The Truth Will Out ! Did you know! The Chairman of the Parish Council has no powers or responsibilities beyond those of the rest of the Councillors. His only additional function is to Chair the meetings properly (this we question). The Chairman cannot act independently or do anything at all without the permission of the Council. - the responsibility for anything the Council does lies with the Council as a whole (whether or not individual Councillors attend the meetings or not). There may be an issue with who signs Council letters. All letters should be sent out in the name and under the signature of the Clerk as she is the Proper Officer. The Chairman should only sign letters that relate to political or social issues. In the PC there are no political issues and social ones would be those in the sense of congratulating people or inviting visitors or something similar. Why is it then that this procedure is not adhered to - is it that the Chairman gets the short straw and somehow appears to sign potentially contentious letters ?.. Also it is the responsibility of the Clerk to establish agendas for meetings. Therefore delays or priorities in raising contentious issues for Committee and the Full Council’s attention rests with the Clerk. It is the responsibility of each and every individual Councillor to accept/oppose the accuracy the Clerk’s “Draft” minutes prior to their officially publication. “Individual Councillors should be constantly aware that any action taken in the name of the Council is the responsibility of them all (even if they are not at the meeting) and they can be sued/surcharged for illegal or irresponsible activities.” (This does not include the Clerk because the Clerk is understood to act under the instruction of the Council) Therefore who was actually responsible/accountable for the certain questionable actions within the BJPC which occurred during 2009? January 2009 - 1)The BJPC Clerk and Cllr Potter ( Chairman) were aware of a situation relative to the 3 Village gala committee using the Poplars thro-out the summer of 2008 ( and later continued thro the summer of 2009 ) without the permission of the BJPC - this surely would have contravened Insurance Cover and challenged the Risk Management of the Poplars February 2009 2)Did the BJPC Clerk and Chairman discuss with Cllrs Greenfield & Cluff as to their future conflict of interest in accepting/participating in the 3Village Gala Committee un-authorised use of the Poplars with summer BBQ’s . Did they make the full Council aware of this situation? April 2009 3)The BJPC Chairman prematurely published an open letter of appreciation re the verbal intention for resignation by Julie and Brian O’ Neill - Why did the Chairman willingly accept the later written resignations of the O’Neills without having a prior “face to face” to resolve any of the contentious points raised within their letters. The Clerk should also taken some initiative in resolving the subjects raised within the letters. This inaction was irresponsible and “a burying of “heads in sand” - wantonly throwing aside the undoubted skills, knowledge and contribution of two respected and established Councillors. May 2009 4)Why did the BJPC Chairman Cllr Potter and the Clerk willingly accept the written resignations of Mrs Dixon and not attempting to resolve the matters raised within her resignation letter. Again an act of staggering individual irresponsibility, incompetence and a further example of “burying heads in sand” - wasting the undoubted skills, knowledge and contribution of a well respected Councillor with past experience of fulfilling posts of high profile Chair/Vice Chair and Tribunal Judge positions 5 May - 5a)Evidently there should be a Hire agreement for each Poplars event. Was/is there an Agreement for the 3 Villages Gala May event ? After all they do have FREE use of the facility for this event 5b)Annual Parish Meeting - Cost of the Sports Centre Every year since 2003 questions have been annually asked about the cost of the Sports Centre In 2005 the Chair at the time could not answer – he said he would need notification of the question in advance. In 2006 a question was written in advance, but the Chair at the time said he could not answer because the Clerk was away and he had not received my written request. In 2007 a further written question was submitted but the Chair had changed the month before and the new Chair did not have the information. The Clerk at the time said she did not know as the previous Chair always did the accounts. The Chair at the time undertook to provide the information (which he did not – as can be seen from Matters Arising in the Minutes of the 2008 meeting.) In 2008 Mrs Dixon asked the same question together with a question about the increase in the precept by over 15%..The Clerk was advised in advance that the question would be raised and that she should have the information to hand. However, at