£50k for the Bay

Yes folks, it's free money time!

The People's Millions people have £50,000 to give away, and we're up against Ellington Park in Ramsgate. The winner is decided by the number of phone-in votes, which will cost you 10p. You can vote up to 10 times - I don't know why this should be, but rules is rules.

Call 0871 626 8861 before midnight today (26th) to vote for Herne Bay in the People's Millions.

If you would like to help on voting day (handing out leaflets, encouraging people to vote and so on) call 07540 392 916.

View fullsize

View fullsize

Beach Hut Charges - have your say

Our beloved Council is reviewing the way it charges people for having huts on the public beach. Apparently they have had legal advice that the current arrangements fall short of best practice. This document spells out the background, and the proposed new charges.

In a nutshell, the rents go up, there's no discount for being a local or for being a long-term owner, and the cost of selling a beach hut goes down. There's a suggestion that these changes be phased in over two years.

The Council is asking three main questions:

1. What do you think of the proposed Beach hut rents for 2014/15?
2. Do you think the market rent should be introduced fully in 2014/15 or phased over two years?
3. What are your views on allowing beach hut owners to sub-let their beach hut?

This consultation is open to all residents (not just hutters or community groups), so if you have an opinion one way or the other, do be sure to let your Council know.

Visible Policing - have your say

Invitation to attend 'Saving Visible Community Policing' conference - Friday 6th December.

It is our pleasure to invite you to our 'Saving Visible Community Policing' conference on the morning of Friday the 6th December 2013 at the Kent Police College, Coverdale Avenue, Maidstone, ME15 9DW. This is a real opportunity for you to have your say on the next round of funding cuts and to debate the impact on policing in the county.

You may be all too familiar with the stresses and strains of resourcing and funding cuts on our vital public services. Crime and public safety are of utmost importance to our communities, families and friends. Therefore, when making key decisions, we want to ensure that we consult as widely and in-depth as possible.  That's where we need you.

As a resident of Kent, you play a part in keeping our community safe and quite rightly you should have a say in the future of policing in the county. That's why we are particularly keen to have your input and considered views on the next round of policing cuts, including the possible impact on visible community policing.

The event will set out a number of scenarios and options and it's a chance to get everyone involved in shaping the future of Kent's policing. We hope you will take up this invaluable opportunity to speak to both of us by attending our event.

So please find out more here and book your place today.

Budget = Cuts

Council bosses say increasing income and prioritising "core services" will be their focus as they battle with another cut in government grants. Parking charges will rise and the district's share of council tax will go up by the maximum two per cent allowed (unless a local referendum takes place) as officials try to balance Canterbury City Council's (CCC) budget.

The authority must slash £5.5 million by 2017-18, in addition to £4 million already found through savings from schemes including shutting Herne Bay, Whitstable and Canterbury Heritage museums for winter.

Although the amount of central Government grant to be awarded will not be formally announced until next month, CCC expects a cut of 13 per cent for 2014-15 – a reduction of £1.3 million from £10.2million to £8.9 million.

For the year 2015-16 the authority expects a further reduction of 16 per cent, taking the grant down to £7.5 million. Additional reductions are forecast at nine per cent for 2016-17 and ten per cent for 2017-18.

Council services have been ranked in order of importance to help work out where money should be spent and where savings can be made, but city council chief executive Colin Carmichael warned tough decisions lie ahead. He said:

"It is a very significant reduction and we can't just carry on doing things the same way. We have to work out what our core business is. There is no way to just carry on squeezing everything and trying to find the extra savings. It will not work. Within the next few years, councillors have to make a decision on what we won't do any more."

Consultation on the new proposals will start after they have been discussed by members of the council's ruling executive committee tonight (Thursday 7th Nov). They include raising parking charges in some city centre car parks by 20p an hour, and increasing the authority's proportion of the council tax by two per cent, or about 7p a week for a Band D property. The hike would bring in an extra £170,000 a year.

Officials can boost income by making sure planned new homes are built, earning a portion of the Government's new homes bonus. There is also rental income from Whitefriars shopping centre and other property, including the Military Road offices left empty by staff cuts. But Mr Carmichael warned that services would be affected:

"If people care enough about their local services they will get involved and they can find different ways of doing things. It has already worked with the Westgate Hall and it could work elsewhere. We also need managers within the council to come up with creative ways to reduce costs and increase income."

