Last week the District Council adopted a “From Vision to Reality” document. It’s meant to set out the District Councillors vision of what we should try to achieve up to 2013, and up to 2017.
There’s quite a good report on it in the Echo, here
A NEW business park will be built in the west of Rochford district by 2021, Rochford council hopes.
The Tory administration also wants to pedestrianise Rochford Market Square within the next ten years and promote arts, crafts and markets.
The council’s aims were set out during a budget meeting in its From Vision to Reality document.
The largest opposition group, the Lib Dems, made an amendment to a statement which referred to building housing developments on “large-scale sites” by removing the phrase “large-scale”.
Lib Dem leader Chris Black said: “I was unhappy with a number of things.”
The council also wants to build a satellite health clinic in Rayleigh by 2017. But the Lib Dems wanted to see such a clinic built much sooner.
Council leader Terry Cutmore said: “The council’s vision is that we make the district the place of choice in the county to live, work and visit.”
Other aims included making sure the Baltic Wharf had a long-term future and improving the roads leading to it.
We did achieve achieve a minor success in getting that phrase ‘several large-scale’ taken out of the document.
But other councillors were discouraged by officers from adding their own ideas for what is supposed to be, um, their vision.
Tory Heather Glynn wanted to have something in it about protecting Sutton Church if it no longer continued as a consecrated church, but she didn’t get much support, except from the Lib Dems. A Great Wakering Tory wanted a much needed recycling centre opened in the east of the district in the next five years. But he didn’t get much support, except from the Lib Dems…
It seems that the District Council is keen to act tough against smaller voluntary bodies – e.g. the vision now includes monitoring RRAVS. But we aren’t so keen to press the health authorities to get cracking on a satellite health clinic for Rayleigh, or the county council to provide better recycling for Great Wakering.
Well we obviously need new members who reflect the wider communties ideas and not those of themselfs who are in safe seats!
Jeff, In the Councils Constitution there is a paragraph that goes into detail about residents Councillors being accountable to residents but also acting for residents on what they want and believe, not acting for what their particular party want. I wonder how many Councillors have disregarded the views of their residents when it comes to important votes. Its the Councillors who sometimes vote against the party line (for good reason) that we should be applauding and lets get rid of the yes men, those with no backbone. I think we might find a few of those in our ruling Council.
Hi all
Noting the reference to Sutton church, I would be delighted if LibDems (or others) would be prepared to be involved in the lobbying and creative thinking about potential future uses for this building. This is a nut well worth cracking!
Do please be in touch with me if any of you are willing to be involved with this. The formal procedure towards its closure as a parish church is now underway – as authorised by a unanimous resolution of the PCC (Parish Church Council) and explained to a recent public meeting. The next little while is when the footwork needs to be done to see what the best future for the building can possibly be.
Go well,
Paul
Hi all (again!)
I write to make a slight correction to my last post, above!…
I have just been on the telephone to The Revd Chris Cousins – who is the Priest-in-Charge of the C of E churches in Rochford, Stambridge and Sutton, and also Rural Dean for Rochford (ie. the church area contiguous with Rochford District) – and he informs me that the public meeting has NOT YET HAPPENED! So, apologies!
The public meeting is actually scheduled to take place TOMORROW EVENING, so interested parties are welcome to attend this then. It will take place at ALL SAINTS’ SUTTON CHURCH HALL, commencing at 7.30pm.
This will be an important meeting to look to the future and to properly discern/determine the place of this building in our shared vision and commitment.
It is now in my diary (!),so I’ll look forward to seeing some of you there, perhaps!?
Go well,
Paul