Spooner Row Message Board

Oh dear, I seem to have rattled someone's cage. 

This is supposed to be non political this message board,not complaining about political parties.If we all remember we put our crosses where we want them and if we make a mistake we wait until the  next election and we vote with our votes.

Please don't "knock" Karen as she obviously knows what she is talking about and has written a very eloquent, meaningful ............and true comment here.   We are all being bounded  by the "houses at all costs" mantra without much thought given to infrastructure, i.e. roads, schools, doctors and perhaps most importantly hospitals.   Can anyone predict how the University Hospital will cope in the future ?    Can anyone predict if we will have enough doctors to see to our medical problems ?    And, I would love to know where the people come from who are to live in these "executive" (ghastly word) houses ?    What of the Right to Buy Scheme where the commensurate amount of houses are not being built to replace them ?   Councils are being dictated to by the developers and seem powerless to object to their demands.   Why is a link road to the A11 not being contemplated for the new Silfield development ?   Why are copious objections appearing in planning application cases and are subsequently overridden by the planning committee ?   Why, for instance, does Attleborough continue with its building developments, consistently ignoring the parking problem there ?    It is time for answers - can democracy really survive in this current climate ?

Julian Halls wrote:

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This sounds like an excuse but it is not!

Services at all levels are being pared back to the bone and all the sensible staff are leaving or like an old colleague, are  being told to go, or take a lower salary. That motivates you  ..................................

 

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 Rather than keep cutting back on council staff and services, they should be cutting back on district councillors and their expenses.

So finally I think the penny has dropped. South Norfolk are fighting for their survival against the backdrop of severe budget cuts and a Central Govt who preaches localism and then does everything in its power to stifle local views.

However this is not the real challenge it is survival. When central Govt talk of devolution , what they mean is reorganisation  and saving money and any Council seen not to be towing the line is up for grabs and may suddenly find itself merged with another to make sure the Political balance reflects the powerbase in London. If you do not play and are seen not to be controlling your Council to follow the party line, your days are numbered.

This explains the shift to ultra right wingism ( sorry ) and the pressures being brought to bear on all District Councillors to keep your nose clean and do what you have to do to survive.

Spooner row is small yellow bubble in a sea of blue and this to some extent is reflected in the Council make up , much diluted to what it was, but nevertheless a threat to control.

Do I feel sorry for South Norfolk (?) , the answer of course is not a jot ! but I acknowlege this really upsets some who think we are peasants who should do what the Landlord demands and we have an Electoral system which allows this gross injustice to persist. This is no longer a democracy it is an autocracy.

Is this good for Spooner Row? No 'probably not' I am sad to say but to roll over dead is , in my view clearly not a viable option. We live , right now in a very imperfect world and does all the Political bullying I succumb to make a difference? I would be lying if I said it does not matter or make a difference but for now I shall carry on rattling the cage.

Who knows, if we come to devolution what will happen may not be what the 'Landlord' wants and the real power is very obviously, and never has been at South Norfolk. 

What a load of nonsence. South Norfolk Council is not fighting for survival and it finances are in good order. Under devolution it is planned to merge most of the county services and not SNCs services. There is a long way to go on the discussions but the comments in the previous post is very misleading. Thank God that we are surrounded by a sea of blue. It was the people choice and they made the right decision. If the alternatives got elected Spooner Row and SN would suffer greatly.

Nice piece written by Julian. Don't know about the reliability of the other postings.

Today we laearn that more cuts are on the way BUT we already know at leats 30% will be from Local Governemtn. That has to be bad but if we got rid of the person who clearly keeps looking at this site as Opposed to doing their job that might not be a bad thing

Yes See posts above and in other topics

Some comments on Planning have not been very nice and in answer to your last question, no apparently  

I suspect the above message could be from a council supporter. No we are not miserable, just finding the council's planning decisions and its attitude towards this village a bit tedious and unpleasant. Haven't they got a code of conduct they should work to? If it is someone's job as you suggest to monitor village on-line discussions, then what is their job remit? Perhaps using twitter for a wider audience is the answer - that should keep them busy. I would rather my council tax be put to a more sensible use like resurfacing the potholed parts of the A11.

