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Papalscope December 2006.

Last week the Tisbury Nadder Hall hosted it’s first meeting of the Salisbury District Council Western Area Planning Committee, since that Hall’s refurbishment.

The well attended Meeting ran overtime. Much of the large audience was there because the Planning Brief for the Hindon Lane Site was up for determination.

Several members of the Public spoke. Objectors to the plan again over spilled their allotted time of ten minutes and even came back for ‘Seconds’ later. The Deputy Chairman of the Parish Council reiterated its conclusions on planning detail.

Three others spoke in support of accepting the Planning Brief. Former Tisbury District Councillor Roy Frankland stressed the need for more housing and also the need for the Station Works Site to be retained for its current use as a work area. Ms. Corp pointed out that the percentage of dissenters referred to, were mostly residents of Hindon Lane. This speaker’s late mother served as our District Councillor for many years. The third speaker merely commended his Representations nos. 25 and 78 as attached to the Agenda. These suggested to the Forward Planning Department that he had no wish for large scale development anywhere in Tisbury, but that if we have to have it, he would be prepared to see it anywhere other than at Station Works. Another suggestion he propounded was that there was little necessity to have B1 work places on the Hindon Lane Site, as all such work area would better be located at Station Works.
There was a letter objecting to the proposed Development from the Ansty Parish Council. Surely that Village would not prefer the sixty houses to built at Station Works?

Western Area was very sympathetic to the circumstance of Hindon Lane Residents, as are we all. The matter was intensively discussed. The Forward Planning Officer frequently had to explain that no one was granting any sort of Planning Consent, nor would the draft become any sort of precedent either for this site or at any other in the Salisbury District Council area. Even so hypothetical details remained debating points for some. Apart from the matter of a roundabout, there was the problem of the three story buildings, or are they two and a half story? Nobody wanted them on the skyline. There was also reservation made concerning the ‘siting’ of some B1 work units, and the unacceptability of a swimming pool.

A very worthwhile Contribution to the Debate came from Councillor Anthony Brown-Hovelt of Wilton. I believe he evolved the suggestion that if one had fewer B1 units then one might have more houses and so be able to reduce the height of some. Further more I believe that it was he who pointed out that the planning aspect of Hindon Lane was done and dusted. He suggested that the proper time for many of the arguments currently voiced, had been when the Salisbury District Plan went to Appeal.

Both these points had previously been made by Papalscope.

Where were the Hindon Lane Residents then, did they make representations, did their Parish Council do so? I think not, I recall that the Fonthill Estate did, and some chap in Upper Chicksgrove did, because he was aggrieved that ‘his’ patch had been excluded from the Plan.
‘There is a season unto everything in life’
Was the plan; that one way or another cost you and I unquantifiable hundreds of thousands of pounds, draw up solely by the oft criticised Forward Planning Department of the Salisbury District Council ? I think not, input to it was far more local than that. Seemingly our then sole District Councillor does not now approve of this proposed Development. Maybe we might enquire which Councillors’ names appeared as Parties to that part of the plan that affected Tisbury?

The Current Forward Planning Officer confirmed that the site had been to Appeal, and that the Inspector had recommended it as suitable for a mixed development such as is now proposed. As I understood the situation, the Planning Office will now take all points raised at the meeting, back to the Proposed Developer.

Thus the Planning Brief eventually received the support of Western Area, with reservations. It is due for consideration by the Cabinet, at their Meeting to be held at The City Hall Salisbury, on the 13 December 2006. That meeting commences at 4PM. And is open for members of the public to attend .

It must have been encouraging for Councillors to see so much local interest in their deliberations at the Nadder Hall. My immediate neighbour there, was impressed not only by the complication of their work, but too the amount of careful consideration given not merely to this Planning Matter and another locally, but to the problem that Dinton has got concerning the parking of Trailer Containers on the former MOD site. Seemingly we are becoming more urbanised by the day. Will RAF Chilmark befall a similar fate ?

‘PALONIAN-ISMS’ (you read the word first here) ‘ And this above all, unto thine own self be true, and it shall follow as the night the day, thou cant’s not then be false to any man.’ William Shakespeare.

Next May, Salisbury is to have a District Council Election, and hopefully Elections for each of the Tisbury Parish Councils. I believe that at least one of the Tisbury District Councillors will be standing for re- election. Fortunately Tisbury does not suffer the stranglehold of any inadequate Political Party. It is still possible here, to remain an Independent and be elected to the Office of District Councillor. It is thereon in, that one is disadvantaged by the Party Political System. Everyone of us has a right to stand, providing one can get a handful of locals to sign ones Nomination Paper. One does not have to seek any other sort of Approval, nor attach oneself to any particular Group.

WELL IS IT YOUR TURN NOW ? Very probably it is . Why not stand as a candidate in the Local Elections next May either to become a Parish Councillor, or a District Councillor ? There is no deposit to be paid or lost, no ignominy in apparent failure.

