Lights on but no one is playing?

Keeping the lights at the MUGA when no one is playing is still happening.

What a load of bollards

The school crossing patrol scam is back!

The school crossing patrol scam is back. At a meeting of the council on 1st November 2016 the following was decided.

Having taxed us for ages to provide a school crossing patrol that didn't materialise the Parish Council decided to stop this scam. Yet taking £10,000 from reserves is a bit pointless. £5,000 was for training and £5,000 was for pay With only 4 months to go to the end of the financial year this money isn't going anywhere.

As the Parish Council has decided to take £10,000 from reserves and reinstate £5,000 a year. Going on previous attempts with little prospect of getting people to man the school crossing patrols this will be money taken from the council taxpayer and going into the councils' coffers.

The major question here is why the Parish Council is having to pay and not the schools whose pupils use this service.

Bah Humbug from Cambourne Parish Council

It is Boxing Day and the lights are on at the deserted MUGA.

And the lights are off on the Upper Cambourne Christmas Tree.

Light Up Cambourne

It is 19.29 on Sunday 25th December 2016. The lights are on at the MUGA at the Leisure Centre. Why?

Yet the Community Lights on the Christmas Tree on The Green, Upper Cambourne aren't working. Why?

Light up an area where no one is with bright lights but no lights working on the Upper Cambourne community Christmas tree. Magic!

More Councillors? More Co-option? Not Democratic!

Cambourne Parish Council wants more Councillors. In a report it is argued the Parish Council is under-represented with currently 13 Councillors and must be increased to 19 Councillors. The reason given is the number of Parish Councillors is higher in other Parish Council areas.

The Parish Council argument is therefore because other parish councils in South Cambs have more Councillors than we in Cambourne therefore should also have more! This is a dumb argument. The argument could be the other way round. There are far too many Parish Councillors even in Cambourne.

The recent electoral review for the County Council reduced the number of Councillorsfrom 69 to 61. Further, the recent review for South Cambs DC has reduced their number of Councillors from 57 to 45. In both cases the population in each authority is set to increase and the number of Councillors is set to decrease. The direction of travel is for fewer Councillors but Cambourne Parish Council wants more Councillors because of a higher population.

The Parish council makes another argument. The workload.

All the above is not an argument for more Parish Councillors. Just because the Parish Council has chosen to do more doesn't mean there should be more Parish Councillors.

The Elections argument.

As can be seen from the above table the number of co-option events were 11 and number of by-elections is 5. Since 2012 there have been no more by-elections with only co-options happening. For casual vacancies co-option takes place where no by-election has been called by 10 electors of the Parish. Co-option has meant the Parish Council can become self appointed with Parish Councillors choosing their fellow Councillors. This is wrong.

What this means is the Parish Council will become self appointing again and is therefore not democratic. Having more Councillors will mean more co-option rather than less. This is not democratic. Co-option is the easy peasey option because candidates do not need to publically campaign for our votes. Just turn up and the remaining Councillors vote for whom they like.

Ron says: Elections are the major part of our liberal democracy. Parish Councils (and in this case Cambourne Parish Council) are not enthusing the electorate to stand or vote in elections. Elections would be made easier to hold if the electorate were able to vote in smaller parish wards say one representing each of the 3 villages that make up Cambourne.

Rewriting History

I was reading back in the minutes when I was struck by the statement below. 

 Apparently Cambourne Parish Council has had 12 consecutive unqualified audits. Except it hasn't.

As can be seen from above Cambourne Parish Council received a qualified opinion for the year 2013/14. 

Ron says: Not 12 consecutive years then! Only 2 years.

Links
Audit Commission National Archives
ACNA Excel Document
CPC Annual Return

Can't be bothered!

The final recommendations are out from the Local Government Boundary Commission England are out and Cambourne will have 3 District Councillors just for Cambourne.

What did Cambourne Parish Council do to help?. According to the minutes the Parish Council supported Cambourne having 3 Councillors and the Chairman would make a submission in support.

According to the LGBCE website no submission was received.

You might be Cambourne Parish Council if......?

You leave a mess on Parish Council property.

This is an example of a mess left on Parish Council property. Black bags full of rubbish, empty beer boxes and beer bottles. If this was anywhere else the Parish Council would be having a go at those who left this mess. Except this is out the back of the Parish Council owned and run The Hub.

I witnessed the Parish Chairman and the Deputy Parish Clerk walk past this mess. The Parish Council is here to set an example for all other residents to follow. Yet the Parish Council seems happy with this mess.

ONE RULE FOR THE RESIDENTS. ANOTHER RULE FOR THE PARISH COUNCIL!

(Photo taken at 14.58 on 14/12/2016)

You might live in Cambourne if......?

Your car breaks down and you leave it!

Cambourne Parish Council facing two ways!

Newcrest want to build a Convenience Store for the Co-op. The Parish Council decided against this development at a meeting of the Council.

On the otherhand having decided to be against this proposed development the Parish Council is still allowing an easement allowing services for the development to go ahead.