this years (2009) annual meeting the questions not even minuted. All these incidents of avoidance are “nought” compared to this year - Why? Because, the Chairman - Cllr Potter, the Vice Chairman Cllr Hutt, and the Clerk all failed to attend the 2009 Annual Parish Meeting in fact only 5 councillors attended 3 newly co-opted ( one taking the Chairmanship) and 2 only established and elected (it is understood that the date for each annual meeting is set 12 months in advance ). It should also be noted that minutes for the 2009 event will not be known or available until the 2010 meeting - very interesting particular as we are not aware who actually noted the contents of the meeting However readers can see my un-authorise version within “Local Administrations” . 5c)Annual Parish Meeting - Reports by Community Organisations The annual parish meeting should be one at which community organisations are invited to give their reports to the rest of the community. The first time community organisations were invited in this village was in 2007 - BJRA and the History Society gave reports; They were invited again in 2008 - BJRA and the Preservation Society gave reports. This year BJRA was not invited - Had this anything to do with the fact that ex Cllr Julie O’Neill is also the chairman of this organisation? Even so she attended and reported Were the following invited and if so why did the not attend? BJ Football clubs, BJ Archers, BJ Bowling Club, BJ Tennis Club, BJ Runners, BJ Cricket Club BJ Stroke Club, BJ Saturday Singers, Calligraphy Group, BJ Sugar Craft Guild, 1 To One, BJ Senior Citizen’s Club, BJU3A, St Helens Baby and Toddlers Group, BJ Duplicate Bridge Club, BJ Choral Soc, Trent Valley Art Group, Mothers Union, W I, BJ Scouts . BJ Allotment Holders, BJ Guides, BJ Players ,Local Businesses, Wine Circle, Centre for Local History,. All the Church and Religions. Etc etc A further example of the complete absence of any empathy with the community and the total lack of an understanding of the responsibility, credibility and duty which is expected of the persons occupying office within of the BJPC 6) June 2009 The BJPC Minutes list accusations re the accuracy of BJO website and have avoided ALL requests to justify their inclusion. and statements The Chairman now says the Minutes must stand. I can understand this however there should be a subsequent comment in later minute correcting the mis-information - Unfortunately these BJPC June 2009 Minutes appear to been removed from their Official website and substituted with a duplicate earlier minute - (27/11/09) 7) I personally received the copies of the 3 resignation letters of the BJPC Councillors J O’Neill, B O’Neill and Mrs M Dixon from the BJPC ( which required a special behind closed door meeting of the BJPC. Sight of these letters required me to evoke the Freedom of Information Act to access. Where was their justification for with-holding the release ? ***Resignation letters are not confidential. The electors are entitled to know why their elected representatives have resigned. I should add, that at this time the BJPC DID supply copies of their own response to the resignation letters which I DID NOT request. These responses contain personal information which if I post, I may be adjudge as complicit in possible libel actions - 8) During this period the BJPC also decide to introduce their Habitual and Vexatious Complaints policy. A policy which clearly explains in detail that the complaints referred to are those specifically related to and covered by i) the Freedom of information Act . ii) the Data Protection Act iii)The official BJPC Complaints procedure The introduction this policy was supposed the answer to two residents in particular supposedly asking an increased number of questions of the BJPC 8) July 2009 During this month, I requested and was given access to the BJPC accounts. My particular interest for many months had been and still is the High Cost of running the Poplars - I was most interested in the Poplars Booking Procedure and related income and cost. I was given access to the Poplars Booking Diary. (This was the normal ongoing daily diary), the entries and accompanying information was surprising sketchy, to say the leas., There was definitely NO X-referencing ( confirmed by another resident inspecting the same material immediately after my own inspection) The Clerk who is also the Responsible Financial Officer for the BJPC and the Chairman of the Parish Council should certainly have been aware of “in-place” systems and procedures, particularly for the one facility which actually consumes approx 50% of the Council‘s total expenditure ( the actual labour costs associated with this facility are still NOT known or logged and can only be guesstimated even with the constant questioning at recent Annual Parish Meetings - surely a neglect by both the Council and the Responsible Financial Officer . 