Just after I was elected, the Conservatives voted in some fairly extensive parking restrictions in Clements Park. 

I’ve always been of the opinion that they were too much and that a more staged approach would have been better, but I am really interested in knowing how you feel.

So let me know!  Follow this link and fill in my survey: http://www.brentwood-ongarlibdems.org.uk/surveys/6/

I’m pleased to be able to report that the “Friends of Country Parks” will now belong to the people, and not a number of Conservative councillors. 

I suggested this group some time ago and a number of people responded saying that they wanted to take part.  It was then in danger of being highjacked by the Conservatives as they decreed that 3 of their councillors, one Labour councillor and one Lib Dem (me) would form one third of the fifteen strong committee.

I had intended this to be a non-political, user only group and I continued my fight to make this the case through the press, this website and also by continuing to lobby the Leader of the council.

It worked!  This will now be a totally park user led group and I wish the group luck!  I’ll keep you posted on it’s progress and, I can assure you, will continue to take an active interest.

We’re still investigating the “Brentwood Tree of Welcome” project for the Brook Street roundabout.  You can see a picture of it on the Brentwood Gazette website: http://www.thisistotalessex.co.uk/brentwood/BRENTWOOD-Tree-Welcome-design-unveiled/article-499146-detail/article.html

Originally it was intended as a gateway sculpture for the 2012 Olympics.  However, with children from Holly Trees Primary School and Brentwood County High School participating, it was felt that it should continue, despite the fact that we are no longer hosting the Mountain Bike Event. 

The plans are impressive, but the funding of around £50,000 is a concern in these tought economic times so we are going to have to look at funding from bodies such as the lottery and the Arts Council England, before we can make a decision.

 What do you think of the plans?  We’d like to know so Lib Dem leader Cllr David Kendall  suggested the plans be shown to the next citizen’s panel to get residents’ feedback or you can comment on this article.

Like Brentwood Theatre, our local radio station plays a very important part in Brentwood life.  Over the last couple of years, it has become a feature of Brentwood life and it is a very rare thing indeed.  It’s a very local station at the heart of the community and carries very local stories, covering local elections and news from local people and is DJ’d by local people.

The Liberal Democrats tried to get funding from the Assizes Fund last night, the same place the £80K for the theatre is coming from, but this wasn’t going to get agreed by the Conservatives.  Therefore, we supported a revised motion that we would look for CIF funding (Community Initiatives Fund) instead. 

It’s a bit of a disappointment, but we hope they will be successful.  If not, we’ll be back again.

See the full story here: http://www.brentwood-ongarlibdems.org.uk/news/000096/disappointment_for_phoenix_fm.html

Albeit briefly…Cllr David Kendall and I had a lot of fun last night!  When discussing the possibility of an £80,000 grant for Brentwood Theatre, the entire Conservative group and the Labour leader declared a prejudicial interest and had to leave the chamber!  This left just the two of us and one labour member able to vote with Cllr Ross Carter in attendance!

So, David was left to chair the meeting and, for a brief but sweet time, we were the majority group!

The good news is that we did approve the grant for the theatre and this very important feature of Brentwood is able to complete their refurbishment.  The theatre brings a lot of enjoyment to Brentwood residents and I hope to see Fantastic Mr Fox this year!

I’ve added a link to Brentwood Theatre under “Fun Things” on the left.  You can also see the full story here: http://www.brentwood-ongarlibdems.org.uk/news/000098/lib_dems_move_brentwood_theatre_grant_forward.html

In the Gazette this week:

http://www.thisistotalessex.co.uk/brentwood/BRENTWOOD-Microchip-plea-pet-owners/article-487177-detail/article.html

If you can spare some pennies for Pudsey, then log on and donate to this wonderful charity!

Donate here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/pudsey/donate/

Just thought I would share this thank you note with you with reference to a much-delayed repair to a council fence:

 ”Dear Karen,….the fence has been fixed and they did a good job.  Thanks for your support, it was very much appreciated.

This is an example of local democracy where a councillor supports the people -well done!”

Of course, I appreciate that I’m here to help my residents with such issues, but it is always nice to feel appreciated!

I’ve been helping with a dog rescue in Junction Road this morning.

On the phone to my mum and suddenly she said “There’s a dog walking down the road on it’s own”. She dashed off to see what was happening, with no phone call after a minute or so I knew there was a problem so I shot over there (with spare lead and collar).

When I got there she had, with neighbours Alan & Judy, managed to catch said mutt and they were all in the garden with him. He was a huge Staffy, but friendly and happy.  He seemed well looked after so I hope he is reunited with his owners.  I will keep you posted.

As I’ve said before, a micro-chip would have enabled the dog warden to ring up the owner straight away.

UPDATE: Doggy reunited with owner and, even better news, when they scanned him again at Wallace Kennels he WAS chipped so the owner was contacted straight away!

I have a letter in the Brentwood Gazette today, here it is:

Dear Editor

Such a very one-sided view of the Conservatives’ refusal of planning permission for a Multi Use Games Area at Sawyers Hall College appeared in the Gazette (5th November) that the balance has to be sensibly redressed.Opposition councillors were particularly surprised to see this rejected as it was fully supported by the Conservative Mayor of

Brentwood, Cllr Dudley Payne, who sent a statement, read out in support of the application.Liberal Democrats have a strong record of standing up for the Green Belt, but a facility which would encourage young people to participate in sport is certainly not harmful to the green belt and, in our view, would be welcomed by the many residents who tell us there is nothing for their children to do. The application complied with all the relevant policies and was, therefore, recommended for approval.

Specifically, it was considered that the proposed development of a sports pitch would not have an unacceptable detrimental impact on enjoyment of the countryside, would not have resulted in the permanent loss of the best or most versatile agricultural land, would not have an unacceptable detrimental impact on a SSSI, a County Wildlife Site or an area of special landscape and would not have required unacceptably prominent ancillary facilities.Yes, it is appreciated that fencing and floodlighting would be required but not to an unacceptable level. The site benefits from existing tree screening and the fence constituted netting, not a palisade fence.

It’s a shame that the Conservatives did not apply the same attitude to the retrospective application for two classrooms on the Green Belt (recommended for refusal and approved by them) when we were considering an application for Woodlands School.

Cllr Karen Chilvers

Liberal Democrat Councillor, Brentwood West