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| Where the hell did all that cash go? |
I have asked Stafford Borough Council on a freedom of information request to tell me how much of the schedule 106 Cash or CIL cash has been spent in the Parish of Colwich.
Thanks go to our Borough Councillors who have managed to achieve a massive.
ZERO Nothing Ziltch not a bean, not a sausage
I guestimate that we have raised a whopping £500,000 in payments that should be being spent on the community.
we got nothing........
so where has the money gone?
ReplyDeletestraight into the Borough and County Coffers, but NONE has been spent here in the Haywoods!!
ReplyDeleteAs far as I am aware as part of the planning agreement the local community states where it needs the cash spending......so this part of the process is completely pointless, they ask us what we need, then completely ignore us.
ReplyDeleteI am sure that our County Councillor Len "Useless" Bloomer has an off pat answer, and that our Borough councillors will be able to furnish us with their many protests as to why this cash for YEARS has never reached the villages!!!
ReplyDeleteI am also sure the Parish Council can also avail to us copies of the many letters of protest they have made on the communities behalf, or is it just easier to just up the precept by 125% and double the wages. Remember the more housing in the village the more money the parish council gets.
ReplyDeletewhat is the cash supposed to be spent on?
ReplyDeleteIt could be a new play park, extra facilities in school to cope with demand, cost of infrastructure improvements anything the community needs to have to help mitigate the problems caused by the new developments.
ReplyDeletenot being funny but why haven't we been told about this before? it just seems to be wrong, if its money we should have why is nobody making sure we get ti
ReplyDeletea very good point, why is nobody making sure we get at least some of it. Ask Len Stewart and Alan Amyas and Jean they have all presided over no money coming to the Haywoods. Yet many of them served on the planning comittee
ReplyDeletewhile enduring all the bleatings of the "Save the Haywoods" group they were running the council then and now and not one penny did they get spent in the community.
ReplyDeletewho are the save the Haywoods group?
ReplyDeletea very good question, many were voted off at the last election, however the current chair and vice chair were leading lights of that wonderful body of men and women who didn't manage to save the Haywoods from much at all.
ReplyDeletewhat can we do about it Rolfe, if the money is gone that means its just gone nothing we can do now
ReplyDeleteNo that isn't all we can do we can contact the Borough Councillors who represent the interests of the Parish in the council and ask them to explain what they have done to sort this out. We can contact Len Bloomer and ask why he has done nothing to gat at least some of the cash spent in the village. Once again rural communities are losing out to the needs of the big local town. This is all about the ruling party needing funds for their pet projects. The snaffle our cash to pay for business parks for big business, local services can just go for the chop, and while they are at it they blame the cost of looking after the old weak and vulnerable, not the cost of building business parks that business would build themselves if the need was there. Contact details for the Borough Councillors are as follows:
ReplyDeleteStewart Learoyd, 13 Pool Lane, Brocton, Stafford ST17 0TR Tel: 01785 336616 or 07720 058802
◾Cllr Alan Perkins, 26 High Chase Rise, Little Haywood, ST18 OTY Tel: 882198
Our County Councillor can be contacted on:
Cllr Len Bloomer, 3 The Paddock, Seighford, Stafford, ST18 9JF Tel: 01785 282336
I wonder if Brockton or Seighford have received any payments ?
worth noting I sent a similar FOI request to the Parish Council, and it was completely ignored, now we know why.
ReplyDeleteI have just sent another FOI request to the Borough Council asking for copies of any representations the Parish Council and Borough Councillors had made to the council regarding the complete lack of section 106 or CIL cash being spent in the Parish/ward.
ReplyDeleteIt is definitely time for a change, the great and the good are not always great and not doing much good anymore.
So if the council are not spending the cash on improving the infrastructure, etc of the village, exactly what are they going to spend it on???
ReplyDeleteAny failure to comply with an FOI request that is legitimate should be reported to the Information Commissioners office. In terms of the why is it this way type questions, good questions, and perhaps what we need is more democratic engagement from people whose motivations are aligned to public duty.
ReplyDeleteI agree Jamie, the problem locally is that is your face doesn't fit the leadership of the Council can just pretend that they didn't receive the request put it down to a glitch, or just try to ignore you as just someone they don't like. If all this information was public there would not be a problem, but they refuse to change to become more open and accountable and transparent in their use of public money, hence the blog.
ReplyDeleteI suppose I could try to find out where the cash had gone, but that would just be futile, what they are clearly admitting is that the cash is not being spent where it should be. I have written to Jeremy Lefroy MP to ask if he can shed any light as to why rural communities are always at the back of the queue for services, and at the front of the queue for extra housing.
ReplyDeleteThe Parish Council as an entity can at any time they like change the way they do business. If they choose not to then it is a choice, and they must stand by that choice and explain why they are not open and accountable to the public, and more importantly why despite being given options and choices over a number of years they stubbornly and arrogantly refuse to listen to anyone. They deem themselves to be the great and the good of the village above criticism, above admitting that things can improve, a shame really as if run properly this council could be a real powerhouse for the community. Instead it languishes in the 17th Century powdered wig doldrums, believing their own newsletters...lol
ReplyDeleteWorth noting that much of what they do is quoted as statutes they have to do things in a certain way. Which is fine, but all the Gold Standard Quality Councils build on those statutes, the basic requirements by law and go the extra mile to be better, communicate more clearly, invite scrutiny, publish more documents, engage with the community, they are more open more accountable and more transparent than our council WHILE STILL STICKING TO THE STATUTES, there is ABSOLUTELY NOTHING in Arnold Baker that says you can't do things better, the rules are what you have to do as a minimum. Setting the Bar so low as a council belies the cost we as a community are putting into the running of the council Currently £93,000 and it will go UP this year and next.
ReplyDelete