9) August BJPC summer recess 10) September 2009 Burton Joyce Online once again mailed the BJPC requesting justification for the contents of the BJPC Committee minutes posted in May and June of this year 11a) November 03/11/09. At the BJPC meeting agenda minute 10 -iii -i “To agree retrospectively arrangements re Gala Committee summer BBQ’s” It was discovered late in 2008 by the Clerk and the Council’s own internal audit team that the use of the Poplars for regular summer BBQ’s by the 3 Villages Gala Committee was unsanctioned/unauthorised by the BJPC. Furthermore this unsanctioned use, was known and allowed to continue further through-out this 2009 summer . It is obvious that the Clerk, the Chairman Cllr Potter, Cllr Cluff (also the Chairman of the 3 Villages Gala Committee), Cllr Greenfield ( also the Treasurer of the 3 Villages Gala Committee) were aware of this situation and were party to allowing the situation to continue for a further summer period. We ask why it has taken a full 12 months to bring this issue to the Council for action?. At the relevant point in the Council meeting it took just 1 minute for the Councillors present to accept and approve the retrospective approval. Approval given, without any discussion, censure or warning as to future conduct of the Councillors concerned. ( this approval was lead by Cllr Blandamer). I also understand that any preferential use of the Poplars, is conditional on the BJPC having access to “sight of the relevant financial accounts“ of all concerns receiving discounted or free usage of the Poplars facility. Our information is that this simple standard required procedure has not been fulfilled relative to the 3 Villages Gala committee I also query at this point 1) whether the satisfactory “Risk Procedure” was in place for these unauthorised Poplars events ( facilitating storage of gas cylinders used by the BBQ equipment) and 2) Whether satisfactory insurance cover was in place and 3) Whether relevant Food Hygiene Certificates were issued and displayed 4).Who actually paid the Cleaner for their work after each of these events - (the Licencee and/or the BJPC) Evidently this practise of the 3 Villages Gala Committee staging Summer BBQ’s will NOT continue into 2010, - for in Cllr Cluff’s words “it is not viable” - 11b)5th November 2009 the BJ Parish Council sent a letter confirming they had unanimously resolved that I had met the criteria of being guilty of habitual and vexatious complaints under Schedule A sections 2,5,10 and 11.of their policy The BJPC Chairman , Councillors and Clerk really do need inspect and closely refer to their own H & V C policy, for section 1.3 is the relevant and important clause which clearly states.. .. “The term complaint in this policy includes requests made under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 and the Data Protection Act 1998 and reference to the complaints procedure is, where relevant, to be interpreted as meaning requests under those Acts” Therefore - the Schedule A sections 2,5,10 and 11.of the Councils H&VC policy, to which the BJPC refer as their reason for my censure is NOT RELEVANT - (I have already informed the BJPC of this situation , not surprisingly , without any acknowledgement) I have made only ONE request under the Freedom of Information Act ( seeking a sight of 3 resignation letters I have NOT made any request under the Data Protection Act I have NOT made any request under the Council’s own compliant s procedure This shows there has been an abuse in BJPC’s procedure, an abuse agreed by all of those in office and present at the “ in camera” meeting held on 03/11/09, I believe those present to be Cllr Potter, Cllr Cluff, Cllr Bilan, Cllr Blandamer, Cllr Greenfield, Cllr Welton, Cllr Hyde, Cllr Gale and the Council Clerk . CONCLUSION With due consideration to all the above noted - I therefore call for an explanation, remedial action and apology from those responsible for carrying out their responsibilities ( over the 11 months of 2009 ) without due care and diligence If there are any points which are proven as made in error then I will have no hesitation in immediately recanting and apologising for the misrepresentation here online - .-------------------------
