like this. Looking at the broader picture it is obvious we have a Council who is only interested in revenue raising and will happily ride roughshod over the people of Grantham to achieve this.
If a developer finds he is in danger of going bust he can apply to the Council to have some of the conditions he agreed to be waved this is all legal. With SKDC trying grab as much revenue as possible the result is a foregone conclusion.
At the moment we are in the middle of another Planning fiasco. In 2008 SKDC decided to revise it's Core strategy for Housing. The new plan was submitted to a Government inspector and was turned down. The Inspector then referred the plan to the independent Inspectorate at Bristol for a review. The Council have employed a Firm of management consultants to advise them at a cost of some £14500 plus vat. The cost of the enquiry will fall on SKDC and will amount to between £60 and £75000 which would explain why our Council tax is planned to increase by some 2.5%. Why should we pay the cost of the enquiry I hear you ask. I would refer you to the search option on the Councils main website tap in core housing strategy 2009 H3 and all will be revealed even if in somewhat arcane planning language.
The Council by their actions have thrown their Housing policy in the melting pot thus allowing developers to jump in where angels would fear to tread.
The real losers will be the the people of Grantham sold down the river by the people who represent them.
24.01.2010
I am of course referring to the Planning Control Committee's decision to pass outline Planning permission for the Poplar Farm development on the Chairman's casting vote. This may well have been Legal but it smells a bit.
I asked Councillor Parkin if he would give an undertaking that such sharp practice would not be employed in the future he refused to do so. He pointed out that a development of this size would bring considerable grants from the Government. This of course will give this Council more money to spend on management consultants and seeking expensive legal advice on how to get rid troublesome CEOs
I hope people who will be affected by this development are happy to be used as financial cannon fodder by a Council that would have difficulty running a whelk stall in a brewery.
Maybe Councillor Parkin will be roundly defeated at the next election by the people he would
not represent in order in order to steer a very dodgy decision through its Committee stage.
11.10.2009
REPORT ABOUT MEETING ON THE 14th OF NOVEMBER
RELATING TO THE MANTHORPE NORTH DEVELOPEMENT |
The meeting was a great success as you can see from the photograph around 200 members were were present. A lively debate followed. There were four Councillors present from other wards they were there as observers.
Mr Mark Heaton was available from LCC Highways to try and answer questions related traffic and infrastructure problems. M/s Karen Sinclair is head of SKDCs Planning and policy Dept. and was available to help with planning enquiries. The ability of these two officers to help was limited because no application for outline planning permission has yet been received. However the meeting was grateful that these two officers gave up part of their weekend to advise us.
SKDC to their credit do not like the Manthorpe North development it seems most likely they will oppose it.
Both Councillor Ray Wootten and our committee have contacted the National Trust who are not happy with these proposals either. They have agreed to keep Ray and our committee advised of their intentions and actions. They of course are waiting for formal application before deciding what to do. The National Trust can kill this stone dead as they have done in the past.
The developers have appealed to the independent planning inspectorate based in Bristol to have the Manthorpe North development included in SKDCs core housing strategy. If they win the decision would be binding on the Council.
Councillor Ray Wootten spent some time on the phone to the inspectorate in Bristol and was assured this was not a done deal. The developer will have to prove every
aspect of the proposals would work. The meeting will take place on the19th of January 2010.
18.11.2009
Councillor Ray Wootten who has proved to be a good friend of Mantra is leaving a petition at the Corner Shop for people who wish oppose the developement of North Grantham. All are urged to sign.
Ray and his good Lady Linda canvassed the whole estate in bitter cold weather to get us started. He has proved to be a very good Councillor I think he deserves and will get our support with this petition.
22.09.2009.
BUTTERCUP MEADOWS AND THE S106 AGREEMENT THAT NEVER WAS |
The following is both confused and confusing mainly due to the total ineptitude of SKDC.. The farce that follows reads like a script from YES MINISTER.
1993 plans were submitted for the final development of the Manthorpe Estate. At this stage SKDC could have applied a S106 agreement to get some facilities for the people living on the Manthorpe they chose not to do so. Most of the paperwork relating to this development have been lost by SKDC. There only two documents now available one is a note from the legal department outlining what needs to be done the other is a legal agreement stating what the Council require in order that the plot of land now known as Buttercup Meadows be brought up to adoptable standards before further building commenced. This agreement was never enforced
Buttercup Meadows was designated as recreational area/ Further development was not to be permitted. The developers were required to conform with the agreement mentioned in the above paragraph.
Now we move on about three years ago SKDC made a desperate attempt to get the developer to honour the original agreement. By this time the developer had completed the build and walked away with the profits and had very little interest spending any more money. The Council wanted £36,000 for 25 years forward maintenance of the area in question.
Talks were suspended yet again. They were restarted sometime around the middle of last year ie 2008 by this time the maintenance costs had risen to £182,000 needless to say the developer refused to pay. There was no further contact since January 2009 when the Council wrote to the developers Solicitors questioning the terms of the original Covenant on the land. No further reply has been received.
Now we have a situation where the Council are waiting for a reply and the developers are waiting for a better offer. Does this matter I think so because the developer could apply to build if the stalemate is not broken.