The issue is that the council doesn't like, or respond well to, negative publicity. They think they are doing fine and want to self-promote themselves as a wonderful, successful council. This could not be further from the truth for those villages like Spooner Row that get dumped on. People in Spooner Row know very well what the council's long term objectives are for our village and WE DO NOT APPROVE - there, no need for any long drawn out and expensive public consultation. I am really glad that central Tory government is cutting back on local government, because I don't like our Tory council. Local councils should do soley what they were supposed to do in the first place and simply provide us with services that we want and pay for, not going around upsetting local communities with their poor decisions. How about the council holding a public consultation on the various aspects of the work they do and see which gain public consent? This public message forum is a real asset to the village because it can be viewed by anyone expressing an interest in our village and shows true feeling. THAT is what the council don't like.

1. Remember that if you do a "public consultation" they will involve all of the public, not just those from SR

2. Perhaps they are successful, just not with things you approve of

3.  Every decision the council takes has to be on behalf of EVERYONE within the SNDC catchment area, not just us. it is an unfortunate fact that we will not like everything which is decided on our behalf. Other areas are just as unhappy about things which are forced upon them which we do not see. The alternative is state sponsored NIMBYism.

4. "People" in SR do not all know what the the councils plans are for them, and not all of them do not approve, I for one support limited development of appropriate houses in the village, there is a vocal minority who like things just as they are and  shout loudly, this should not be confused with ALL.

5. The council has public consent, they gained it when they were elected. Obviously not everyone voted for them, and most of those people seem to be on this message board, but the MAJORITY voted for them.

6. The council absolutely should have someone who's job it is to monitor social media and local message boards, this is normal for the 21st century. I would expect it to absolutely be part of a written job description, along with Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Streetlife and so on. This is how people want to interact with their elected officials now

7. Potholes on the A11 is Highways, not the council

if you want to change things, then lets do it properly, set up a proper committee with regular meetings and a PROPER agenda. We can have proper debate in the village hall and put forward a united front to fight the evil council, but i am afraid uninformed moaning behind the cloak of anonymous posting on a free notice board is not productive. I however suspect that as usual it will be left to the dedicated few who will be left to do the actual work and the rest will just sit and complain that things are not fixed for them behind various excuses of no time or other commitments (if you are that bothered you would make time)

Anonymous wrote:

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6. The council absolutely should have someone who's job it is to monitor social media and local message boards, this is normal for the 21st century. I would expect it to absolutely be part of a written job description, along with Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Streetlife and so on. This is how people want to interact with their elected officials now

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 Well well they finally admit that Orwellian times are here. Cutback here, cutbacks there, yet the council find the money to monitor what people are saying online and then reciprocate inappropriately. Well that doesn't intimidate most people if that is the purpose of that admission. They may monitor what is being said, but they sure don't act on the valid points the public put out, as they appear to have their own weird and wonderful agenda. We deserve better - put our council taxes to better use and that's me interacting with my elected officials!

Anonymous wrote:

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1. Remember that if you do a "public consultation" they will involve all of the public, not just those from SR

2. Perhaps they are successful, just not with things you approve of

3.  Every decision the council takes has to be on behalf of EVERYONE within the SNDC catchment area, not just us. it is an unfortunate fact that we will not like everything which is decided on our behalf. Other areas are just as unhappy about things which are forced upon them which we do not see. The alternative is state sponsored NIMBYism.

4. "People" in SR do not all know what the the councils plans are for them, and not all of them do not approve, I for one support limited development of appropriate houses in the village, there is a vocal minority who like things just as they are and  shout loudly, this should not be confused with ALL.

5. The council has public consent, they gained it when they were elected. Obviously not everyone voted for them, and most of those people seem to be on this message board, but the MAJORITY voted for them.