BJPC “Judge and Jury” - in secret trial behind close doors - at the Carnarvon Rooms 03/11/09 - Note the complete article with ALL Parts will be posted in instalments within this HOT GOSSIP article with the next days PART ONE, with PART TWO, PART THREE, PART FOUR, PART FIVE Each BJ Parish Councillor should already be aware of the following - Why? Because Councillors should be constantly aware that any action taken in the name of the council are the responsibility of them all (even if they are not at the meeting) and they can be sued/surcharged for illegal or irresponsible activities. (This does not include the Clerk because the Clerk is understood to act under the instruction of the Council) -------------------------------- Earlier this year following my request to the BJ Parish Council ( under the Freedom of Information Act) for the sight of 3 Councillors Resignations, the Parish Council adopted a Habitual or Vexatious Complainants Policy. This policy was introduced to limit the number of requets made under the Freedom of Information Act, Data Protection Act and the complaints procedure ( ref- 1.3 of the policy) to a level manageable to the parish council. ( two hours a month.) I have made ONE request under the Freedom of Information Act. I have NOT made any requests under the Data Protection Act. I have NOT referred any matters to the complaints procedure. However I have now been served with a notice under this policy following the secret trial held by the Council without my knowledge . Under this notice, the Parish Council has listed me in their Black Book and tells me that it will refuse to respond to any further correspondence with me In their letter serving this notice, there is no reference to the number of requests for information or complaints I have made. Instead the letter refers to entries on my website with which the Parish Council disagrees. It is using the “H and V Policy” to bully and intimidate me, not because of the number of requests for information I have made but because it does not like what BJ Online says. My comments on my website are based on direct observation and evidence, checked at source and collaborated wherever possible. I continually invite the Parish Council to put their views on various issues within BJ Online but the offers are not taken up. - I should clearly state that I am only interested in informing and involving the community getting at the truth and improving things in BJ. for everyone --------------- PART TWO For many months now BJ Online has openly questioned several of the decisions and attitudes of individual Councillors. The reason for our queries were and is the obvious lack in their understanding of our community’s opinion, needs and desires, plus the absolute necessity for a truthful, open, transparent Parish administration. Regretfully, earlier this year several the published BJPC Minutes included remarks which we at BJ Online failed to recognise, understand and accept. I queried the validity of these adverse comments with the BJPC who has avoided providing precise answers to the queries on every occasion we have submitted a request . As a result of my persistence, requesting adequate responses, the BJPC is now refusing to correspond further with me - Is this “open and transparent government” ? - I think not In the letter from the BJPC they quote - “it is unreasonable to expect us - or any council for that matter - to monitor individual websites, blogs, post for style, content or accuracy on a regular basis”. The Parish Council feels that it would be reasonable to assume from , what we perceive to be your open obsessive and hostile stance, that any attempt to justify our position would not be treated fairly and would not resolve the issue to anyone’s satisfaction.. However the Parish Council concluded that it should provide you with just 3 examples taken from many others to illustrate our view First of all We question the broadness of this comment - As a BJ resident of many years standing, I and many of my acquaintances and readers , avidly consume all information BJ, news feeds etc and read the BJPC website daily. Why is it therefore that the BJPC and individual Councillors appear hesitant or cannot regularly read and familiarise themselves with BJ items in the local press and within our BJ community website/blog -? It certainly is NOT unreasonable to expect each one of our BJ Parish Councillors in particular, our Borough and County Councillors to keep themselves up-to-date and familiar with local news and opinion of their electorate and to ascertain the actual truth or otherwise of local online postings Secondly we post the 3 examples “1) A recent article listing “ High cost and low use of the Poplars Sports Ground” was biased and flawed on its use of the facts. You under reported the usage of the Poplars by nearly two thirds ie 389 events as you only included casual bookings and did not take into account the regular, contracted us- eg junior football, archery cricket and bowls “2) Your article on “Why do parish councillors keep leaving” included defamatory comments about the BJPC and failed to give a balance account - even though you had been provided with not only 3 of the councillor’s letters of resignation , but also the Parish Council’s letters of response which clearly indicated that there was an alternative view. “3) Your article on the review of the Poplars booking diary was fundamentally flawed in that you failed to report that each entry in the diary had an associated booking form/invoice number assigned to it which corresponded to a completed booking form/invoice with all of