No large-scale redundancy programme is planned, but vacant posts may not be filled and each department will continue to be reviewed. Each service has been set a 20 per cent savings target between now and 2016. Cuts could also be made to the civic office, with the Lord Mayor undertaking fewer engagements. The council may also now charge for any house or street renaming services. Council leader John Gilbey said:

"The world of local government funding has now changed forever. We have to accept that there is less money available."

thisiskent 7th November 2013

MOD Shoeburyness - Forthcoming Activity Alert 18-27 November 2013

Detailed below is advance notification of activities which may be noticed in your neighbourhood. All of the limitations and stipulations outlined below apply.

*Date *

Reason for Notification

18 November 2013

Explosions may be noticed.

19, 20, 21 November 2013

Gunfire and Explosions may be noticed, 08:00.

22 November 2013

Explosions may be noticed.

Some Public Right of Way routes will remain closed overnight.

23 & 24 November 2013

Some Public Right of Way routes will remain closed.

25 & 26 November 2013

Gunfire may be noticed.

27 November 2013

Gunfire and Explosions may be noticed.

Note:

Local Gunfire = Gunfire that is likely to be noticed only by communities close to MOD Shoeburyness.

Gunfire = Gunfire that may be noticed by communities in the vicinity of the Thames Estuary.

Explosions = Explosions that may be noticed by communities in the vicinity of the Thames Estuary.

MOD SHOEBURYNESS WEBSITE

This information was correct at the time of publishing. The most accurate and up to date information can be found on the MOD Shoeburyness website at www.shoeburyness.qinetiq.com, why not visit and save it to your favourites for quick access.

I hope that you find this information useful. Please feel free to pass it on to your neighbours.

Pier news: decking to be replaced for £140k

More than 700 square metres of the timber decking that surrounds the central tarmac area on Herne Bay pier will be replaced in a project costing around £140,000.

Inspections have shown that while the pier's substructure is sound, the timber runners and decking are not in such good condition and have deteriorated since the pavilion was removed. The area around the seaward end has been closed off for safety reasons, but the repairs will mean it can reopen.

The council's Executive member for Herne Bay pier, Cllr Jean Law, said the work would ensure the pier will continue to be an asset for the town. She added:

"The future for the pier is looking really bright, with the success of the new beach hut village and some great events that have taken place this year – and more to come in the run-up to Christmas. We are also hoping for some exciting proposals to come through from potential operators of the main deck area. We're very pleased to be getting this work done to the decking out of peak season so that disruption is kept to a minimum and hope people like the end result."

The 12 village beach huts will remain open for business throughout the work and hut tenants are asking for the continued support of customers. The popular helter-skelter is scheduled to return for Christmas clad in lights and there will be additional children's stalls.

Santa will be at the business fair in Mortimer Street on the first weekend in December and then on the pier each weekend until Christmas, and the Pier Trust is organising German-style market stalls at the pier entrance each weekend in December. Charity groups or traders wanting a space should email david.mccormick@tiscali.co.uk

Chairman of the Pier Trust, Doreen Stone, said:

"The trust is delighted that the extensive renovation of the wood on and beneath the pier by the city council is starting and will be fully cooperating with the engineers while this work takes place. We're looking forward to weeks of activities in the lead-up to Christmas, so come and join in the fun and support your pier."

CCC website

Beach hut owners to start paying market rent

Canterbury City Council is seeking views on future charging arrangements for beach huts. Ongoing tenancy negotiations with Beach Hut Owners' Associations prompted the council to seek external legal advice on its position. As a result, a number of changes are being made to beach hut tenancies and the associated fees.

The council's barrister provided very clear legal advice that it is obliged to run its beach huts on a commercial basis and charge a market rent at the earliest opportunity – which is when the new tenancy agreement comes in to effect on 1 April 2014. Otherwise the council would not be acting in the best interest of general tax payers living in the district.

