Liberal Democrats have condemned the Tories on the District Council for closing the Leisure Centre over the summer. The failure to put on any indoor activities for teenagers over the summer, means that many youngsters are at a loose end.

Suffolk County Council has recently started spending £600,000 altering the traffic system around Newmarket Clock Tower yet again, ignoring local concerns and pleas that the changes could result in gridlock and road rage. It is quite ironic that the roads and streets of Newmarket are under the control of County Council staff in Ipswich.

Congratulations to Pat McCloud, our excellent candidate and to Tim Huggan, campaign organiser. I am confident that Pat will prove to be the dedicated Councillor Red Lodge deserves.  With nearly 56% of the votes  for Pat it was a clear message to the Tory controlled majority on Forest Heath District Council.

Lib Dems claim a victory for Common sense on Council Office Refurbishment Project

Lib Dem group leader Ian Radford responding to the Conservative group’s decision to accept the Liberal Democrat’s campaign to put the Council Office project on hold said:

Last July we opposed this project without costing that the Council should have an expensive office refurbishment. As recently as February we put a motion to full council calling on the project to be put on hold until the outcome of Local Government review became known. This motion was rejected by the Conservatives on the council.

Liberal Democrat Group Leader Ian Radford continued ‘It is interesting that Councillor Jaggard now wants to do what Cameron accuses Brown of and that is to steal our policies. It is also interesting that he wants to rewrite history.

The Conservatives are now claiming that this project was supported by the whole council, it is not the case and has never been the case. The Liberal Democrats had rather that hard pressed local council taxpayers money was spent on local services not plush new council offices.

Ends

Notes
1. Council minutes from the July 2007
The minutes from the council meeting last July state ‘This item prompted considerable discussion by Members and Councillor I P Radford spoke at length and expressed the view that further detailed information needed to be provided before a decision could be reached. Vote for 23 vote against 1

2. The council minutes of 5th March 2008 clearly show
Councillor I P Radford spoke at length on this matter and voiced concern on the following matters:
. The lack of Liberal Democrat representation on the Office Refurbishment Board;
. The termination of contract with AW Business Solutions Ltd as projectmanagement lead, following appointment by Council on 31 July 2007;
. The need to establish clear detailed costings of works;
. The outcome surrounding the pending recommendations of the Boundary Committee.
Councillor Radford proposed an amendment that the project be suspended until full clear costings of necessary repairs were made available pending the publication of the Boundary Committee results. Councillor T J Huggan spoke in support of the amendment and seconded the motion.

On being put to the vote and with 2 Councillors voting for the motion, 19 against.
3. A press release from the Conservative Group on Forest Heath District Council
Monday, 19 May 2008
EMBARGO For immediate release
BEGINS
The Conservative Group will argue at the Council meeting on June 4th that plans to refurbish the Forest Heath District Council office should be suspended until the Local Government Review has delivered its recommendations to the Secretary of State in early 2009.
Leader, Cllr Geoffrey Jaggard said: “The refurbishment was supported by the whole Council last July. We are now in a very different situation and it is unclear how the buildings will be used in future. I therefore believe the right thing to do is put the office refurbishment project on hold.”

“We hope that, whatever the decision about local government in Suffolk, a local presence will be preserved in Forest Heath.”

Last week we had yet another extraordinary council meeting. This time to discuss the report issued by the Local Government Ombudsman into a complaint of the appearance of bias in a planning decision in 2006. These reports are quite rare and very serious yet only SIX out of the EIGHTEEN Tory councillors who could vote, accepted the report. Others, including the independents wanted to put their heads in the sand. FHDC Tories really must get out of the ‘Old Boy’s club’ mentality and realise we have reponsibilities as well as rights.

Last night I walked out of an Overview and Scrutiny Committee in protest at what I consider may have been an improper decision to debate an item.

For some time, I and my colleagues have been dismayed by the way meetings are scheduled, rescheduled and cancelled, and by the way papers are often delivered to members shortly before meetings. This gives members, especially opposition group members little time to give the papers the attention they deserve.

Last night the O & S committee acting as Audit Committee was to consider an Internal Audit Self Assessment, the papers for which were circulated by email the day before. In normal circumstances, papers open to the public should be circulated with the agenda at least seven days before the meeting. To get around this, an urgent business exception was used. I was not prepared to debate an important document when only four members of the committee were present out of a membership of nine. Of those four, three had not looked at the papers before the meeting.

Meanwhile an urgent report, requested previously by me concerning planning procedures dealing with applications to site telecoms masts, and which had been unequivocally promised to be discussed last night, was absent from the agenda

because ‘there was insufficient time for a substantive report
to be written in between the meeting on 28th and when the agenda had to be legally despatched for the meeting”.  hmmmmph