the relevant information you claimed to be missing. Even though you were given free and open access to all this information when you attended this office were provided with a full explanation of the system and were invited to ask further questions if you had not fully understood this. You also called into question the competence and professional opinion of a qualified internal auditor who expressed his independent view - after full consideration of the facts and evidence - that the “system was robust and no errors identified”A continuation of this text with the precise details and history of these incidents will be posted in serial form over the next days, . The BJPC ( Chairman Cllr Potter) claims are astounding in their inaccuracy and are a clear illustration confirming the absence of the briefist of knowledge of BJ Online postings An absence of knowledge by himself and the majority of the BJPC members and Clerk has been instrumental in the present deterioration of our relationship. The Chairman did say in an open BJPC meeting in April of this year, that he was at that time unfamilar with the internet technology. It would appear the comments in the above 3 examples clearly illustrate this. Having to rely with information supplied by others, invariable leaves him totally exposed to inaccuracies and biased attitudes. The Parts 3,4 & 5 of these postings will clearly illustrate that Cllr Potter should seriously consider his own suitablity and credibility to continue in fulfilling the role of BJ Parish Council Chairman. He should therefore resign immediately, for it places tremendous doubt as to his personal ability to administer and supervise the Councils stated interest to operate in an "Open and Transparent" manner ---------- PART 3 I will now deal in detail and individually with the 3 subjects/concerns provided by the BJPC in their recent letter ( these subjects are new, never raised before and certainly NOT the subject of my ongoing queries with them ). I should be perplexed as to, why has it taken the BJPC four full months after the original dates of the “alleged” postings. Not so! I believe the BJPC Chairman realise they cannot justify the content they included within the earlier BJPC and Committee minutes - so they are now trying to "recolour the picture" by raising these following additional points - unfortunately without taking care and attention in researching the contents Number 1 “1) A recent article listing “ High cost and low use of the Poplars Sports Ground” was biased and flawed on its use of the facts. You under reported the usage of the Poplars by nearly two thirds ie 389 events as you only included casual bookings and did not take into account the regular, contracted us- eg junior football, archery cricket and bowls “ The above article claimed by the BJPC as their example is gross misinformation This below is a copy of the original posting within BJ Online’s “Forum beta” - Submitted by “Julie ON” “I have been disturbed by the fact that there has been so much dispute and ill-informed debate about the parish council and its affairs in the village and through BJ OnLine. It would be much better if residents acquainted themselves with the facts.
Residents can ask the council for information at any time; their new website will eventually provide much of the basic information on-line.
Also, each year, when the accounts for the previous year have been finalised, there is an opportunity for residents to inspect the accounts and raise any queries with the council or the auditor. A notice has been exhibited on the Parish Council notice board recently advertising this. Anyone who is interested in examining the accounts and any associated documentation has until 24 July to do this.
I have taken up this opportunity, and I hope that the following facts from the Council’s records will nail, once and for all, the continuing arguments about how much the Poplars is used, and by whom.
How many football teams does the Junior Football Club have? Records show that in 2008/9 the Junior Football Club had one senior team, 6 junior teams, 3 mini-teams, 1 group of 5/6 year olds
How much is the Poplars used?
Records show the following occasions of usage. It is not always possible to establish from the bookings records whether the booking is for the pavilion or the sports field or both, how long the booking is for, how many pitches are involved in an individual booking, or whether a booking was cancelled . Consequently this listing may not be completely accurate but I am advised that no other records are available, so it is the best data available ***.(we use this comment and information in our response to the example Number 3 also)
Archery 6.
Bowls 29. The Clerk has advised that the bookings records for the bowls may not be accurate.
Cricket 20.
Junior Cricket 8.
Senior Football 18.
Junior Football 23.
Gala 7.
Village Plan 3.
Parish Council 12.
Private bookings 18.