Operating commercially means that the council can no longer offer a reduced rate to residents of Canterbury district compared to non-residents, or offer the long term discount to owners who have had a hut for more than 15 years.

The council must also stop charging hut owners a 'supplementary rental fee' of five times annual rent should they sell their hut. This had been applied to try and keep annual rents down. However, instead of applying this charge (of anywhere between £1,380 and £1,840), the council will now only charge an administration fee of £463 to hut vendors to cover staff costs.

To ensure that the market rent is set fairly and independently, the council appointed an external valuation office to make that assessment. This work was carried out for the council by DVS, who operate on behalf of HM Customs and Revenue and who used rent levels at over 50 other comparative sites, amongst other information, to calculate the market value.

So pretty, so welcoming.

The current 2013/14 fees are £276 in Herne Bay and £368 in Tankerton per year. Subletting is not currently allowed and the cost of selling a hut is between £1380 and £1840.

DVS have advised that for 2013/14, the annual market rent for Herne Bay should be £475 and Tankerton should be £650 – payable by all hut owners. If subletting is allowed, the market rent increases by 20%. However, the cost of selling a hut would be reduced to £463.

The council is aware that the annual increases will be difficult for some beach hut owners. To help make this easier, the council is considering applying the move to market rents over the maximum acceptable period of two years – views on this are being sought as part of the consultation.

The consultation is also asking for views on the market rent set by DVS and whether sub-letting should be allowed or not. The matter will be considered by the Overview and Executive committees in December.

Chief Executive Colin Carmichael said:

"Having received the barrister's clear advice, the council has a statutory duty to comply."

Executive member for foreshore services, Cllr Peter Vickery-Jones, said:

"I am genuinely unhappy that we are having to put these proposals forward. We are mindful of how difficult this will be for some beach hut owners and we have done our level best to lessen the impact as much as possible.

However, we are obliged to take note of the advice given and I hope that owners will understand our position. I am keenly interested to hear responses to the consultation and these will be seriously considered in our debate."

More information and details about how to respond to the consultation can be found HERE.

CCC website

Council Priorities: where will the axe fall?

Now we can all play Predict-a-Cut™ - it's as easy as 1-2-3!

1. Download a copy of the Council's priorities in handy spreadsheet format.
   
2. Tinker with the little buttons on the column headings to sort and filter the list. 
3. See which functions you think are most likely for the chop, and share your thoughts with the rest of the world using the comments below. 

Please note: statutory services must be carried out somehow, even if on a shoestring. Discretionary services can be cut altogether.

To get you started, here's a list of the Discretionary services and functions, sorted by budget... so sharpen your axe and get chopping!

View fullsize

---

HBM

Council Priorities: where will the axe fall?

11 years ago

The Council's priorities. Theirs, not ours.

11 years ago

Council's priorities not secret, not confidential, just rubbish

11 years ago

Council's priorities aren't secret - they're confidential!

11 years ago

Our Council's secret priorities

11 years ago

The Council's priorities. Theirs, not ours.

Here's the list in handy spreadsheet format, and here's the much less helpful PDF format file provided by our Council.

Well, here it is at last - the list that was compiled in secret and kept under wraps for as long as possible. It's curiously instructive to see just how misguided and skewed CCC's priorities seem to be:

• The Marlowe Theatre (5) ranks above Coast Protection (23).
• The Beaney Museum (7) ranks above Herne Bay Regeneration (49). 
• Marketing and Communications (14) ranks above Homelessness (40).
• The Roman Museum (21) ranks above running Elections (67) .
• District Life magazine (34) ranks above Public Health (63).
• ... and so it goes on. 

So, how did we end up with this nonsense? It would appear to be the result of a chain of errors and failings.

The first and most fundamental problem is the Council's lack of clear purpose. As business jargon and management-speak has infected many aspects of everyday life, it has become fashionable to have a "vision" or "mission statement". Put simply, this is having a clear and agreed answer to the question - what are we here for?  Our Council doesn't appear to have a clear understanding of its purpose.

The next problem arises when the Council tries to identify how to achieve its (unstated) purpose. The 10 Pledges that appeared in the 2011-2016 Corporate Plan are a mixture of "nice to have" and political expediency. They are not guided or unified by a clear purpose, nor do they take account of the Council's statutory obligations... which creates the next layer of problems.