I have long been interested in local Government, having stood on two separate occasions as an Independent Candidate for Election to the New Forest District Council. (It was there on the day of Mrs Thatcher’s famous Victory that the support I received from 52% of a Ward Electorate, failed to win me a Council seat). My interest in local affairs precedes May1979. And has remained something that I have never been able to shelve. Those two vain attempts to become a Councillor did not arise through any sort of plan so to be. Some had suggested that
‘I either put up or shut up.’
So it was that I became a last minute Candidate in a 1978 By-Election in a ward other than my own. My nomination Paper was signed by the Chairman and other members of the Parish Council, they encouragingly did so again in 1979. On that latter date the two Conservatives standing received more votes than I, and were duly elected. Not sure what happened to them, but the Ward had a high turnover among its Councillors, and has since been abolished as a separate entity.

One moans a lot that Tisbury has not elected a Parish Councillor in the last twelve years. There was a District Councillor in the New Forest who had been in office for twenty or so years, and had never ever been elected. Excellent chap I understood he arranged the annual Budget every year. On his retirement another Councillor was rustled up by the Conservative Party and he too was returned unopposed. The following year that same Man became their unopposed County Councillor. Not sure what became of him, he was not around for long.

There are Wards where Political Party Management seems , willing to back just about any Candidate willing to stand in their name.

Regrettably, too often some allow themselves to be all but drafted onto Councils, even though they have never had particular knowledge of, or interest in local affairs. I know of one New Forest Councillor elected on the say so of his Branch Committee, whose first action when Returned, was to ask his Branch Secretary if a District Councillor was expected to do anything? That gem came to me via the Branch Secretary.

If one has no aspirations to be effective on a Council, or anywhere else come to that , maybe it would be better not to get involved. It really isn’t good enough just to ‘dip ones toe in ’ to see how one likes it.

Contrary to popular opinion, I think that young people are interested in all manner of activity. They may fail to offer their services as they have no wish to be ensnared by the near incestuous* ‘Status Quo’ that tends to persist way beyond its sell by date. I have never been in charge of much in life, but have ever found that young people are more than just willing to help if invited; albeit that they do not presume to put themselves forward, nor would wish to do so if all that is required of them was that they become doppelgangers of the powers that be. (*def. interconnected, especially so as to exclude the involvement or influence of others Encarta ® World English Dictionary © & (P) 1998-2004 Microsoft Corporation. )

When standing in an Election one needs to be to reconcile oneself to the seemingly haphazard entry of those afore mentioned Councillors, arriving by default. In fairness one must acknowledge that it is easier to get oneself elected, if one has never professed any interest in local politics what so ever. Possibly some of these ingénue of either sex, if such is a grammatical possibility, just felt it wiser to keep their powder dry ?

One could of course adopt an entirely cynical attitude. I recall a Conservative District Councillor down in the New Forest; one of three such Councillors also sitting as a Party sponsored a Hampshire County Councillors; telling me in front of the assembled New Forest Conservative Association, that ‘yes’ her Office was attributable to the Party Machine, but as a Councillor, she voted as she saw fit. I suppose that of itself is as it should be. However I never reconciled myself to stand other than as an Independent. Having done that in the midst of ‘Blue Riband’ area having a Conservative Parliamentary Majority of some 26,000, was unhelpful. Seemingly the inadequacy of Thatcherism is now also recognised by the New Conservative Party. Bit late for my cause.

Writing with all the shameless senility of a Septuagenarian, I am none too proud of the socio-political mess the span of our generations have bequeathed to those that succeed us. If fault attaches to any of us as an Individual, it is not usually on account of anything one did, nor with one exception on account of anything one didn’t do, because few have the opportunity to make meaningful contributions. The point I reserve is that too often one has kept ones own counsel, or just made be-frothed rhubarb noises into a beer glass instead of speaking out when one should have spoken out. I trust this paragraph smacks more of Burke, than Piety. Regrettably Religion is much of the problem, at its best its become an apologetic placebo rather than any sort of a cure.

THOSE TISBURY PARISH ACCOUNTS.
Mentioned in my last PAPALSCOPE update. I have indeed been digesting them ever since. I do not understand why the affairs of Tisbury Parish Council, which is financed by the local Community Charge payer, are intermingled with the accounts of TisVis which is financed by European Funds. It was my understanding that TisVis was a separate entity, whose banking was to be handled by the Tisbury Parish Clerk. Seemingly in the relevant period, TisVis received an amount of money. Was it £2000 or £4000? Whichever it was , it was lumped in with other money, the property of the Parish Council, so to make a gross amount of £7,625.00. Helpful no doubt to the joint cash flow. Out of this amount TisVis spent £1,880.36. This largely comprised the balloons, Stationery including envelopes, the printing of the green book of statistics, and the Questionnaire. Hire of Hall etc. Further expenditure fell outside the remit of last year’s Accounts.

I have since been advised that the Internal Auditor has requested that in next year’s accounts balances held on behalf of TisVis should be separately identified. It really makes one wonder why the Parish Council needs to have such a glaringly obvious matter pointed out to them?