There was activity of some kind at the Poplars on 120 days during the year. Activities ranged from short committee meetings in the pavilion to full days using the pavilion and substantial parts of the sports field.” This is definitely NOT what the BJPC claim as the content posted within BJ Online in their last and final correspondence to me.. .. .. I really wonder do why ? .. or do I ****? PART 4 Number 2 2) Your article on “Why do parish councillors keep leaving” included defamatory comments about the BJPC and failed to give a balance account - even though you had been provided with not only 3 of the councillor’s letters of resignation , but also the Parish Council’s letters of response which clearly indicated that there was an alternative view. The letter from the BJPC does not state that I had to invoke the “Freedom of Information Act” to obtain sight of the letters of resignation, nor did they state that I did not request sight of the Council’s responses (which they sent and I chose NOT to publish - for my advise was NOT to publish, as I could be accused of complicity possible libel action which may follow.) In the posting I did make reference to the open letter of appreciation from Cllr Potter- published in the April issue of the Parish Magazine - I will once again include this “Open Letter” with due reference and appreciation to the original published in the April 2009 issue of BJ Parish Magazine Burton Joyce Parish Council With due reference to the origination published in the Parish Magazine I once again post An appreciation - I would like to take this opportunity to note and thank two of its most active members for their valuable work on its behalf. Cllr Julie O’Neill and her husband Brian have decided to step down at the end of this month. Julie has contributed her considerable expertise and experience to the Parish Council during the two years she has been a member. As Chair of the Planning Committee and Vice-Chair of the Finance and General Purposes Committee she has brought clarity and much needed order to their running. She has also acted as the Parish Council’s expert on Flood being responsible for researching and preparing a report on the village’s flooding experience in 2006, preparing a flood emergency leaflet and acting as Flood and Emergency Warden.. Amongst other work she has undertaken for the Council are a communication s working part, a village traffic flow survey and a bid for funding to improve The Grove. She as also taken the lead in examining consultation documents received by the Parish Council and has been of inestimable value in supporting and providing practical help to our new Parish Clerk during her first year. Likewise Brian as brought a fresh approach to the Sports ground Committee during the few months he has been a Member. They will be greatly missed by both the Parish Council and the electorate, who I am sure would like to join in wishing them the very best for the future Cllr Richard Potter - Burton Joyce Parish Council This Open Letter needs to be considered in context of the time element ( this “Open Letter” was published BEFORE the 3 Councillor resignation letters were actually sent and received ) I guess this letter introduces some confusion/doubt in the relationship and interactivity of the individual council members prior to the 3 resignations particularly as The three resigning Councillors were and are local residents of impeccable character and integrity ie Julie O'Neill is a mature, professionally qualified individual, experienced in research and detailed investigation. Julie was voted onto the BJPC in 2007 by the electorate Brian O'Neill is a mature professionally qualified engineer, well versed and experiences in investigating and studying the detail of projects.- co-opted to the BJPC in 2008 Mrs M Dixon is a mature experience individual with the experience of serving on high profile committees as both Chairman and Vice-Chairman for 40 years of her life and also being a retired Tribunal Judge - co-opted to the BJPC in 2008 For a further sight of the content of these three letters of Resignation Click the Link Why do our Councillors keep leaving I will leave readers to form there own opinions on the above . I know my own opinion of the consequences of the content of these revelations, yet remain puzzled as to why the BJPC does not publish there own responses the the Resignation letters ( will they, like me, have to invoke the Freedom of Information Act ?) PART 5 Number 3 “3) Your article on the review of the Poplars booking diary was fundamentally flawed in that you failed to report that each entry in the diary had an associated booking form/invoice number assigned to it which corresponded to a completed booking form/invoice with all of the relevant information you claimed to be missing. Even though you were given free and open access to all this information when you attended this office were provided with a full explanation of the system and were invited to ask further questions if you had not fully understood this. You also called into question the competence and professional opinion of a qualified internal auditor who expressed his independent view - after full consideration of the facts and evidence - that the “system was robust and no errors identified” My response to