26/4/2008

Local News in Fleet

Political rows, planning and Pyestock dominate agenda

A protest against the Pyestock mega-depot.

It's been a year of fighting between the political parties on Hart District Council.

A row even broke out at the very first meeting of the newly-formed council last May when the Conservatives were frozen out of a leadership challenge.

The Tories had just lost ground by dropping a seat to the Community Campaign Hart (CCH) in the local elections, but that did not stop new Conservative group leader Ken Crookes from making a daring bid for leadership at the annual meeting.

In an impassioned speech, Cllr Crookes pointed out that the Conservatives were the largest group on the council and at the elections polled more votes than all the other parties put together.

He added: “The people of Hart want Conservatives to be part of this council.

“We need to be united in this council chamber and fight the enemies outside.

“I therefore think it’s time for us to work together. It’s time for a change.”

Cllr Crookes wanted to lead a cabinet made up not of Conservatives, but from all sections of the political spectrum and of people with the time, energy and talent to lead the council forward.

But the plea fell on deaf ears as the ruling Liberal Democrat/CCH coalition voted to continue in charge for another year.

The decision left Cllr Crookes fuming. He said: “I am bitterly disappointed, but not surprised, that they slammed the door in our faces. It shows that only the Conservatives stand for inclusion and democracy.”

However, Liberal Democrat and deputy council leader David Simpson hit back, saying: “The reality is that the Conservatives have lost power and they will do anything they can to get some of it back.

“They are the problem, not the solution, but they do not realise this because they are self deluding.”

Another political war of words broke out in June when it was revealed there had been another delay in the council’s kerbside glass collection service for the rural parts of the district.

When councillors were told a new truck would not be delivered until September, the Tories complained the problem had rumbled on for far too long.

Meanwhile the coalition pointed out that it was the previous Tory administration that had failed to budget for the new truck.

There was more political fighting in September when it was revealed that the cost of refurbishing Hart and Frogmore leisure centres had increased by £86,700.

Angry Conservatives called in the decision and an inquiry was held into the overspend, but councillors decided not to refer the matter back to cabinet.

In the same month, the ruling coalition again came under fire for failing to make community safety a key priority in the council’s corporate plan.

The plan proposed two key priorities for the district — enhancing the environment and affordable housing — but a Conservative call for community safety to be added as a third key priority was rejected after a heated debate.

Councillors also clashed over plans to set aside £100,000 for an early retirement budget fund for council staff.

The ruling coalition said the money was needed to meet potentially substantial compensation costs should anyone be granted early retirement.

However, the Tories said the move was not right at a time when funding for vital frontline community services was being cut in a bid to make savings of £1.25million.

Tempers also flared as Hart raised its share of the council tax by an inflation-busting 4.8% in March.

The ruling coalition said its budget was prudent and offered value for money.

One Tory likened it to “kicking out granny’s gold teeth to finance next week’s grocery bill”.

And the result of all the bickering? Hart District Council remains one of the worst performing authorities in the country, according to the latest inspection by the Audit Commission.

The damning report said Hart lacks adequate arrange-ments for achieving value for money and is falling behind other councils on improving services for the disabled.

Sickness absence among staff is high and rising, the cost of waste collection has risen significantly and burglary and car crime has increased.

Development continues to be a huge issue throughout the district and is sure to be a major factor in shaping the local elections.

More than 12,000 voters have already objected to a series of plans to build a massive warehouse on the former Pyestock site between Fleet and Farnborough.

Hundreds of people packed into Aldershot’s Princes Hall last month to hear Hart’s planning committee throw out the controversial scheme. However, the fight is far from over as joint developer Prupim and Astral has appealed against the decision. The scheme will now be decided by an independent government inspector.

There was further planning news for that area when Kenmore confirmed it was pushing ahead with plans to build a bakery on part of the Cody Technology Park just down the road.

Meanwhile, campaigners are waiting to hear if a government inspector will throw out controversial plans to build 1,000 homes on the former Queen Elizabeth Barracks in Church Crookham following a long-running inquiry last year.

There was some good news for objectors when Hart threw out plans to build more than 200 homes overlooking Fleet Pond in February, but a month later its major sites sub-committee finally approved plans for 300 homes in Hitches Lane, Fleet.

Furthermore, last summer there were tears in Hartley Wintney as the government approved plans for 170 homes in Dilly Lane, despite the scheme being rejected by Hart District Council and a planning inspector following a detailed inquiry.

The controversial practice of so-called “garden grabbing” where developers buy a large detached house, knock it down and build new houses or flats on the plot, has been a major talking point across the district.

Last summer, Fleet MP James Arbuthnot warned that the practice has risen by 25% in Hart district alone.

Road safety has been another major issue, with four teenagers, two people in their early twenties and a 58-year-old woman being killed in car crashes on roads last year.

Antisocial behaviour problems continue in the district, particularly in Hook. Police seized nine replica BB guns from young people in the town in just two weeks between May 23 and June 4.

A month later police launched a crackdown on antisocial behaviour in Hook by going out on extra patrols and warning that letters would be sent to parents of repeat offenders. Officers also warned they would telephone parents to alert them to their children’s behaviour and call them out to collect them if held.

Hook residents reacted with horror after rampaging youths broke into a police car and tried to push it down an embankment during a night of disorder on Halloween.

In February, police vowed to crack down on mini-moto riders causing problems in parts of the town.

There have also been recent disturbing reports of vandalism and antisocial behaviour in Yateley.

In one incident, yobs got in to the Dairy Crest depot in Mill Lane and drove milk floats around, while in another two milk floats were stolen and used to break into the yard.

Flooding has been a problem throughout the district.

In July, torrential rain left gardens and roads flooded throughout Fleet, Hartley Wintney, Yateley, Blackwater and Crondall.

Holt Lane in Hook was flooded waist deep in places, preventing vehicles getting to hundreds of homes in nearby Holt Park.

Another talking point among voters has been post office closures. There was outrage when the branch at Pondtail Stores in Kings Road, Fleet, was closed, forcing pensioners to make the longer journey up to the town centre branch and wait in long queues.

The row over parking restrictions in Fleet town centre continues after claims the bays have been wrongly re-painted.

Campaigner Peter Ashford is now calling on Hart to refund all parking penalty payments it has received from more than 6,000 drivers.

Voters living in the rural parts of Hart district have also had their fair share of problems.

Last July, Crondall residents were left fuming after their only bus service — the number 71 between Fleet and Farnham — was being axed.

Bus user Caroline Knowles was so angry she put a petition in the local Crondall Stores and collected more than 300 signatures opposing the cut in just two weeks.

Meanwhile, in the same month, vandals broke into Ewshot Village Hall one Friday night, causing around £3,000 worth of damage.

The hall’s management committee said it was the worst vandalism it had seen in 30 years.

These are just some of the issues that have dominated Hart politics over the past year, and are likely to be on the campaign agenda.

We hope that the following pages will give you the ammunition needed to make an informed choice come May 1 over who you want to represent your views over the next four years.

First printed in: Fleet News and Mail