Dark days: streetlighting update

September 28, 2008

The council has already started the big ‘switch off’ across the county, where in most areas, two out of three streetlights are being switched off.

This has all come about as a result of a massive increase in the cost of energy, as the council attempts to manage its budget. The policy will also cut the council’s carbon footprint by over 1,000 tonnes a year, although let’s make no mistake, this is a cost-saving exercise.

The expected date for the Newtown switch off to commence is October 29th, one of the last areas across the county.

I am against turning off streetlights in areas where there are known problems. It also frustrates me to think of streetlights being purchased and installed, then not being used.

However, I also believe that across the country there are areas with more streetlighting than is always necessary.

According to the original plan, some streetlights will not be turned off. These include those in sensitive areas covered by CCTV, pedestrian crossings, areas near hospitals, sheltered housing and where there are known problems.

On this basis I am supportive of the decision as I fear the alternative would have been to pass the increased cost onto the council tax payer which I could not support.

Last month, the electricity contract for my business came to an end. The increase in cost in my new contract was huge; I had not anticipated the extra charges or budgeted for them at the beginning of the year.

I do believe that it is wrong that some are choosing to scaremonger about the crime and safety issues. My other concern is regarding the identification of areas where there are known problems.

In my ward there are a number of known crime hot spots. I met with the neighbourhood police unit on Friday and although they were able to indicate areas of known crime to me, the information they could offer me was limited.

I now intend to talk to the council’s safety officer to find out exactly how, as a council, we are identifying the ‘known problems’ areas across the county.

The streetlights policy is a correct one, as long as it carried out sensitively and according to the original agreement.

1 Comment | council tax, councillors, environment, issues, newtown, street lighting, taxes | Tagged: , , , , , , , , | Permalink
Posted by russellgeorge

Making friends

May 12, 2008

I attended County Hall for the first time this week, where on Tuesday I had an induction course which was interesting, but did feel like information overload.

On Friday, I had training on Code of conduct. The speaker made a very good job of making a boring subject very interesting. The session lasted all morning, but if I had to sum it up, it would be “How to stay out of jail”.

The Code of conduct is excellent, and its quite right that if councillors break this code, they should be disqualified from their position. It does however concern me – for example, will I genuinely forget to declare a conflict of interest? – but it is correct, and I would hope that the consequences for not heeding the code would make all councillors take it seriously.

I should also mention the other new Newtown councillors, of which there are five:

Newtown East – Richard John White (Liberal Democrat)
Newtown Llanllwchaiarn North – Francis Torrens (Welsh Conservative)
Newtown South – Robert Mills (Independant)
Newtown Llanllwchaiarn West – Peter Harris (Welsh Conservative)
Newtown Central – Russell George (me) (Welsh Conservative)

I know Peter Harris and Frank (Francis Torrens) and both are good friends. I have got to know them even better this week as we have shared a car from Newtown to Llandod a few times. I probably got to know Frank the best, simply because he doesn’t stop talking - from the point of getting in the car untill we arrive at our destination!

I had heard a great deal about Bob Mills during my own campaigning, people I spoke to either really disliked him or really liked him. I met him properly this week. Bob had invited me to a meeting to save Garth Owen post office, so I was able to form my own opinion of him. I found Bob to be very hospitable, passionate about standing up for his ward and very good at arranging and chairing the meeting he organised.

Bob also called me this week on a planning issue on my ward and was a big help.  From what I now of Bob, he’s a good councillior and I think he will be a good friend and ally. I also met Richard White this week.

Leave a Comment » | councillors, issues, newtown, post office closures, powys county council, training, welsh conservatives | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Permalink
Posted by russellgeorge

Dark days for Powys street lighting?

April 24, 2008

Our local authority has put off a decision to switch off a third of Powys’ 14,000 street lights for a year to save money and energy until next month.

In a few weeks I may be one of the councillors asked to consider this proposal. If councillors vote in favour of the project next month then 5,000 lights will be switched off in June.