6. The council absolutely should have someone who's job it is to monitor social media and local message boards, this is normal for the 21st century. I would expect it to absolutely be part of a written job description, along with Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Streetlife and so on. This is how people want to interact with their elected officials now

7. Potholes on the A11 is Highways, not the council

if you want to change things, then lets do it properly, set up a proper committee with regular meetings and a PROPER agenda. We can have proper debate in the village hall and put forward a united front to fight the evil council, but i am afraid uninformed moaning behind the cloak of anonymous posting on a free notice board is not productive. I however suspect that as usual it will be left to the dedicated few who will be left to do the actual work and the rest will just sit and complain that things are not fixed for them behind various excuses of no time or other commitments (if you are that bothered you would make time)

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 Boy that was one very irritating comment defending the council: My replies to each point.

 1. Remember that if you do a "public consultation" they will involve all of the public, not just those from SR

Councils invented “public consultation” to try and prove they have acted fairly. This is nonsense. Decisions have already been made and residents’ concerns that don’t fit with the grand scheme are dismissed. That’s why the public are fed up with these processes as they feel there is no point in participating. Only a tiny number of the population even respond to these “public consultations” and most people are not engaged with politics or politicians. You just don’t get it. Only residents who will be affected about the planned changes in their community should be consulted. Individuals who just want to profit from the village, and don’t live in the village have no business in making decisions about what happens in the village.

2. Perhaps they are successful, just not with things you approve of

How can any council not be judged successful? You get a guaranteed supply of money from the taxpayers and just need to work out how to spend it, which you do in a very inefficient and irritating way. If councils operated as private businesses, they would go out of business.

 3.  Every decision the council takes has to be on behalf of EVERYONE within the SNDC catchment area, not just us. it is an unfortunate fact that we will not like everything which is decided on our behalf. Other areas are just as unhappy about things which are forced upon them which we do not see. The alternative is state sponsored NIMBYism.

What on earth makes the council think that they have power over local communities and why is NIMBYism a dirty word? Central government is giving more power to local councils. Local councils in turn should give more power to the local communities who pay their salaries.  This is the future.

 4. "People" in SR do not all know what the the councils plans are for them, and not all of them do not approve, I for one support limited development of appropriate houses in the village, there is a vocal minority who like things just as they are and  shout loudly, this should not be confused with ALL.

 Why don’t you consult with us all then if you so sure? Carry out a survey like I suggested. Perhaps you could tell us all what your long term plans for Spooner Row are and we can judge you on that. 

  5. The council has public consent, they gained it when they were elected. Obviously not everyone voted for them, and most of those people seem to be on this message board, but the MAJORITY voted for them.

 In South Norfolk you could put a blue rosette on a donkey and people would vote for it. I am a Tory voter but the local council are more like a bunch of lefties.

  6. The council absolutely should have someone who's job it is to monitor social media and local message boards, this is normal for the 21st century. I would expect it to absolutely be part of a written job description, along with Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Streetlife and so on. This is how people want to interact with their elected officials now

You monitor social media for the wrong reasons. Don’t you understand that people have no confidence in criticising anything you say or do, because they feel it will be ignored. The council refuses to accept criticism and some council supporters who post on here (who often show poor grammar) just keep saying how great the great council is, which is quite pathetic.

 7. Potholes on the A11 is Highways, not the council

 Passing the buck again so nothing gets resolved. SNC should talk to Norfolk County Council and not just put the blame on somebody else. Take responsibility and get things sorted.

  if you want to change things, then lets do it properly, set up a proper committee with regular meetings and a PROPER agenda. We can have proper debate in the village hall and put forward a united front to fight the evil council, but i am afraid uninformed moaning behind the cloak of anonymous posting on a free notice board is not productive. I however suspect that as usual it will be left to the dedicated few who will be left to do the actual work and the rest will just sit and complain that things are not fixed for them behind various excuses of no time or other commitments (if you are that bothered you would make time)

I’m all for proper debate, but the evidence is that the council refuses to engage and already has an agenda that they will push through at all cost and if they have to upset a small number of people, then so be it. Career politicians will rely on pushing difficult and expensive things through to get promotion. Local councils must change. Hopefully councils will be merged as more cuts are in the pipeline and services will have to be provided as a priority. Who are these dedicated few who actually do the work? It sounds like these so-called “dedicated people” have a lot of free time, unlike the rest of us who have to work full-time to pay the salaries of the people who are making decisions on their behalf. The cheek of it. Go get a proper job or some training, and contribute to our economy rather than sponging off of it. Those who “can”, “do”! Local village committees will gladly decide what to spend money on in their communities and we don’t need the middle man (the council) to decide for us. Leave us alone to make our own decisions.

