I'LL TRY MY BEST

I'LL TRY MY BEST NOT TO CRY
BYE AND BYE
WHEN THE FINAL FAREWELLS HAVE BEEN SPOKEN.

So the Boundary Commission has set forward the view that Devon, outside of Torbay and Plymouth, should be a Unitary Authority, thus dispensing with the District Councils. The Local Cllrs are split along strict "Snout in the Trough " lines. The Party suddenly coming off second best when it clashes with the promise of downgrading the ego and cash of one group or another. The County Cllrs are in favour, the District Cllrs are against. The real losers will be democracy (already sporting a small "d" in North Devon) For as the number of voters per seat increases then only the Political parties with their rabid fans and deep purses, can expect to win seats. How did we come to this state of affairs?

Answers on the back of an ever increasing Council Tax Bill.
In the meantime
VOTE
NONE OF THE ABOVE If we cannot have a proper Democracy then let us let them know.

WINDFARMS AND POLITICS

North Devon District Council has lost its attempt, by Judicial Review, to rescind the planning permission granted on appeal at a Public Enquiry for a windfarm at Fullabrook Down, near Ilfracombe, North Devon.
The Council should have been well aware of the chances of overturning a lawful Government decision (Local or national), as it had fought and won previous attempts at overturning its own decisions (see NDDC vs Tarn, study the background and you will see exactly what I mean)
As stated last year, here, even if they won then it was likely that they would have to pay compensation, (several cases here)
There is no doubt that huge wind turbines will spoil the view. There should be no doubt that, in the future, when the windfarms bite the dust, that the land they stand on will suddenly become "industrial" and thus easy meat for property developers.
What is wrong about the application at Fullabrook is that, when planning was refused, by democratically elected local Councillors, that this should have so little sway when it came to an appeal. The Green Party argue that the Planning Application was decided in an atmosphere of bias, with one Cllr stating that he had come to the meeting with an open mind and then he read from a prepared statement which slated windfarms and pandered to the activists who supported him in "other matters".
Some Cllrs approached the application with an open mind. Planning applications are decided around the recommendations of Officers. To overcome an Officer's recommendation for approval there must be "good planning reasons" no such reasons were evident. It is true that the "antes" had more time to speak than the "pros" but, local politics aside, it made no difference to the core question.
I wonder what weight may be put on the various surveys conducted by both sides. If you ask someone in North Molton if they agree with renewable energy, they will say YES. If you ask them would they like a windfarm in North Molton, they would say NO if you asked them would they like a windfarm at Ilfracombe they would then say YES. Such surveys are useless. Nor do I agree with the scorn poured on those designated NIMBYs. What is wrong with defending what is yours, be it a house or a view? One area of ridicule where the antes shot themselves in the foot was the poster which said that windturbines would kill all the eagles in North Devon......presumably they would not be a danger to the Beast of Exmoor!
One thing is certain, the Judicial Review was costly and we will have to pay. It is quite clear that those who took that decision, without adequate consultation should bear the responsibility and resign.

CHICKENS CRYING FOUL!

Few things on the telly really amaze me anymore, but the sight of some Cllrs in North Devon expressing their "disgust" at the revelations that Tesco had bought the local store of Brian Ford, sometime ago and seemingly had submitted a planning application in the former owners name, brought home the advantage that these Cllrs have in owning a selective memory. For this is not the first time that the ownership of land has raised it's head in the twisted planning affairs of North Devon. Some years ago a Cllr brought up the matter when a planning application was submitted by someone who, seemingly, did not exist and yet he claimed ownership and control of the land, the subject of the application. The reply from the Planning Manager was that "they" were not concerned with who owned the land and couldn't check each application for veracity. The fact that "inconsistencies" on the application seemed to make it illegal cut no ice. One reason the Cllr asked the question was this: if the true owner of the land was connected to a Cllr on the Planning Committee, how would that Cllr know when to declare an obvious interest? The present furore might mean that, if a Cllr worked or had a relationship with Tesco, then he would be guilty of not declaring an interest if he had any part in the decision making process for that application. At the time, the legal advice from officers of the Council was that the Standards Board was "unlikely" to pursue a Cllr who was involved, but no guarantee could be assured. Of course now that complaints are dealt with by the Authority itself and all notions of transparency and faith in the system have flown, it may not be a problem.
No surprise then that two of the Cllrs so "outraged" failed to support the Cllr who wanted the matter resolved all those years ago.

