Editorial: the time for unitary government in Suffolk has come

Four years ago, the talk in political circles was all about cutting the costs of local government by creating new 'super councils', two, or three unitary authorities to take on all of the roles currently handled by the county and district councils. By doing so, vast amounts of money could be released to spend on already hard-pressed local services.

As usual, however, agreement could not be reached, with the Labour Government pushing for a unitary Ipswich despite some very vocal disagreement from local politicians. The argument for a unitary Ipswich on its current boundaries was a relatively weak one, given the evidence that unitary authorities only really work above a certain level of population, and surrounding communities were deeply suspicious that a 'Greater Ipswich' would offer them little but higher levels of council tax and far less influence. The fact that the rest of the county was left untouched also led one to suspect that it was a political solution rather than a workable one.

Meanwhile, local Conservatives were unable to agree a strategy, with the County Group keen to create a unitary County, whilst the District Groups wanted something a bit smaller, a two or three unitary solution. And, with Conservatives in control on five out of seven authorities, another, Babergh, under no overall control, and Ipswich run by a Conservative/Liberal Democrat coalition, their failure to agree led to stalemate.

The incoming Coalition Government immediately cancelled the Ipswich unitary, and tossed the matter back into the hands of local politicians to come up with a solution themselves. Since then, mostly silence - it was all too difficult and there were too many conflicts of interest.

And yet, with every council in the county bemoaning the fact the cuts will need to be made, there is appears to have been little, or no, discussion on the structure of local government. That is, until recently.

Cllr David Wood, leader of the Liberal Democrats on Suffolk County Council, last month called upon politicians across all parties to act. So, in a spirit of co-operation, here's a suggestion for a three authority solution;

• West Suffolk - Forest Heath, St Edmundsbury and West Babergh (including Sudbury)
• North Suffolk - Waveney, Mid Suffolk and Suffolk Coastal (excluding Felixstowe, Kesgrave and Martlesham)
• South Suffolk - Ipswich, Felixstowe, Kesgrave, Martlesham and surrounds, and East Babergh (including Hadleigh)

Or, if two authorities is your preferred choice;

• West Suffolk - Forest Heath, St Edmundsbury, Mid Suffolk and Babergh
• East Suffolk - Waveney, Suffolk Coastal and Ipswich

But, whatever you prefer, ladies and gentlemen, would you kindly get on with it?

Editorial: think not what local government can do for you, but what you can do without...

Recent announcements by both Mid Suffolk District Council and Suffolk County Council to the effect that they are both going to need to make hefty cuts in their expenditure to deal with reduced income from Whitehall can only mean one of three things. Either they will need to cut waste, raise Council Tax levels in real terms, or cut services.

Raising Council Tax levels isn't that easy. The insistence that any increase above a certain, arbitrary, centrally-defined amount triggers a referendum of voters means that local councillors are loathe to even try - running a campaign against an increase in your tax bill is pretty easy, and most local politicians would rather tell you what they think you would like to hear, i.e. you can have services and someone else will pay for them.

Naturally, if the media are to be believed, there are huge levels of waste in government which could be attacked to protect front line services. Sadly, whilst there is waste, it isn't necessarily caused by bad management, but by the fact that people want services supplied that, were they to have to pay for them directly, they might think twice about keeping.

And as for cutting services, well, most councillors would rather cut their own throats than tell you that's what is necessary. Even were they to be that honest, a political opponent will campaign against them promising to save whatever it is.

As an example, people like libraries. If perceived to be under threat, hundreds will demand that they be saved yet how many of them actually use them regularly? How many of those thousands of books are actually read by anyone? And in an era of Kindles and other e-readers, are library user figures likely to go up, or down? At what point do you accept that the cost of providing a service is too great for the benefits gleaned?

We have grown used, as a society, to the idea that someone else, usually government, will do things for us. Government will keep the streets tidy, so that we don't have to, it will maintain parts of our countryside for public use, build roads to make it easier for us to get places. Littering increases because, it doesn't matter, someone will come and clean the street, we take less care about our surroundings as someone else will, we grow used to having a direct route to places and worry less about the economic viability of having three routes out of a village.

And yet, we complain about the size of government, about its cost, about its remoteness from our communities.

Eventually, we will be forced to accept that, in order to maintain the services that really matter - health, education, social welfare, to name but three - peripheral services might have to go. The prize then goes to politicians who are willing to be honest with their electorate and engage them in the debate about what is core and what isn't. Here at the Creeting St Peter Journal, we're not holding our breath...

Youngsters in Mid Suffolk set to enjoy enchanting lullaby concerts

Children across Mid Suffolk are invited to attend a series of interactive concerts taking place across Suffolk and Essex during half term week.  The Lullaby Concerts have been specially devised for children between 2 to 7 years old and aims to give them a magical introduction to classical music.

The fifth year of Lullaby Concerts sees the biggest tour yet, reaching more young children in more places. 