Some interesting stuff here which should keep the site monitors busy. Surprised to a see such a tacit admission of this, but think Spooner Row message board gets monitored  far more than any other but that is a personal opinion.

All readers should note that the TOWN Council are working up a ' futures survey ' for distribution which I hope as many as possible will engage with once it is released.  This is be discussed next week at the Town Council meeting  ( Tuesday) but is not in the open public commentary section of the Agenda.

It is to be hoped that this will inform the Town Council, and possibly ( I very much hope) the District of how we ALL feel about the ongoing and future changes, plus give YOU the  opportunity to comment

I am hopeful this will influence the way the Town moves forward but am less hopeful that it will influence the District and consider it very unlkely that it will influence Central Govt, but we can but hope

And just one MAJOR correction.  The MAJORITY did not vote for the Tory Government. Only 25% of the electorate who bothered to vote, voted Tory , so that means 75% of the electorate  which is the MAJORITY, voted for somebody or something else or did not bother because they realised it is a waste of time under our hopelessly undemocratic electoral system , but that FACT is for another day  

so 25% vote Tory

24% vote Labour

24% vote Green UKIP Lib  Dem whatever and

26% don't bother

1/4 vote for Tories, 3/4 vote for anything but and who wins, the Tory with a spectacular mandate of 25% of the voters in the area supporting him/her, which the majority of voters do NOT want 

Democracy is about majority views NOT a system which completely skews this, called first past the post which disenfranches the majority from having their voices heard and opinions listened to.

You are right it is simple and utterly stupid as well

 

 

My apologies

Re reading post it would appear that we are talking about different things. In the Ward the majority voted Tory. As a nation the electorate did not. Relevance to the original post is questioned, as the post is about critiscism and some of us may have cause to regret what we voted in May , but we are stuck with it I know. However that does not remove anyone's democratic right to comment on what is going on now, even if it is ruffling feathers AND being monitored .

Any way, please note the post/ comment regarding the forthcoming survey which was an idea proposed by the single Labour Councillor on the Town, but has been adopted by the Town Council as a whole.

The results I am sure will be interesting, so when it gets distributed please do engage as it informs us whether we are doing a good job, or a bad one and hopefully will give us an agenda to go forward in a positive way, which the majority are in favour of , whatever you views. 

Spooner row appears in the first draft of this document to be sent out /delivered ??

I would therefore be very surprised if we were not included. The interesting bit will be analysis and how this is going to be handled 

I guess a response that no one wants to hear, and vested interests/opinions which are based on geographical considerations alone say , no more housing planning permission in Spooner row, might be difficult to deal with or analyse and whilst the residents may say on bloc, we do not want any development in the Tiffey valley this might be something the residents of SR, Wattlefield and Suton do not care about AND vice versa.

I would very much hope we can pass on the findings to District , County and any agency involved be them good or bad

Salaries rises for Local Govt officers have been pegged at 1% for years now and in reality many jobs have gone altogether as Councils merge services with the stupid assumption that this will have no impact on service delivery. In many cases re organisations, have forced long serving officers to take pay cuts or lose their job altogether

In the interim MP's have voted themselves a 10% increase.

Parish and Town Councillors get didly squat and District Councillors get an allowance and some expenses but not a great deal at circa £5000 a year

Whilst some VERY senior officers were getting near to six figure salaries those days have gone and where is the reported duplication taking place?

This report is entirely disingenious and holds no water whatsoever. The Chancellor has cut 30% from Local Govt budgets so far with another 57% to come as outlined in the CSR ( forgot to mention this on the day OF COURSE ) and even the PM was whinging about a reduction in services to his house and suggested that there is no justification for this. Just shows how out of touch he is, along with his idiot of a Chancellor