The lighting bill is around £500,000 per year and is set to rise by £175,000 with rising costs and a tight budget.

After chatting to people in Trehafren last night, I could be mistaken for thinking the scheme was already underway, as a number of residents told me about lights around their homes not coming on.

Of course I knew that the scheme hadn’t really started, and wondered if it was it worth reporting the problem, given that they may be left turned off anyway in a few weeks!

I’m in favour of finding ways to save electricity, and I’m making this a priority in my shop. However, I’m also in favour of having good street lighting, particularly to increase public security and safety.

I’m not sure how much it costs to install one lamppost and light, but I expect the cost is fairly high. Surely, it doesn’t make any sense to spend money installing street lights, only to then introduce a policy not to turn them on?

3 Comments | councillors, elections, environment, issues, powys county council, public services, safety, street lighting | Tagged: , , , | Permalink
Posted by russellgeorge

Newtown taxes to increase for low paid workers

April 21, 2008

I can’t understand how anyone can say that removing the 10p tax band will help anyone. Newtown is one of the lowest paid areas in the UK and those on lowest pay will certainly find themselves paying much more tax.

This is just another way through the back door of taking more money from the average hard working person. When Gordon Brown announced the reduction in the basic rate from 22% to 20% and then abolished the 10p tax band, it was obvious to that everyone would be worse off. But what’s frustrating is that on announcing this he presented it as good for the average hard-working person!

So many people I have spoken to this week have aired there dissatisfaction of Labour, and I’m finding great support with people telling me there going to vote Conservative for the first time.

Council tax is of course another hot issue. The Lib Dems in Powys want to scrap council tax and replace it with a tax-per-person system. If this comes about I fear that the average paid workers in Powys will be paying even more.

The Conservatives pledge to introduce a system that places the control of council tax into our hands. My party will call for a referendum if our council wants to put up council tax by any significant amount. This will effectively make our council have to put forward a strong case to justify any large increase if they want us, the people of Powys, to vote for it.

It’s a disgrace that people who earn next to nothing are going to subsidise the 2p tax cut for people who earn more than they do. We are paying too much tax for too little in return and from the conversations I’ve had with people in Newtown this week I believe the public are finally realising it.

Leave a Comment » | conservatives, council tax, elections, issues, newtown, powys county council, taxes | Tagged: , , , , , | Permalink
Posted by russellgeorge

I’m not on my own

April 7, 2008

I left our meeting this morning feeling so glad that I’ve got the backing of my party, the Welsh Conservatives.

I have the constant support of our parliamentary candidate Glyn Davies and our association chairman Simon Baynes who has just been elected (unopposed) to represent his area on Powys County Council and the Montgomeryshire Conservatives.

Walking into the office this morning, there was a real buzz of being part of a strong team. I couldn’t help but feel sorry for the many “independent” candidates throughout Powys who don’t have the backing of a strong political party.

It is great to be able to phone up the office and get advice on a particular issue, normally from Pam. And if she can’t help, she’ll know someone who can.

On leaving the office this morning I did feel bad that I hadn’t thanked Pam enough for all she’s doing for each of the candidates. Sometimes when you are totally focussed on the campaign, it is difficult to get a moment to properly say thank you.

Surely it makes sense for a county councillor to be part of a wider group, one that has influence in the Welsh Assembly, in London and in Europe? What can an independent councillor do when they face issues that affect our local area but are decided by bodies outside of Powys?

What is more, as well as offering advice, expertise and resources, I know that the more backing I receive from my party, the more of my time will be freed up to devote to the important issues that matter to you.

If I’m privileged enough to be elected, I’ll feel reassured to know that I’m not on my own.

1 Comment | conservatives, independent candidates, issues, montgomeryshire conservatives, powys county council, welsh assembly, welsh conservatives | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , | Permalink
Posted by russellgeorge

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