Planning Application Consultation

This week, a planning application has been submitted by:

• Land rear of The Trossachs, Parrotts Grove, Coventry - creation of a raised hard-standing for car parking and storage (retrospective).

Full details of the application can be viewed here. All comments on the application must be received by Rugby Borough Council by Friday 21 October.


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How Eric Pickles Defines 'Localism'

Why does Eric Pickles make life so hard for supporters of localism? The Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government has been all over the press in the last few days promising funding totalling £250m to local authorities in England and Wales that re-introduce a weekly bin collection. He was quoted as saying:

"The last Labour Government ruthlessly forced councils into axing bin collections. Their policies of bin taxes, bin fines and bin cuts hammered hard working families and fuelled fly-tipping."

And I have no problem with Eric Pickles telling anyone who'll listen what he thinks about the frequency of bin collections, and subtleties of weekly vs. alternate weekly collections. It's just that, in my mind at least, the frequency that Rugby Borough Council collects my rubbish, how it does it, how much it costs, and the overall quality of the service, is between me and Rugby Borough Council. The government generally, and the Department for Communities and Local Government specifically, must have enough to occupy its time than to start poking its nose into my rubbish (no pun intended).

Eric Pickles was one of the principle cheerleaders for localism following the election of the Conservative/Liberal Democrat coalition in May last year. His department very clearly defined localism as:

"......the transfer of power and resources from central government to the local level. It is the idea that decisions should be taken as closely as possible to the people they affect. Localism can also mean allowing local people to set priorities and become involved in decisions about the future of their area."

I am fully supportive of this as a philosophy to guide the delivery of public services. The UK is one of the most over centralised countries in the world as far as who makes the decisions. Local councils are considered an irrelevance by so many of the public because they are so limited in the extent of the local discretion that they have. Local authorities don't, by and large, decide what to do. They simply do what the central government of the day tells them to do.

Is it any surprise therefore that electoral turnout for local elections is so poor compared to national elections? Is it any wonder that anyone with political ambition wants to become an MP (of the governing party, naturally), rather than be a councillor? But give local councils the power and authority to actually make meaningful and real decisions about services, and then leave them to get on with it, and the local authorities up and down the country will start to matter to us all once again.

I began to believe that the Conservatives finally 'got it'. Well, at least they did whilst they were in opposition. But once they got their hands on the levers of power, it became too difficult for people like Eric Pickles to say that bin collections were nothing to do with him, and that if someone had a complaint then they should take it up with the people who make the decisions on these matters ie. local councils. Instead, he launches a campaign to get weekly bin collections reinstated, and offers a £250m incentive for councils to do what he wants them to do.

So despite being told during the last few months that local bus services were being cut because councils don't have enough money, and public libraries were being closed because councils don't have enough money, I'm now told that the government has found £250m to pay for an extra collection of refuse which, as far as I can tell is not particularly wanted, and is certainly not needed. I'd like to suggest that if the government does have £250m it doesn't know what to do with, it might like to use it to reduce its own budget deficit this year. Or at least divide it up proportionately amongst all of the councils in England and Wales and let them decide what to spend the money on.

If I don't like Rugby Borough Council's policy on bin collections, I'll raise the issue with my local councillors. If, come election, I still don't like what I'm getting, I'll vote for the party who promises to do things differently. I'm really not sure why Eric Pickles, and the Department for Communities and Local Government, needs to get involved.

After all, isn't that what localism is all about??

Planning Application Consultation

This week, a planning application has been submitted by:

• Garden House, Lower Road, Barnacle - formation of new vehicular access and driveway.

Full details of the application can be viewed here. All comments on the application must be received by Rugby Borough Council by Friday 14 October.

Parish Council Meeting - 13 September

Last week I attended the September meeting of Shilton Parish Council. This meeting was notable mainly for the formal approvals given to go ahead with two projects that will be the basis of the parish council’s main expenditure items during the year: CCTV and new fencing at Shilton playing fields.