this - is that my comments remain as posted and that I categorically confirm my original statements that the Booking information in the “Diary” I was given to inspect on that day, did NOT - repeat did NOT have the additions suggested above within the BJPC statement . I will go further , the Diary I inspected that day was taken from me at one point and passed by the Clerk (by hand) to another resident inspecting the BJPC accounts at the same time as myself, only some 8/10 feet away. My observations - re the Poplars Booking Diary - have subsequently been confirmed and collaborated by this BJ resident who has an impeccable reputation and unchallenged integrity. ****Refer to points also made in Number 1 ****! My observations were as follows 1) The entry is completed without stating the name of the individual booking person, 2) Without showing a relevant Booking Reference number ( for later X -referencing to an Invoice). 3) Without stating the actual activity booked. 4) Without booking an anticipated time/duration period. 5) Without a quoted cost. 6) Without issuing a numbered invoice/receipt for deposit received. 7) Without the later confirmation that the activity actually booked, really did occurred at the time place and within the time frame actually, before a final X reference invoice is issued These “SEVEN without s” must result in the overall booking system being just about as watertight as a sieve - with the possibility of - inadvertent, unintentional/intentional omissions which are difficult if not impossible to be checked and balanced by X -referencing or later inspections How can the system be robust and no errors identified if information entered in the diary does not have all the necessary “checks and balances” to verify every entry ?. What about an entry which may have been inadvertently omitted or overlooked - How can this be possibly picked up ? I did add to my initial posting in the BJPC that If the system is “robust” as stated, then I must have overlooked or missed details of vital and significant importance, during my 2 hour inspection of the present BJPC accounting system - If this is so and the checks and balances are actually in place , then I missed them - If this is so then I will certainly unreservedly, apologise and recant immediately. - Finally I will remind the BJPC that I will not be going away, nor can I be bullied and intimidated from posting my opinions and findings within BJ Online I will continue to review, research and report all things BJ irrespective of the BJPC or individual Councillor opinions. I will also add, that come the 2009/10Financial Year End, I will once again be inspecting the BJPC Accounts, in much greater depth than 2008/9 year. I will be looking for the improvement in the recording of actual details, events and time sheets as predicted by the PC Clerk -- --
The Turbine meeting at the Village Hall - 19th November 2009(approx 150<200 of the community estimated at 4000 were present) The meeting had 3 static displays BJPC, STW, and a recently created community organisation Re- Volt - For those unaware, Re-Volt is a recently created Community group against Wind Turbines in BJ - It is obviously opposed to the official pre-planning application by STW. The meeting was attended by approx 150 residents ( which with the finance invested in promotion etc was not surprising.) My own initial reaction was not good - for the meeting was to be chaired by Cllr Potter the Chairman of the BJPC -a Chairman -with little or no presence, no personality , a mumbling example of a Chairman - without the capability to tightly hold proceedings and control a room full of confident mature villages baying for the communication and empathy of local government administrations . The meeting did not get off to a good start for me, with the Chairman’s advising the meeting that it the would only last for 2 hours - because of the hard bottomed chairs. - and that he was taking a preliminary vote of the consensus of the meeting prior to any presentation or discussion and a further vote at the end of the meeting. Also there would NOT be questions from the floor which concerned “Renewable energy, Climate change or Carbon footprints”. Without going into too much detail, because the STW admitted that the proposal is still not set in concrete , even the number and height/specification of the wind turbines supposedly has not been decided upon. This announcement made a mockery of the actual need for a meeting at this time and knocked all the “Pro and Anti” lobbyists for "six" - for there was and is no substance to debate at present, - whether or not, this is "political manoeuvring" by STW, or a too hastily called meeting by the BJPC, is questionable I must say in conclusion that there was certain observations and opinions brought forward by the community which do merit considerations ie noise and sun flicker, however at this point in time, because the Planned installation has yet to have substance added, there was and is little “ meat on the bone“ to debate - because of this fact, the presentation by the BJPC and Re-Volt had little real relevance. However The meeting lost all structure and control at the question time a) with a complete lack of consideration by the Chair to the selection of questions from the floor, b) a structured