A handful of officers and councillors used the 10 Pledges to assess the value of 70 varied Council functions, and then prioritise them.  Given our Council's instinct for secrecy, we will probably never know who was involved, or how they arrived at each score. We will never get an explanation as to why the Beaney scores 5/10 for Health and Wellbeing, but Food and Occupational Health only scores 1/10 for Health and Wellbeing. The lack of logic, and transparency, fatally undermines this system of scoring.

This fatal flaw in scoring is literally multiplied by the weighting factors applied to the 10 Pledges. Again, we don't know, and will never know, how or why these weightings were arrived at.

Finally, we have the folly of mixing statutory and discretionary functions in the priority list. If a function if statutory (i.e. the Council is legally obliged to do it), it is completely irrelevant how it fares in the Council's quirky scoring system - there's simply no point in including it.

If you download the spreadsheet of Priorities, you can filter out the statutory functions and see what's left. These are the (only) things that our Council can cut, and inevitably the big ticket items will be the most tempting.

---

HBM

Council Priorities: where will the axe fall?

11 years ago

The Council's priorities. Theirs, not ours.

11 years ago

Council's priorities not secret, not confidential, just rubbish

11 years ago

Council's priorities aren't secret - they're confidential!

11 years ago

Our Council's secret priorities

11 years ago

Council's priorities not secret, not confidential, just rubbish

The city council has finally published its league table of services as it lays the ground for further budget cuts and savings.

It has put the controversial Local Plan, in which more than 15,000 new homes are planned for the district, atop the pile, with the cost of running democracy second and development management third.

Culture in Canterbury also features highly with the Marlowe Theatre at five out of 70, the Beaney at seven and the Roman Museum at 21. Meanwhile, rubbish collections are ranked 28 and public toilets are 53.

The lowest scored services were elections, archives and the council's obligations under the Freedom of Information Act.

Executive members and senior officers drew up the table as the council prepares to lose 45% of its income by 2017.

It means certain services and staff will face the axe. Mr Carmichael will go into greater details with officers at the staff conference on November 14. In his letter to council workers, chief executive Colin Carmichael said:

"All this information is being used in our star chambers to think about whether we need to continue to deliver these services and, if we do, whether to do so at the current cost level."

The table was created by rating each service out of 10 against each of the council's 10 pledges on its corporate plan. These have titles such as economy, safety, homes, culture, health and well-being, and young people.

Questions may be asked about those ratings after the Marlowe Theatre received 4/10 for health and well-being and the mayor's office received 3/10 in every single category, including housing, safety and protecting the environment.

The Conservative controlled authority came under fire earlier in the year after it created the list but refused to let anyone see it.

Cllr Alex Perkins, the leader of the opposition Lib Dem group, believes the people of the district should have been allowed to rate the services they use. He said:

"If the council are going to determine funding according to a league table of priorities then they should be local residents' priorities. not council leader John Gilbey's. Why don't the council ask people to give their own scores and actually prioritise what local residents want for a change."

The league table is published in the agenda for the executive meeting at the Guildhall tonight (7th November).

HB Gazette 7th November 2013

HBM

Council Priorities: where will the axe fall?

11 years ago

The Council's priorities. Theirs, not ours.

11 years ago

Council's priorities not secret, not confidential, just rubbish

11 years ago

Council's priorities aren't secret - they're confidential!

11 years ago

Our Council's secret priorities

11 years ago

Council's priorities aren't secret - they're confidential!

Definition of secret: not known or seen or not meant to be known or seen by others. Definition of confidential: intended to be kept secret.  [Oxford Dictionaries online] 

Who does Cllr Gilbey think he's kidding? 

---

Canterbury City Council is one of the most democratic local authorities in the country, claims leader John Gilbey. He hit out after the Kentish Gazette reported that the council had drawn up a league table of its 71 service areas and ranked them in order of importance but refused to reveal it.

Cllr Gilbey denies the council is guilty of secrecy. He told last Thursday's meeting of the ruling Conservative executive: 

"Some of these documents are kept confidential for many reasons and are looked at very carefully.  I think this is one of the most democratic councils we have, I honestly believe that.  That is why I don't take kindly to people inventing stories."