Back in December 2009, I first reported about a rural CCTV system being rolled out amongst parishes within Rugby borough. Twenty-one months later (which gives you an example of how long things like this can sometimes take), the parish council has agreed that a two-camera CCTV system should be installed in the Shilton Village Hall car park area. There have been concerns for a number of years now that the car park was providing a convenient location for people to gather late at night and participate in drug dealing/taking, particularly so for youths coming into the village from outside locations. Whilst the cameras that are being installed will not be monitored ‘live’ by either the Police or the parish council, they will provide useful evidence and information to enable the Police to better tackle this problem should it become more prevalent.

If you read the article on the CCTV cameras in the August/September edition of BASIS, you will have seen that the parish council was asking for anyone who wished to comment on their installation in Shilton to contact the Clerk and to put forward their views. No submissions were made, and therefore councillors took the view that there would be no significant objection from the community.

One of the benefits of the rural CCTV system is that the number of cameras can be increased and the system built up at any time in the future. The parish council was mindful of this in respect of locations within Barnacle and, whilst there were not considered to be any obvious locations where a camera was needed at the moment, if residents in Barnacle do wish to see CCTV cameras in their village, please add a comment at the end of this post or speak to me directly.

The cameras and the equipment needed to operate them will cost the parish council a total of £4,000 to set up and install, and particular thanks is due to Councillor Stephen White who managed to negotiate down the cost of that part of the system that the parish council will need to fund.

The other significant matter that was agreed at the meeting was the decision to go ahead with the purchase and installation of netting at Shilton playing fields. This netting will effectively screen the eastern side of the playing field and prevent stray cricket balls and footballs encroaching into traffic along Bulkington Road. The parish council has been concerned for some time of the potential for a serious traffic accident if balls hit vehicles travelling at speed. The solution will be to erect a mesh fence, in three overlapping sections, at the rear of each football pitch and in the space between the two pitches, to catch stray balls.

Quotes for the works, which is expected to require planning permission from Rugby Borough Council, were obtained from three companies and TB Sports Fencing submitted the best quote in terms of price and quality. The works will cost around a total of £13,500.

Next year, the parish council plan to replace the hedging along the eastern boundary of the playing field in order to visually improve the playing field facility.

In other items of business, County Councillor Phillip Morris-Jones provided an update on matters of interest for the parish. The county council had agreed to provide two ‘30mph Slow Down’ flashing signs, which were to be placed temporarily in Church Road and Bulkington Road. These should help slow traffic entering the village from the Ansty and Bulkington directions.

Although Borough Councillor Rachel Watts was unable to attend the meeting in person, she did produce a written briefing, which particularly drew attention to the response that Rugby Borough Council had submitted to the Government’s recent consultation on changes to planning rules affecting the siting of gypsy and traveller sites. Rugby’s planning officers had concluded that the new guidance did not address the fundamental issue of whether the same planning rules should apply to gypsies/travellers as to the settled community. The Government, in Rugby Borough Council's view, had two options: either to seek to apply the same planning rules for all and accept market dynamics would almost inevitably lead to failure to deliver the number of gypsy/traveller sites that is claimed to be needed, or accept that there is an incompatibility of lifestyles between gypsies/travellers and the settled community and that the same rules cannot apply. A copy of the full response can be viewed here and is well worth a read (it starts on page 121 of the linked document).

Rachel Watts also indicated that she would not be seeking re-election as a borough councillor in May next year, as she is due to take up employment in London shortly afterwards and would therefore be moving away. Whilst Rachel has not always been a firm favourite of some of the people who have posted comments on this blog, I have found her always to be interested in what is going on in Shilton and Barnacle, and prepared to help out whenever it was felt that she could be of use. The local elections next year will, of course, be fought under the new ward boundaries and Shilton and Barnacle will be part of the new ‘Wolvey and Shilton’ ward. With Rachel deciding to stand down, we know that there's a good chance there'll be a new borough councillor representing the parish.

The rest of the meeting was the usual mix of planning applications, consultations, financial matters and potholes, and everything was finally wrapped up after 10.30pm. The next meeting of the parish council will be held on Tuesday 4 October at 7.30pm.