procedure for the answers of questions required of the actual speakers c) control of the interjection by a County Councillor who continued to interject and commandered the microphone from the speakers answering questions from the floor - Quite frankly this was a disgrace and the beginning of some chaos - ( by this time the hard bottomed chair had got to the “rear-end” of the Chairman who by now was permanently standing “in a world of his own,” completely out of control. Many of the residents where annoyed and agitated at the lack of community communication calling for a Referendum on the subject, even raising the current Bus Plug progress and issue as an example . In conclusion I should add that my own stance has changed to “undecided” , with a questioning of the incentive finance system available from the Government for companies installing renewable energy systems. Just as important though is the fact is that the vast majority of residents at the meeting were members of the SILENT MAJORITY Incidentally there was an over whelming majority against the Wind Turbines at the beginning and end of the meeting, . The weakness of a meeting of this type is that the village population is numbered at approx at 4000 with some 70% ( approx 2800 being over 30 years old ). Therefore approximately 3800 did not or could not attend. the meeting . Alternatively, is it that 3800 - the balance in numbers - is a signal that these in the community are “not concerned, have no strong opinion either way, or cannot actually get to the Village Hall at the date and time stated ”
Although we at BJO can and do understand/appreciate our community's concern, particularly with the noise element of a possible installation, it is most important that we all see the Proposed Wind Turbines at Stoke Bardolph against the larger backdrop of the Governements financial incentives for carbon reduction and the renewable energy projects available to the major companies which may just overide their interest in the community's welfare The main crux of this proposal, most of us will have always assumed, is to reduce our planets dependence on fossil fuels and assist in restricting the deterioration in the planets ozone layer . There are many more alternatives other than Wind Turbine installations available to a strong Government - there are more significant impacts much nearer home in their own establishments , ie good housekeeping - switching off unnecessary lighting , limiting central heating levels , more use of video conferencing, curtailing all unnecessary travel, expenses and allowances - particularly within the European Parliamentary Administration and Structure. The savings can achieve staggering levels to every member nation, individually and collectively We should also be aware of the "Hand-outs" available ( via the Government ) to the major companies who "justify" the installation of Wind Turbines and renewable energy installations onshore and offshore here within the UK and the penalties we locals are expected to accept/tolerate in the process - We should ensure our voices are heard strong and loud at every level of administration, for there are more sensible alternative ways of achieving their goals, other than throwing finance raised thro our taxes at them
Here is a suggestion Is it not about time that Burton Joyce Parish Council had an independently, community elected Leader rather than continuing with the obvious cosy “ you propose me and I’ll propose you” mentality which appears to exist in many administrations ?. It is not about about time we had a strong minded, independent, non biased, progressive, leader, who will introduce the sensible, yet fair, change and control of the overall BJPC attitude, expenditure, costs, and revenue, together with creating the cohesion and exploitation of individual council membersw attributes and experiences, for we need to provide a more equitable service to the total breadth of our community . I realise that this may be difficult and upset certain individuals yet with a little lateral thinking, and the cooperation needed for change a better system should be achieveable Why is it that our Parish Councils do NOT adopt similar portfolio responsibilities as central government, for example finance, environment, planning, transport ( roads and parking) social services ( including facilities and activities for each age group school age, teenagers, young, singles and couples, parents. Matures, seniors, handicapped etc, leisure, allotments ). The existing sub committees could still exist, however by introducing personal and individual portfolio responsibilities hopefully greater more equitable and more detailed attention to the needs of minority groups. A system such as is suggested here could also benefit and ensure greater detailand substance is available to the existing committees of "Amenities, Finance & General Purposes", "Poplars", "Planning" As part of a restructuring the communication the “out of date” info on the website should always be attended to promptly, ie. Meeting Minutes should be available within 7 days of the actual meeting - in preference to the wholesale propaganda which presently ensues All this is just a thought and a possible solution for inprovement -
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