AS THE LIGHTS GO OUT

Over the Labour Government, the oft repeated phrase comes to mind again...
"You have tarried here too long for any good you may have done...in the name of God be gone"
But what is to replace a weary administration? Are we to assume that because the "others" are fresh with the wind of fortune in their collective faces, that they can do any better? For too long we placed ourselves at the mercy of those who controlled our energy requirements, if we are to exist at all as a viable Country then we must secure the energy needs of Industry and the people at a sensible cost. Some Environmental activists insist that we must do without Gas, Oil and Nuclear Power (and wind turbines). oh and Coal, where then will the electricity be generated?
We have become a Society of different tribes, and no house divided against itself can long stand.
There are hard decisions ahead and sadly these decisions are beyond people who claim to be acting for us all but think only of themselves and their image.

THE DIRTY GAME OF POLITICS

We have seen the sort of people who are or wish to be Politicians and have control over our lives. Most of them, if we knew at the time that what they were like, we would never allow them within a country mile of that power. Sadly we have a system whereby a Candidate is put before us as the choice of a Political Party and the faithful vote for that Candidate. All the vast power and wealth of Political parties are focused on promoting that person. It is all to easy to say that those who blindly or choose in this blinkered fashion, get the MP or Cllr they "deserve". There needs to be a radical change in the system at Local level. The only way that this can be achieved is to vote "NONE OF THE ABOVE" on the ballot paper. When the number who do not vote and the number of "spoiled" papers is more than the number who do vote then the twisted democracy of the ruling Parties is exposed.

MOST PEOPLE

have become accustomed to revelations about the abuses of Public Money and expenses that we so regularly hear. The Thick Skins of these Politicians at all levels when they are caught out is nothing short of breathtaking. The latest "appeasement" trick is to resign from the Party position rather than resign from the actual position that they have been placed in by the votes of ordinary people. This is just an attempt to convince people that "something is being done". The abuse of Public Money goes on at all levels. At County and District Levels, the use of Public Money, seemingly over collected for the purpose, to be doled out by Local Cllrs, as though the money was their own to give, is a disgrace. Why not reduce the burden of Council Tax and let US decide where our own money goes? Of course not say the Local Politicians, how else would we get our name and fizzog in the Local papers?
The Thunderer on Friday 13th June summed it up well. Rachel Sylvester, the excellent and clever political writer described a theory that was popular with MP's that all politicians are psychologically flawed (and not just those activists who have a proven Mental Disorder and are being used by others to stifle free speech). Something, apparently, in their makeup requires them to crave the endorsement by thousands of people that election brings. Of course they conveniently forget that they get the votes because they are Members of a Political Party. Indeed I well remember one Cllr, who can only be described as an egomaniac, who decided to go "Independent" and lost the election. He quickly went back unto the Tory fold where he was safe from failure. And so I repeat the message...nothing will change until the present voting system is seen as it is....a system to offer the label of Democratic Endorsement to unsuitable people who have been chosen by a small number of people in some dark room in Political HQ.
so....across the paper write NONE OF THE ABOVE.
When the number of spoiled papers and the number of those who do not vote exceed those voting then the result cannot be called Democratic.

FOLLOW THE LINK

To the most informative article yet on why Local Government needs to be drastically reformed.

http://www.rottenborough.org.uk/JadAdams.html

Of course those who get their living or massage their egos with the present system will disagree...but "they would wouldn't they"