The City of London Sinfonia (CLS) will perform 10 concerts over five days between 28 October and 1 November 2013, at locations across Suffolk including The United Reformed Church, Hadleigh and the John Peel Centre for Creative Arts in Stowmarket. 

The concerts are produced by Orchestras Live, a national music charity that brings orchestral music to thousands of people in under-served areas across England.

This year the theme of the concerts is Science. The orchestra will perform a range of classical pieces including Fossils from The Carnival of the Animals by Saint Saens, and Handel’s Harp Concerto.  As usual there will be lots of singing and participation for the audiences.

Zoey Banthorpe, Mid Suffolk & Babergh Communities Officer for the Arts, says, “We are delighted to welcome back a world-class orchestra to Suffolk. The concerts are a brilliant way to introduce children to classical music in a fun and accessible way.”

At the end of each concert there will be an opportunity for everyone to use orchestral instruments which are being made available by Suffolk County Music Service.

Prior to the concerts, a series of workshops will be held at nursery and school settings in each district. These sessions will enable hundreds of children, nursery staff and parents to hear live music in their own settings and meet musicians who will be in the subsequent Lullaby Concerts.

The entire project is being produced by Orchestras Live in partnership with City of London Sinfonia, Babergh District Council, Forest Heath District Council, Mid Suffolk District Council, Suffolk Coastal District Council, Suffolk County Music Service and Youth Music.

Henry Little, Chief Executive of Orchestras Live, added:  “The success of the Lullaby Concerts over recent years has been phenomenal, and we are delighted to be working with partners in Suffolk to achieve our largest ever tour of orchestral concerts and associated learning activity specially designed to inspire a great many young children and adults.”

The Lullaby Concerts will take place at 11am and 2pm on the following dates:

• Monday 28 October, United Reformed Church, Market Place, Hadleigh IP7 5DL
• Tuesday 29 October, Clacton Coastal Academy – Coast Campus, Jaywick Lane, Clacton-on-Sea CO16 8BE
• Wednesday 30 October, Memorial Hall, High Street, Newmarket CB8 8JP
• Thursday 31 October, St John’s United Reformed Church, 1 Cowper Street, Ipswich IP4 5JD
• Friday 1 November, John Peel Centre for Creative Arts, Church Walk, Stowmarket IP14 1ET

Tickets cost £4 per adult, £2 per child, and £10 for a family of 2 adults and 2 children.  They are on sale at the venues or local Tourist Information Centres. Further details can be found at www.ruralartssuffolk.org.uk.

Editorial: is this the first step towards the Business and Enterprise Park?

The announcement of the initial public consultation on the Mill Lane Development Brief ends a lengthy 'phoney war' over what would happen to the area on the Creeting side of the A1120 link road, opposite the Tesco supermarket at Cedars Park. And, whilst it was inevitable that the emergence of the UK economy from recession would lead to increased activity, there were hopes that the entire project had gone away, perhaps for good.

However, the proposed development brief is broadly in line with the steer given by the Area Action Plan, including tiered warehousing as tall as 15 metres at the south-western corner, tapering to a relatively small 6 metres at the northern extent. As indicated three years ago, the current route over the A1120 on Creeting Road will be closed to vehicular traffic, with a link road joining Mill Lane just north of the Clamp Farm area to the A1120 link road opposite Tesco.

A wetland area adjoining the River Gipping is included, although access from the village will only be possible via often blocked footpaths to the river itself, or by walking (or driving) through the industrial estate, hardly likely to attract local foot traffic. In addition, phase 2 appears to cut off vehicular access to the Creeting Lakes fishery, something that may not suit Quiet Sports, who own it, or the residents of Braziers Hall, whose only access it currently is.

Phase 2 will, if built, also cut the footpath that joins the village with the edge of Cedars Park, something which appears to go unmentioned in what is, admittedly, only a first draft. Indeed, the vaunted cycle/footway to replace Mill Lane and Creeting Road East will be an rather unattractive journey between warehouses and... more warehouses. It appears, on the face of it, to be designed to maintain the pretence that a right of way exists, whilst making it unlikely that anyone will want to use it.

There is an opportunity for villagers to examine the plans more closely at an exhibition, unsurprisingly located at the Cedars Park Community Centre, a building probably little known to residents of Creeting St Peter, as the District Council clearly don't believe that it is a matter that they should be concerned about.

However, forewarned is forearmed, and as many residents as possible should attend the exhibition at Cedars Park Community Centre, Pintail Road, Stowmarket, IP14 5FP on Saturday 19th October from 12 noon to 4pm.

The Mobile Library cometh

For those of you of a literary disposition, the Suffolk Libraries mobile service visits every four weeks and the future dates are as follows;

Friday, 11th October

Friday, 8th November

Friday, 6th December

The Mobile Library will be parked in The Lane, between 11.55 a.m. and 12.10 p.m.

However, if a stop in Creeting St Mary is more convenient for you, it calls at Whissels Farm between 11.20 a.m. and 11.30 a.m., and outside the Village Hall between 11.35 a.m. and 11.45 a.m.