From Glemsford to Eye, will bigger be better for us?

Last night, Babergh District Council voted in favour of a full merger between itself and Mid Suffolk District Council, with the expectation that £1.3 million could be saved with no effect on services. Good news then, for the council tax payers of Mid Suffolk, one presumes.

To be honest, I've developed the view that District Councils in Suffolk are too small to be efficient, unable to recruit and retain staff at a sufficient level, providing services that cost more than they should at a lower quality than they should. Indeed, I was of the view that, with proper standards of democratic accountability, unitary government for Suffolk, be it through a single countywide authority, or through the reinstatement of East and West Suffolk, was a step forward.

There will undoubtedly be short-term costs. Two Chief Executives, two Heads of Planning and so on, will have to be reduced to one, and that one might not be either of the incumbents. Pension enhancements, redundancy payments, they won't come cheap. On the other hand, the continuing savings will be substantial, especially if the number of councillors is cut by one-third (as the rumours indicate).

Of course, this does mean that, here in Creeting St Peter, we will be more remote than ever from the levers of power. New people to deal with, new relationships to build, something for our Parish Clerk, Rosemary, to get her teeth into. It could be good, it could protect some of the services we rely on as a small village.

On the other hand, depending on where power lies, we might find it harder to make our voice heard, that services will be focussed on those places with larger populations. At the moment, we are represented by about 10% of a district councillor, who is evidently more interested in Stowupland than in us. In the new setup, we'll be represented by about 6% of a district councillor.

There will, we are promised, be a referendum to decide whether the proposal goes ahead or not. As council tax payers, we need to make sure that there is something in this for us, even if it's only lower council tax levels or better services than we might otherwise get.

Piles and piles of grit...

Last winter, when snow fell in unusual large amounts in mid-Suffolk, our village was lucky enough to be gritted. At least, the main road through the village was gritted and remained pretty passable.

However, for those of us who live on The Lane, the village's only other significant street, the road surface was like an ice rink, treacherous underfoot, and decidedly tough to drive on. And so, as a Parish Council, we decided to seek help from the County.

I'm now told that the County Council have decided to provide us with some grit piles (apparently, these are not some kind of ailment), and we get to decide where they will go. I suggested that one be located part way up The Lane, next to the post box, where there is a small space. Yes, it's opposite my house (well, nearly) but without pavements, we'd have to put it in the road - not a good idea - or in somebody's front garden - probably an even less good idea.

We'd like grit bins, ideally, but they cost money. Luckily, our county councillor has a new quality of life budget, and as we don't usually ask for, or get, much, he might oblige. We'll see...

Mobile Library dates - October 2010

Just a brief reminder that the Mobile Library Service comes to The Lane, here in the village, on three dates next month;

Friday, 1st October

Friday, 15th October

Friday, 29th October

The Mobile Library will be present between 12.05 p.m. and 12.20 p.m.

MP to return to duty?

Following his accident in June, our local MP, David Ruffley, has been recuperating, whilst the two neighbouring MPs have been taking surgeries for him. 
Now, the East Anglian Daily Times is reporting that he is expected to return, albeit gradually, to duty, starting from next month.

Residents of Creeting St Peter won't necessarily have seen much of David in the past, but in fairness, he only became our MP in May, following the transfer of our Parish from the Central Suffolk and North Ipswich constituency to the Bury St Edmunds constituency due to Boundary Commission review.

Pickerel Project Clean Up Day

I have received a reminder from our neighbours on Stowmarket Town Council that on Sunday, as on every first Sunday of the month, volunteers will be gathering at the Station Road bridge from 10 a.m. to clean up the River Gipping near the heart of the town.

I have, myself, taken part in one of these events in the past and, on a sunny day, even the water isn't too cold.

If you would like to join in, call Sally on 01449 776398 or email sallys@stowmarket.org for more information.