20.09.2009
BUILDING LAND FOR DEVELOPEMENT IN S.K.D.C |
JUST RECENTLTY THE GOVERNMENT ORDERED ALL LOCAL AUTHORITIESTO CARRY OUT A REVIEW OF ALL POSSIBLE BUILDING SITES IN THEIR AREA SEE COUNCIL MAPS BUILDING LAND FOR DEVELOPEMENT IN S.K.D.C
There are at least 20 maps on this site Click here to view maps The last one covers Buttercup Meadows.
On the 17.12.2008 a meeting was called present from the Council were Mr David Price Council Officer and our two Councillors from St. Wulframs Ward. The Council wishes to spend some £60,000 on a play area to be built in the Queen Elizabeth Park.
The meeting was told as the developers would not fence Buttercup Meadows it was unlikely the Council would not now adopt the area as an open space and it was therefore likely it could be built on when the time was right.
More details can be found on our website www.manthorpenews .co. uk where a fuller explanation will be available.
20.09.2009
On the 4th of November Councillor Ray Wooten at my request arranged a meeting with Council officers with a view to publishing the details of section 106 agreements. This may seem an arcane matter for most members of the Public. But there are considerable amounts of Public money involved in these agreements. There are some 80 outstanding if each one generated £20,000 This would amount to a considerable sum for the public purse. The next argument would be how the money was spent.
The Council have admitted their past record in these matters has not been good however all this is in the past. A new system of logging these agreements is being set up at an unspecified cost per year and is expected to take six years to fully implement. This is a major achievement for the Residents Association.
20.09.2009
LEGALISED HIGHWAY ROBBERY |
In medieval times you needed a horse gun and mask to commit highway robbery and could be
hanged if caught.
No such sanctions face modern day bandits all you need is to be a Hospital administrator. I am of course referring to the new car park charges ULHT wish to impose on the sick and
handicapped.
The Board members who made this decision mostly earn in excess of £30,000 per annum they
are raising this money from some of the poorest people in the County. Once again the beancounters and the bottom line will have won.
Unless we can shame the Board into changing their mind were stuck with it. Even if the Board
achieve the much vaunted Foundation status there will still be no way of changing Board
decisions.
A closer look at the charging of Blue Badge Holders makes little economic sense. The cost of
installing new barriers for the whole area will be around £40,000 the Board member I spoke
to said “ They had no idea how many Blue badge holders used the parking spaces provided.
A little research throws up some interesting facts. Of the four Hospitals run by Lincolnshire
Primary Care Trust three do not charge for parking. The fourth at Skegness charges £1 per
hour. Stamford Hospital do not charge the same applies to Scotland and Wales.
It would appear we don't have a uniform NHS more of a national elf service.
5.09.2009
THE PRICE OF SILENCE
Have you ever wondered why so many people have lost interest in Politics there are many reasons.
Most people feel they can't change anything. This is compounded by the fact most Local Authorities will only appoint people who they regard as a safe pair of hands or to put it another when asked to jump simply ask how high.
As a result of the above policy led directly to the jailing for corruption and and abuse of power of the Tory group leader of Lincolnshire County Council can be read in full by going into Google and entering “Our friends in the fens”.
Apart from the greed and corruption the more important aspect of the whole affair was the abuse of power and the waste of £2 million pounds of public funds paying off unwanted employees the authorities didn't like this from a so called cash strapped Local Authority that found it necessary to slash funds to carers.
SKDC are following the proud tradition by engineering the dismissal Mr Duncan Kerr only they were much smarter they spent some £6000 of our money to make sure there were no legal loopholes.
To be fair this does not only apply to the Tories but to all the other main parties it is the system that is wrong.
How do we change things the answer is with great difficulty. There would appear to be a little light at the end of the tunnel. The people of Doncaster were so fed up with their administration they elected a radical new Mayor as soon as he was elected he hit the ground running.
He then initiated the following changes. Abolished the Mayoral limousine cut his salary from £75,000 to £30,000 he has applied to the Electoral Commission to cut the number of Councillors by two thirds thus saving some £800,000 needless to say while this has proved popular with the public his fellow politicians are appalled. Maybe this could be the future.
1.09.2009
THE REVAMPING OF THE CORNER SHOP |
Those of you who haven't visited the corner shop will be surprised how brilliantly it has been changed. The range of services offered has been vastlyextended especially the wines beers and spirits section. The owner is to be congratulated on a fine job well done.
Click here to see photos
FOR YOUR INTEREST – the latest on Crossroads We Care Because You Care East Midlands Crossroads has been renamed to CROSSROADS CARE - EAST MIDLANDS. This was a decision made at national level, the thought being the name CROSSROADS CARE now indicates the service they are involved with.
As you know, since Crossroads Care came to Grantham, Gifts Hospice has afforded them office space, but as the hospice is now up for sale Crossroads are actively looking for an alternative office base. The Police Office in Grantham Hospital have very kindly offered to share their office space and this has been sanctioned by the appropriate board. Crossroads Care is very grateful for
this generous offer and are awaiting approval from their own board.
Crossroads Care are now receiving referrals from Grantham and surrounding areas and are actively recruiting a team of Carer Support Workers to deliver this care. Janet Chowdhary would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone for all their support in helping to spread the word of this vital service.
If you feel you need help to ease your caring role or you just want to know a little more about what you can expect from Crossroads Care Service then contact Janet on 07900267089.
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