Woking
Reducing unnecessary expenditure at Woking Borough Council
The Taxpayers’ Alliance has published an article I have written for their blog on how Woking Borough Council has taken steps to reduce waste and expenditure by cutting the cost of administration and embracing outsourcing and partnership working to provide more efficient public services and better value for money.
Although there is still much to be done, I believe the council can be proud of our achievements over the past few years in terms of rejuvenating Woking town centre and delivering major redevelopment projects such as the Hoe Valley scheme, while also reducing unnecessary bureaucracy and freezing council tax in three out of the last four years.
Taxi Trade Task Group recommendation on emission standards
Last night Woking Borough Council’s Licensing Committee considered a report prepared by the Taxi Trade Working Group on the council’s emission standards and vehicle replacement policy for licensed taxis. The Licensing Committee appointed myself, Cllr Anne Murray and Cllr Ken Howard to the Task Group in June to investigate concerns raised by the taxi trade about the introduction of the Euro 5 emission standards and NCAP 5 safety rating for all licensed taxis from 6th January 2014.
The Task Group held a public consultation throughout September and met earlier this month to consider the representations it received, as well as a petition submitted to the council by Cllr Muzzafar Ali which requested a two year delay before the new requirements were introduced.
After a lengthy discussion and having looked at all the evidence, the Task Group has recommended that the decision to bring in Euro 5 in January 2014 should stay in force, but said drivers who do need to change vehicles before the deadline should beneift from that purchase for longer. The Task Group has therefore suggested that the introduction of more stringent Euro 6 standards, originally scheduled for 2018, be pushed back to January 2022. The Task Group will also be recommending that the mandatory CO2 charge that drivers need to pay to fund green projects in the borough be scrapped and replaced with a voluntary levy.
The report received strong support from the Licensing Committee and from the Conservative portfolio holder and Liberal Democrat shadow portfolio holder. The committee approved the Task Group’s recommendation by eight votes, with two abstentions. Our report will now go to the Executive for final approval in November.
Conservatives win Maybury & Sheerwater by-election
The Conservatives have won the Maybury & Sheerwater by-election, which was called following the disqualification of sitting Liberal Democrat councillor Mohammed Bashir for electoral fraud at the last local elections in 2012. Rashid Mohammed, the winning candidate, took a clear lead with 1,057 votes, fending off competition from the Labour candidate Stephen Tudhope who received 833 votes. The Liberal Democrat candidate Norman Johns came a poor fourth with 252 votes, a collapse in their previous support and putting them behind UKIP.
The poor showing by the Liberal Democrats was obviously the result of public disgust and outrage at revelations about the corrupt and illegal practices used to win the Maybury & Sheerwater ward in 2012, such as adding false names to the electoral register, falsely registering postal voters and forging the votes and signatures of others without their knowledge or consent. While Rashid Mohammed won a clear, decisive and fair victory last night, credit is also due to the Woking Labour Party, and in particular their previous Maybury & Sheerwater candidate Mohammed Ali, who uncovered the fraud and took a petition to the High Court to have the 2012 result overturned.
Rashid will be an excellent councillor and a strong advocate for his community. At the same time, voters in Woking will expect assurances that with a General Election just eighteen months away, the integrity of the electoral system in the borough is sound. This is an issue that I intend to look at in more detail, and I will be calling for this sorry incident to be examined in more detail by the Overview & Scrutiny Committee in due course.
Building work at Noel Cottage on Maybury Hill
Earlier today I went to see residents on Maybury Hill who have complained about the building works taking place at Noel Cottage. Having viewed the site for myself, I agree the state of the pavement and front driveway at this location is unacceptable, with rubble strewn everywhere and dust from the works covering cars and front gardens in neighbouring properties. I have also been told that the building work has been going on at weekends and through the night, despite conditions being put in place that state such activity should be restricted to the daytime and through the week.
I’ve been in touch with Environmental Health who tell me they have already been out to to see the premises and spoken to the builders regarding the times they are allowed to start working on site. I’m told that the council has also given the builders advice on how they can improve the situation with the dust, including using a hosepipe to dampen down materials. Residents have been given some diary sheets to record any further incidents. These will allow the council to gather evidence in relation to the noise and dust and will support any formal action that may be taken against the developer, and can also be used to demonstrate that the situation is ongoing.
If residents have any further complaints, they should record them on their diary sheets and return them to the council. If the council does not receive any written complaints, they will not be able to take action against the builders if the problems carry on. Should Environmental Health receive diary sheets back, the council will assess the complaints and determine whether there is anything further it can do, such as serving enforcement notices.