Planning Application Decision

Rugby Borough Council has reached the following decision on a planning application that was submitted in July:

• 22 Church Road, Shilton - erection of single storey front and rear extensions (including demolition of existing garage) and conversion of the other existing detached garage to ancillary residential accommodation - approved.

The full decision on this application can be viewed here.

Police Crime Report - July

Warwickshire Police have released their latest crime report for the Shilton and Barnacle area setting out incidents they consider of public interest and for public consumption that occurred during the past month.

Five incidents have been highlighted:

• Friday 22 July - Burglary - Wood Lane, Shilton
  Overnight, unknown persons entered a shed and took a sit-on lawnmower across the field to the rear of the property.
• Friday 22 July - Damage - Lower Road, Barnacle
  Overnight, unknown person gained entry into a field by prizing a lock.
• Saturday 23 July - Theft - Wood Lane, Shilton
  Between 11.00am and 5.15pm, unknown persons stole a cast iron sign from the front of a property.
• Wednesday 27 July - Damage - Ash Tree Grove, Shilton
  At 1.00am, two male youths caused damage to an unattended vehicle by crayon. Information shared with West Midlands Police.
• Thursday 28 July - Burglary - Wood Lane, Shilton
  Sometime between 23 - 28 July, unknown offenders forced entry into a garage and stole two quad bikes plus other items.

Warwickshire Police have asked for anyone with information on these crimes to call them on (01788) 541111.

Warwickshire Flag Flies in London

One of the many things I enjoy about visiting Switzerland is the number of houses that fly a flag. And whilst you occasionally see the Swiss national flag on display, it's far more common for private residents and public buildings to fly their canton (or regional) flag.

As someone who loves seeing flags being flown in any circumstances, it always strikes me that flags add something to the local pride of a community. I can safely say that in all my years, I have never, ever, seen the flag of Warwickshire being flown anywhere except at Shire Hall.

I fully accept that probably 95% of the county's population wouldn't even recognise the flag of Warwickshire if they saw it flying, but it's a shame that it doesn't get more of an airing.

So hats off to Eric Pickles for flying the county flag outside the London headquarters of the Department for Communities and Local Government during the last week. As part of the recognition of the role that England's counties play to the civic and communal life of the country, each week a different county has its flag flown, and this past week it has been Warwickshire's turn.

I'm undoubtedly biased, but I think it's a rather splendid flag. Perhaps one or two more examples of it might even start cropping up a little closer to home?

Mark Pawsey MP Refers to Barnacle in Parliament

It's always nice when your own Member of Parliament sees fit to raise a local concern in Parliament. So it was on Wednesday afternoon when Mark Pawsey took part in a debate in Westminster Hall on the planning system as it relates to gypsy and traveller sites.

Obviously this has been a long standing issue in Shilton and Barnacle, and Mark Pawsey used his contribution to the debate, which had been called by Priti Patel, Conservative MP for Witham in Essex, to raise a number of concerns about the speed that it was taking to bring about changes to the planning laws.

I think it's fair to say that Mark isn't a rebellious MP by nature, so it was significant to hear him to say:

"I echo the concerns expressed by Philip Hollobone (Con, Kettering) and Gavin Williamson (Con, South Staffordshire) about the delays in the Government's introduction of changes. We spoke about that during the general election campaign and as soon as we came into government. We have raised expectations in communities, but are failing to realise them."

The debate is being show on BBC Parliament on Sunday 17 July at 6.00am and Monday 18 July at 2.30am. Alternatively, you can watch it on the UK Parliament website here. The full debate lasts for an hour and three quarters, but if you just want to hear Mark Pawsey, he gets up to speak after an hour and 10 minutes.

Planning Policies and Parish Council Powers

Normally, parish councils only make it into the news when a village stalwart finally decides to retire after having been a councillor for the last 49 years, or as a means of adding comic value to stories of petty bureaucracy by so-called jobsworths. So it was heartening over the weekend to see two stories that were a break from the norm.

