A Councillor's Comments - December 2004

Your Town Council has decided how much it wants to do next year reported to the November meeting of the Council. The Council will allow 3% for inflation, but the aim ill be not increase the precept. Your Council wants to make its very minor contribution towards not increasing the Council Tax. Providing the District and County Councils and the Police and Fire Authorities have the same aim, it will be clear were the pressure to increase Council Tax comes from - No. 11 Downing Street.

A huge number of very fancy and glossy publications have been sent to the Town Council this from many parts of government from the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister down to the district council with everyone in between contributing. All are available to the public to read, apply to The Town Council's office. Naturally they are all totally uninteresting and a complete waste of your money. If you want the information they contain, use the free internet connection available in the Library.

MAGPAS reported to the Council that its recent donation has enabled them to start its Community First Responder scheme in Soham on 15th November. So don't be surprised, if you are unfortunately have to call an ambulance, if someone you know turns up first with a large red bag full of medical gear. They are there to start the process of saving life and the paramedic and ambulance will be along in a few minutes. Even simple actions can maintain life until the professionals arrive. MAGPAS have five trained volunteers doing this work in Soham but to provide 24-7 cover need a few more. Anyone who is willing to do First Aid can do this work, contact MAGPAS for details.

The saga of the housing development at Townsend continues, the district council planning committee were threatening to approve the plans at their last meeting, without requiring the builders to further consultation with the public. Some of our district councillors, a town councillor and a member of the public were allowed to speak at the meeting and have persuaded the district council to insist that the public be consulted. A date for this is awaited. Whether any notice is taken of the public's views is a different matter. I cannot recall when it has in an important matter, the location of this development is an example. When it was proposed in the Local Plan some years ago, there was a public outcry against, but no notice was taken by the powers "that be".

The County Council has been asked to extend the 30mph limit on Townsend out to the Shade roundabout. They are considering this favourably. The sooner the better, this long straight road is very dangerous, although we haven't yet had many accidents there YET.

A design group, with Town Forum input, is looking at improving the street furniture, that is bus shelters, litter bins, bollards etc in the "shopping centre", that is, High Street and Churchgate Street. I hope to be able to report more on this later.

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Tony Hinsley
Soham Town Councillor