Nothing changes.
A song sung by Jewelle Blackman has some interesting lyrics
“ Why the struggle, why the strain?
Why make trouble, why make scenes?
Why go against the grain, why swim upstream?
It aint, it aint it aint no use.”
Local elections come and go but nothing seems to change. Engaging with the public on door steps, listening to concerns at the monthly local surgeries all to no avail. How does a local councillor bring about real change, what do they need to focus on to make a change? Local elections are organised to allow local residents to elect someone who will tackle local issues.
We have just had a by election in Blundellsands. The newly elected Councillor writes...
“ Only Labour will fight for fairness, decent services and a stronger future for our area” I promise to work hard for you and help make Blundellsands , Brighton Le Sands and Crosby , a better place to live”
“A Trusted local voice, ready to stand up for our community”.
Take a look at social media, take a stroll around the ward , during the day, the evening and late at night and you will quickly see the issues that need tackling.
No matter who is elected, the same old issues that cause upset and blight our community are there for all to see. The lack of a local investigatory local paper has meant that social media is now the outlet for people to draw attention to issues A quick stroll through various posts will highlight the issues that are most pertinent.
Endless complaints and photographs about the filth, litter and debris that is left along our coastline. The bins are crammed full. Although some visitors do want to put their litter in a bin, some are too small, or inadequate in design.
(Open topped wooden bins in a windy environment are about as much good as a chocolate teapot). The result is of course litter is strewn across the coastline and is blown around in the wind or is scavenged by wildlife.
This problem will always remain but as our local population increases the footfall along the coastline will undoubtedly increase. Warm weather and glorious summer evenings will draw people form far and wide to our coastline.
The massive increase in homes that are being built in our locality bring an increase in population but also require contactors to provide additional funds to the local council to ensure that the developers contribute to mitigating the impact of their developments on the community. Section 106 monies help the council fund issues such as improving local spaces, sports facilities, parks and schools. This money needs to be spent now on the areas which are experiencing the impact of new homes and increased population.
The recently elected Labour Councillor who claims to be “ from our community for our community” and who has promised “ to work hard for you” needs to tackle this problem directly.
Well Councillor this is what you can do:
- Buy more bins,
- Replace the old wooden bins with a more appropriate receptacle
- Initiate more frequent emptying of the bins especially at Bank Holiday periods and in the summer months when there will be an obvious increase in footfall into our beautiful coastline. As more houses and flats have been built the council has been in receipt of money that is designated to be used to deal with the increased footfall on our coastline.
- It appears that the street cleaning operatives have a contract that is confined to weekdays only. Perhaps it may be worthwhile commissioning some extra hours for these operatives during the summer months and Bank Holidays. This would undoubtedly reduce the amount of rubbish they have to clear at peak periods.
Funding source. Ward Budgets and Section 106 monies (£7.1million not spent by Sefton of the Section 106 monies.)
Publish online the current ward funding allocated to be spent on projects to make “ Brighton Le Sands, Crosby and Blundellsands a better place to live.”
At the present time Sefton Council are hiding these useful spending sources and it is impossible to understand how much council tax has been given to each ward. Our “trusted local voice –who is ready to stand up for our community” needs to address this matter and bring some much needed transparency to the allocation of our council tax to our ward.
- Impose fines for those who deliberately drop litter. Records show that there has been only one fixed penalty notice served in Sefton in the last 12 months.! Could Sefton consider enhancing the role of the traffic warden to issue fixed penalty notices for dropping litter ?
- Work with the Probation Service to utilise those serving Community Pay Back Schemes/ Unpaid work, to work alongside Crosby Wombles to help clear litter from our coastline . There appears to be very little publicity of the work which is carried out by those serving Community Pay Back/Unpaid work orders and yet there are many areas which would benefit from this type of service.
- Consider approaching the voluntary local groups who spend their time completing gardening tasks in our local parks and gardens if they require assistance from the Probation Service
- Publish a list of the areas in our locality which have benefitted from these schemes
Look at the amount of dog excrement in various areas around the ward, especially near to primary schools. Place more guidance stickers around these areas to remind dog owners of their responsibility.
FUNDING SOURCE Ward budgets
ANTI SOCIAL BEHAVIOUR
This is no longer limited to the school holidays but appears to be a problem that is increasing in frequency and is in fact involving criminal behaviour. Some parents are rightly concerned about the number of occasions that gangs of youths are threatening younger children, particularly if they have bikes or designer clothes. Some parks and playing fields are it appears the areas where this occurs but even residential settings are being targeted. The only means of address it would appear is to appeal for “doorcam” footage so that parents may be able to recognise the perpetrators.
Safer Sefton Together in its capacity as a local statutory Community Safety Partnership (CPS) does have an important part to play in bringing various organisations and groups together to help reduce crime and improve community safety. One would have thought that as members of the public we could view the agenda and minutes of these meetings to observe what issues are being reported and targeted within our community. Looking at the Council website shows very little published data. It is difficult to find out information . In fact, in January and June of this year there were no documents published for these meetings!
CROSBY VILLAGE.
Crosby village is a disgrace. There is a complete lack of maintenance evident, particularly around the pedestrian area and the carparks. Weeds are in abundance and now grow freely along the gutters and in between the paving. The rusty bins which have stood the test of time need replacing and new ones placed near to the new cafes and wine bars which now encourage people to sit outside. As footfall increases, so will the amount of rubbish. Some additional signage to encourage customers and visitors to use these receptacles would help.
The rusty BT phone box needs to be removed, weeds cleared and paving around it levelled to prevent a trip hazard.
The rusty and broken barriers in the carpark behind Home Bargains need to be removed or new railings installed. The ticket machine, needs to be realigned as the base of the machine has obviously been hit by a vehicle making it unstable.
A large amount the weeds need to be removed from the wall area which runs parallel to the carpark, and which is some cases are nearly 0.5metre tall. Old signs, left after construction work or repairs have been completed need to be removed from pavements.
The new flats that have been built in Crosby will bring an increase in Council Tax revenue to Sefton Council. Some of that money needs to be invested in making improvements to Crosby Village. If you look at where all the council wards converge, it is evident that 9 Labour Councillors have some responsibility for Crosby Village. Surely, between them, there must be someone who will champion the cause of “ Cleaning up Crosby” The public realm of Crosby is looking dirty, and grimy and there is a prevailing sense of inevitability that it will only get worse.
The Post Office in Crosby disappeared some years ago. Our Councillors may not have noticed but for nearly 2 years the post boxes have been fenced off as part of the contractors site! Crosby has only one bank. You are prevented from posting a letter in Crosby Village but there are 15 places where you buy an alcoholic drink!
We need local leaders who will “ bang the drum”. We want them to champion our causes, walk around the areas they serve, dare to be different and bring new ideas and new ways of working to our community. If they were subject to Performance Management and Performance Related Pay we would see some vast improvements to our wards.
