At Wednesday’s Council meeting I raised the issue of when local small businesses and domestic customers might get access to the much-trumpeted gigabit capable Full Fibre digital network. The District Council has successfully obtained millions in funding from the Government to install the infrastructure to provide full fibre broadband, and for Burgess Hill this was completed last May, but it seems the commercial roll out which originally promised for last summer has been delayed. High speed broadband will bring significant benefits for local businesses as well as consumers and I have asked the Council to confirm when the service will be available.
Tonight’s Mid Sussex scrutiny meeting considered the Council’s Corporate Strategy and Budget for 2022/23, giving all the uncertainties around the effect of Covid, the Council has rightly delayed taking significant action to remedy an emerging deficit (funded from reserves) projected to increase from 545k this year to 1,757k next year, particularly due to government funding changes. Another key issue is the cost of subsidising the leisure centres whilst they recover from the effects of the pandemic.
I raised specific issues around the need to consider demands on social housing, the relative lack of the urgency dealing with fly tipping, and need to give more priority to those who contact the Council by email or using e-forms. I also raised the lack of any measures of economic health for the towns of Mid Sussex as this should be a priority for the Council.
I was pleased to get a commitment from CEO Kathryn Hall to include a sustainability appraisal in the Council’s assessment of capital projects after I highlighted the issue. Liberal Democrat Group Leader Councillor Alison Bennett and other opposition councillors highlighted the need for the Conservative council to take more account of sustainability issues.
Litter picking today with a bag of rubbish collected from the bottom end of the footpath from Wivelsfield Station and some larger items reported to the District Council for collection – responding to a Fix My Street complaint. Managed to also collect some dumped brambles on Maple Drive. New litter picker put to use was broken in ten minutes (!) so in future will borrow one from the Town Council which can provide resources for community litter picks.
A reopening date for the Hawthorns Play Area has now been set for Friday 15th October, with the playground open to the public in the late afternoon. It is disappointing this is 12 weeks after the Council cancelled the previous opening date on 22nd July due to the developer Countryside Properties not having completed the work to the required standard. Residents have had to endure being able to view the play equipment all through the summer whilst waiting for issues with the ground condition and grass cover to be addressed. This has taken far too long, and I have received a commitment the Council will apply the learning from this debacle to aim to ensure it does not reoccur on future schemes.
Soaring temperatures worldwide, flash flooding and increasing numbers of wildfires. These are just a few ecological disasters we are seeing as a result of climate change. It is painfully obvious we must act. Locally we have seen extreme weather events such as with recent flooding.
We need to be ambitious. It is only by working with every single nation across the globe that we can hope to take on this challenge. Climate inaction is simply unacceptable. As president of COP 26, we should lead by example. The UK can lead the world in climate policy. We are hosting the UN Climate Conference (COP 26) in November 2021. We must lead the world to do what is required: limit global warming to 1.5 degrees. However, the Conservatives are delaying action on climate change.
They have failed to provide us with a plan to reach net zero emissions. We have watched as they have slashed incentives to switch to electric cars or upgrade homes for greater energy efficiency. Climate inaction is simply unacceptable. As president of COP 26, we should lead by example. Coming out of COP26, we want to see a major shift in energy consumption from fossil fuels to green alternatives.
Locally Mid Sussex District Council needs to lead the way and set its own targets for zero-carbon and to encourage and promote the adoption by businesses and residents of their own targets. We have a District Plan that allows developers to get away with minimal sustainable design requirements and build new houses and offices without targets to reduce carbon emissions or provide onsite renewable energy generation. We need more detailed planning guidance to require developers to estimate baseline energy demand and carbon dioxide emissions, and to commit to emission savings from energy efficiency measures and renewable energy micro-generation incorporated into the development.
At Liberal Democrat conference today, our members voted overwhelmingly in favour of protecting our planet. Here is what we want to do: Lead with ambition and help all countries aspire to the 1.5 degrees limit for global warming Keeping our 100bn a year pledge to low and middle-income countries to help with decarbonisation Increase taxes and VAT on carbon-based activities such as first and business class flights. This will act as an incentive to switch to cleaner alternatives. Introduce a protection and compensation package for those countries most likely to be worst affected by climate change. Call for international agreements to phase out coal and protect our forests and work with the EU Carbon Trading System Read our new policy on COP26 Read our new policy on Carbon Pricing Using carbon has a price. We want to ensure that the price is fair to individuals and businesses and targets the biggest polluters. We cannot continue as we are. The damage to our planet has already been done. We must all change our behaviour, change our economy and save our environment.
Flying tipping can be dangerous and annoying, this open bin was full of putrid water next to a children’s playground and I was concerned that it was only after I had reported it the third time directly to the Council officer responsible that I managed to get action to remove it. The first two attempts using the Council’s online form for fly tipping were unsuccessful, the contractor apparently decided to log it as a missing bin collection despite my report highlighting this was not the case. The Council’s online form does not give a receipt and feedback is not provided to those that report fly tipping incidents on whether their request has been accepted. This would be particularly the case if fly tipping is not on public land and therefore the responsibility of the landowner to clear and not the council.
I have been reassured that the bulk of responses to removing fly tipping are within 24 hours but it needs to do better in providing feedback to residents that take the trouble to report fly tipping and improve its digital approach to reporting such issues. I have been promised a review is taking place to remedy some of these issues so look forward to improvements. Mid Sussex has one of the lowest reported rates of fly tipping, it needs to ensure this is not because of reporting issues.
We participated in the Great British Clean Up this morning organised by Keep Britain Tidy. The Town Council has arranged seven public clean-ups between 28 May and 13 June, covering your nominated ‘Grot spots’, details here. All equipment will be provided by Burgess Hill Town Council and clean-ups will be led by Ward Councillors. Thanks to Anne Eves and everyone else who participated in the Leylands clean-up this morning, and I would particularly highlight the need for dog walkers to take their poop bags home if they don’t pass a bin.
At a time when sleaze and dodgy deals are in the headlines as our Prime Minister battles questions of who paid for his curtains and why Conservative donors with his private phone number were far more likely to receive untendered contracts, Johnson’s commitment to improving standards in public life has been undermined by his appointment of a new standards adviser who cannot initiate his own investigations and can be overruled by the PM.
At tonight’s Mid Sussex annual council meeting we had our own version of this where attempts to elect opposition councillors to become Vice-Chairs of the three Scrutiny committees were voted down by the Conservative administration. Scrutiny needs to be conducted openly and honestly, on the District Council we saw the decision last year to close Clair Hall where the Conservatives tried to close down debate, and which ended up leaving the Council taken to court for making an unlawful decision, and facing legal fees of £27k.
Liberal Democrat leader Alison Bennett also raised the need to reinstate later start times for council meetings given issues for those with children or in work to attend early meetings. Typically one Conservative didn’t see the issue as he managed three companies and didn’t have a problem attending meetings !!! We need councillors in touch with ordinary life not millionaires with their castles in the sky.
Following concerns that I raised about the state of some of our smaller play areas I have been reassured by the District Council that work to improve some of our smaller play areas like Forge Way is underway, the extended closure due to the pandemic left it and some other play areas covered in moss and with minor repairs needed. I understand the moss and toadstools has been treated and the hard areas will be swept this coming week .
Its good to see resident efforts to tidy up Freeks Lane, Liberal Democrat candidate Stuart Condie and myself took some time off from County Council election campaigning to clear up some plastic netting which was apparently left by contractors several years ago and become intertwined with vegetation, so we put some time into removing it this morning. Where possible we would prefer to hold the relevant authority to account but given the time that has passed this is not always possible.