Last week it emerged that the league table is a key document as the council prepares for the 2014/15 budget. It is facing a cut of 50% in income by 2017 and scored each service according to importance and against the pledges in its corporate plan.

The Marlowe Theatre was fifth in the table and refuse collection came 29th, but none of the other positions are known and some are almost certainly facing the axe.

The council claims it will make the league table public next month when the proposed budget for next year is published.  But Cllr Alex Perkins, leader of the council's opposition Lib  Dem group, is demanding it is released now.  He said:

"The Gazette is absolutely right and deserves praise for bringing the council's appalling secrecy to everyone's attention.  There is absolutely no reasonable justification for the current leader of the council to keep the council budget formation process confidential.  And the Gazette has certainly not invented any of this as John Gilbey has claimed. 

The current leader and a tiny handful of Conservative councillors keep jealous control of all the budget information declaring it 'confidential' and refusing to share it even with their own backbenchers, let alone opposition councillors or the public.  It's completely unacceptable - it's your money after all."

Kingsmead Field campaigner Sian Pettman said:

"There's a worrying disconnect between Cllr Gilbey's perception of democracy and that of many of the district's residents.  His authoritarian style of leadership is ill-suited to the 21st century."

University of Kent Emeritus Professor of moral philosophy Richard Norman added:

"If Cllr Gilbey thinks that this is one of the most democratic councils, he needs to be aware that there are a great many people in Canterbury who don't see it that way."

The council will begin its consultation on the budget in November and will look to approve it in February.

HB Gazette 17th October 2013

View fullsize

HBM

Council Priorities: where will the axe fall?

11 years ago

The Council's priorities. Theirs, not ours.

11 years ago

Council's priorities not secret, not confidential, just rubbish

11 years ago

Council's priorities aren't secret - they're confidential!

11 years ago

Our Council's secret priorities

11 years ago

Our Council's secret priorities

Oh dear... the Council that represents us and works for us is refusing to tell us what they're doing. It's a kind of nanny-dictator state. 

---

Canterbury City Council has produced a league table of its 71 service areas in order of importance, but is refusing to reveal how it has ranked them. The Gazette has learned that the Marlowe Theatre is fifth in the league table while bin collections - a service delivered to every home in the district is 29th.

Senior officers and councillors spent hours in meetings scoring the service areas according to the council's priorities and rated each one against its 10-pledge corporate plan.

Colin Carmichael, the chief executive of the Conservative-controlled council, says he is determined to keep the league table a secret until the next budget is published later in the year.

"This is the first time that we have actually taken a step back and asked questions about everything that we do. But I can't let people see it because we are only half through."

The league table was compiled as the council assesses the way it will run its services in future. lt is steeling itself for a 50% drop in income by 2017.

Members of the ruling executive injected their political priorities into the rankings which could be used to cut some council services completely as the drive to save money intensifies in the coming years.

Asked why the Marlowe scored so much higher than bin collections, Mr Carmichael said the theatre "ticked several boxes" on the corporate plan pledges.  He said:

"Refuse collection, for example, scores mid-range at 29th on the priority list as it scores highly against only two of the 10 pledges, but it is a top political priority and it is a statutory service. The Marlowe can be seen to fulfil more pledges. It is important economically for us as we didn't want that end of the city to lose out with the building of the Whitefriars shopping area."

Lib Dem group leader Alex Perkins is furious at the decision to keep the league table secret.

"Presumably, they'll only show people when they've made all their decisions.  Here we are yet again with the council taking decisions with public money on the basis of its own political agenda and refusing the public the right to know how it is ranking services. If that's not a sign of how the council is going to hell in a handcart, then I don't know what is.

HB Gazette 10th October 2013

View fullsize

HBM

Council Priorities: where will the axe fall?

11 years ago

The Council's priorities. Theirs, not ours.

11 years ago

Council's priorities not secret, not confidential, just rubbish

11 years ago

Council's priorities aren't secret - they're confidential!

11 years ago

Our Council's secret priorities

11 years ago