THE LRG PROJECT.
Is this an acronym for ‘Local Recreation Ground ?’ I am not sure where that stands at the moment but it astounds me that on the 7th of March the Parish Council paid out a cheque for £2,391.00 to one particular local residential creditor. My enquiry revealed that this amount was comprised of payments to a Project Manager that related to:
‘ROSPA report liaison, Technical drawings and specification, Site meetings with contractors, Discussion with the Environment Agency, Wiltshire Wild Life Trust, Electricity Board, Highways Authority, Local Clubs, e.g. Football, English Heritage / Salisbury D.C. re planning application for ramp to bridge.

Well that no doubt explains the matter for some, if not to me.

One is advised that such expenditure was approved by Salisbury D.C from R2 funds. I was recently attended an apposite Committee meeting when our current Application for R2 Funding was submitted . There was then a particular request that approval be given for an amount of money be paid to a Project Manager. This application was being considered many months after that cheque for £2391.00 had been paid out. I recall that the matter of payment due was to be discussed at a Parish Council Meeting earlier this year. Were Parish Councillors cognisant of the size of the bill they had been running up by outsourcing their responsibility for overseeing the project ? It would surprise me to hear that they were. If they were, would it not have been good practice to advertise for the services of a Project Manager?

THE ALLOTMENTS
Parish Expenditure on the Allotments amounted to £588.18 including the water rate.( The outgoings for the previous year were £270.50.) . On the face of it, costs rose by 317.68p. Our income of £276 was £45 less than the previous year. Possibly either allotment rents should rise or the water might be supplied through a pay per flow meter. It is excellent that we have allotments, but the trend is that the rest of us pay our water on a cost per-litre-used basis. Maybe the Allotment Holders should do likewise?

Does West Tisbury have an interest in the Allotments we hire from the District Council? I have no idea whether the Joint Burial committee is financed by the District Council or by one or both Parish Councils?

CREDITS PAID TO US BY WEST TISBURY. Seemingly concern a contribution to the maintenance of the Stubbles area on their behalf. One appreciates that Tisbury and West Tisbury are theoretically separate entities. However there is no good reason that it remain so. I see no proper cause that Tisbury should subsidise ‘our twin’ Parish West Tisbury. It would be beneficial if the two Parishes amalgamated and so put an end to the current nonsense of two Parish Councils.

When given the opportunity to express their opinion on amalgamation Tisbury Parish Council saw no cause so to do. However they recognised that the extensive West Tisbury Housing Estates might be better within our Parish Boundary. Goodness me what on the earth do they think the issue is, if not that ?

GRANTS
Come under the same heading as does,
‘There is no such thing as a free lunch’.
European Money, R2 Funding, Grants for Compost Heaps, all such money, one way or another comes from our pockets, be it directly or however indirectly. I do hope that The Parish Council maintains a careful watch on all expenditure. There was a meeting last week to discuss next year‘s Precept!

I give little credibility to that bit in the TisVis questionnaire (Q61) advising that 52% of the Village would be prepared to pay more Parish Council Tax to support the running cost of Village facilities. I am of the 49% who are less enthused. Maybe this mis- addition is but a manifestation of synchrony between the West Tisbury Parish, and others whose facilities are seemingly subsidised by the rest of us. How on the earth can one ask the same question of two separate Parishes whose financial commitments are so different ? I used to be on the TisVis Committee, and know we tried hard, but our Committee was no different to any other. What was that definition of a Camel?

Compensation for the Slave Trade? Here we go again. One might bear in mind that the Slaves were traded not only by Sea Captains, Plantation owners and others, but were rounded up and sold off by their Kith and Kin, not to mention Arab Traders. Let us not be deluded by the mores of Political Correctness. In those times, things were none too good for the indigenous Briton either, the majority of whom were equally enslaved by their circumstance. Liberty should indeed be highly prized but let us not weep crocodile tears, for if all one hears is correct, Slavery is still extant in the World today.

Why does not Government show more Leadership, be more effective over issues currently within their remit, and ignore the side shows of a World Time that none of us share responsibility for. I do not doubt many acquired wealth in Africa and India, in much the same way as currently some attain it from Russia and the Petroleum Countries. Until recently I had the business records of my family that spanned two hundred years. It was a relentless six day a week grind, and I speak of the re-prospering Middle Classes. Some members of our Family decided to emigrate and made a success of it. George Washington shared my Ancestry, as too a ‘Father of the Confederation of Canada’ whose son and daughter were respectively a Prime Minister of Prince Edward Island, and the First Superintendent Matron of the Canadian Armed Forces. I suppose one either has it, or doesn’t. At least I know where mine went!

If one sees cause for compensation surely the West is continuously pouring aid into the Third World Government. Further hearsay is that much of that aid gets siphoned off for personal gain. Which thought brings one back to the duty we all have to pay greater attention to Public Affairs. JBP. Monday, 27 November 2006.

( for something entirely different, see this) http://www.epa.gov/iaq/pubs/coftsht.html

contact : John B. Pope
Tel : 01747 870326