On Saturday, Geoffrey Lean in the Daily Telegraph wrote about the forthcoming National Planning Policy Framework – due to be published later this month – that will set out the Government’s official guidance on how local councils should consider planning applications.

Planning related matters must surely be at the top of any list of issues that will cause a community to collectively rise up in objection. Whether it’s next door’s extension or the line of route of the proposed High Speed 2 railway, almost everyone has an opinion on their neighbourhood and what it should look like. The difficulty for the planning regime is that local opinions are invariably that things should just be left exactly as they currently are, a premise which is both impossible and impractical to anybody who thinks about these things for more than a fleeting moment.

Although they aren’t the Local Planning Authority (and therefore not directly responsible for planning matters), parish councils spend an awful lot of time on planning issues, either responding to consultations on individual applications and local planning policies, or because they will invariably be at (or near) the forefront of local campaigns against new development of one sort or another.

The 'talk' from the Government since it got elected in May last year is that local communities are to be given more say in deciding on planning applications within their community. But this is only half true: the Localism Bill currently going through Parliament will give communities more scope to support applications that would otherwise not be granted, but communities will not be empowered to reject planning applications that the borough council wants to approve.

Perhaps there really are villages up and down the country full of residents that are desperate for more houses, shops and industrial units that the council don't want to give permission for. But forgive me if I doubt that to really be the case!

What concerns me more - and touched on in the Geoffrey Lean article - is proposals for planning authorities to be able to formally take into account financial incentives in granting planning permission. At the moment, developers can agree a financial contribution to the local council to help offset the impact of planning permission being granted. Typically, this could be the cost of building a children's play area on a new housing estate, or paying for a local bus service where one did not currently exist.

The significant change that is proposed by the Government now is that the amount of money a developer is prepared to pay to the council can be a material consideration in deciding whether to grant planning permission or not. And it doesn't require too much of a stretch of the imagination to see that a large enough amount of money will always be able to outweigh the negative impact of planning permission. In other words, if enough money is offered up by way of incentive, then the local council will have very little option but to approve the planning application. I'm currently waiting for someone to explain to me the difference between this and what's commonly considered to be bribery.

For whilst this change won't be of great benefit for somebody trying to get permission for a ground floor extension to their house, developers of wind farms (amongst many others) must at this very moment be calculating exactly how much "financial incentive" is needed to reach the tipping point to guarantee them planning approval.

If this has an indirect impact on parish councils, then David Cameron's plans to give them "sweeping powers" to run local neighbourhoods (including licensing pubs and controlling parking) could genuinely be transformational. Patrick Hennessy trailed this in the Sunday Telegraph ahead of Cameron's launch of his Open Spaces White Paper today.

I've not read the White Paper yet and so shall save my comments for another time, but I am supportive of anything that genuinely devolves responsibility down to communities, and that recognises that the most democratic and accountable body that can oversee these responsibilities within a village is the local parish council.

I am convinced that parish councils have the unfortunate reputation that they (largely) do have because people struggle to see how they are relevant to their everyday lives. But by placing the parish council at the centre of village life - and giving it real and meaningful responsibilities - the public should engage with it more, leading to more people wanting to be parish councillors because they'll see a reason in wanting to be one. This should lead to finally having contested elections, and the improved accountability and legitimacy that parish councillors gain as a result of this.

I'll blog more on the Open Public Services White Paper over the coming days and weeks, but in the meantime if this post has interested you enough to read some more, then take a look at the proposals yourself here:

• Open Public Services White Paper in PDF Format

And look out for (hopefully!) many more newspaper stories featuring your local parish council delivering important and worthwhile public services.

Shilton Parish Council 2010/11 Accounts

Following last month's parish council meeting, I said that I would post online the income and expenditure account and balance sheet for Shilton Parish Council for 2010/11. These were both formally noted at the meeting on 7 June.

Somewhat delayed (apologies!), here is that financial information. Click on the images to view them full screen:

Income and Expenditure Account

Balance Sheet


As always, please feel free to comment or ask questions on this.