Parish Councils: Shropshire Council are proposing to take away the support grant for parish councils. Parish Councils in rural areas run on a very tight budget and although not large sums (£529 for Chirbury Parish and £1157 for Worthen and Shelve) these cuts will have an impact. Basically this is a political ploy by Shropshire Council freezing their council tax to look good and forcing Towns and parishes to increase theirs. It is effectively putting up the Council Tax by the back door.
Youth Service: Shropshire Council is also trying to make the smaller councils take on additional services. Already toilets (as in Snailbeach) have been offloaded and now they want the parish and town councils to take on youth provision through our Local Joint Committee.
In place of a youth worker and a youth club, the Local Joint Committee is being offered a paltry £3,000 a year to provide services for our young people for an area of 180 square miles stretching from Worthen down to Clun and Bucknell. That sum wouldn’t even pay for a minibus to get them together twice a week!
It’s not just about giving our young people a social life, it’s also about identifying and tacking problems like alcohol, drugs and deprivation before they can take hold. I am hoping we can use this sum for grants to youth groups and for projects instead.
South West Shropshire Local Committee All the grant money has now been withdrawn from the LJC by Shropshire Council. We have appealed to Parish Councils and many have donated £100 each towards a grant pot. One business has donated £1000 and we are now working on approaching more local businesses to help fill the pot. These grants will help local community projects and will be able to match fund lottery funding. I will tell you more when this is up and running. Donations from businesses are very welcome!
Vodaphone /O2 have announced a programme of proposed upgrades to handle a 4G signal across Shropshire. Of the 35 masts being upgraded NONE are in the South or South West of the County. It is not only an issue of personal convenience. Large part of rural Shropshire are in grave danger of becoming economic backwaters simply by not having access to modern communications. O2 and Vodaphone’s consultants MRTPI Mono of Glasgow have asked for comments from local councillors to their proposals.. I will be submitting a strong representation to these companies, urging them to give a firm commitment to upgrading South Shropshire to the same standard as the rest of the County. I will also be asking all of my council colleagues in the area to do likewise.
Backlog: Due to cutbacks in Shropshire Council’s workforce many repairs to roads and signs are running behind schedule. If you have reported a pothole, blocked drain etc to me (or directly to the Council) and the job remains undone after a few weeks – please ring me on 07980 635518. I will then chase them up. Keeping tabs on every repair outstanding in a ward of 47 square miles is difficult. I do my best but any help would be appreciated!
Speeding: Police have booked another 5 motorists in a blitz recently in Brockton and Worthen. I am currently discussing with the parish council the idea of putting up a sign reminding motorist of number caught. It should dive the message home not to speed through our villages!”
Best wishes
Heather,