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’m so pleased that this bus stop has finally been moved back to where it should be.  I received the news from a London Road resident who wrote to me to say:

“Dear Cllr Ms Chilvers

I am pleased to say I was able to catch a bus on Friday from the old Kavanaghs Road bus stop - thank you for all your help.

I hope whoever changed the stop is made FULLY aware of all the inconvenience and cost in time & money their “idea” had caused.”

I’ve certainly already made that point and I’m pleased to be able to have played a part in getting this result.

Last year, I spoke to a number of residents in Firsgrove Crescent about the parking situation in their road.  Since the Clements Park area was yellow lined, displaced cars were making parking in that road very difficult.

We all favoured residents parking so we were very surprised when the recommendation came back with a mixture of double yellow lines and residents parking.  In my view, and in the view of a number of objectors, this would compound the problem even further and make parking difficult for Firsgrove residents.

I’m pleased to say that I have, at tonight’s Highways Panel, been able to convince the committee to go back to the drawing board and revise the proposals.  I hope this means we will get the residents/permit parking that we all want.

Power to the people!

I’m delighted to report that the Conservatives have had to do a fairly big about-turn and give up on their preference to go to a Cabinet System for Brentwood Council.  This would have seen a small clique of councillors making the decisions.

The Lib Dem team may have highlighted the issue: we ran petitions, we spoke about it in the press via press notices and lettrs, we spoke to you on the door and made the case for keeping the status quo on our websites…but it was you, the residents, who sent, in support of our preferred option 3, the following to the council:

• 468 consultation papers by post
• 104 responses on-line via the Council website
• 21 responses on www.brentwood-ongarlibdems.org.uk
• 32 responses from a door-to-door petition
• 93 responses from a postal petition

A total of 718 responses in favour of Option 3 with only 281 in favour of the Leader and Cabinet System (Option 1).  In addition, it’s still worth watching the recent Citizens’ Panel where 99% of the attendees wanted Option 3!

Well done to everyone who got involved!  The committee system stays and we can continue to speak up for you and put your points across in the chamber and live on the internet!

I thoroughly enjoyed watching this meeting on Thursday.  Councillors were asked not to attend so that residents could actually have their say without any Tory highjacking!  I was fully in support of this so watched at home.  What an event!

99 per cent of the residents there were totally against the move to go to a cabinet system in Brentwood - a show of hands at the end was 100% against with the one person in favour abstaining from the vote totally!

It’s worth watching: http://www.brentwood.ukcouncil.net/site/

Yesterday, my letter regarding the practical implications of the cabinet system was published in the Brentwood Gazette.  In case you missed it:

Beware snake in the grass with Brentwood council cabinet plan

You should now have received the Conservative proposal to move to a cabinet system with a leader and executive. If you don’t think that a change to the cabinet proposal will affect you, then read on to appreciate what it would mean in everyday terms.

Supposing that someone wants to draw double yellow lines all over your road and you don’t want them, for good solid reasons. Today, you have the opportunity to contact me and I can refer this to committee for debate. I can speak up on your behalf, put your case forward, speak to your neighbours and work with you to find a solution to present at the committee. Hopefully, as ward councillor, other members, from all sides of the political spectrum, will respect the knowledge I have about my ward and I may try to convince them to go with an alternative route. This decision will be made in a public chamber, available to view on the internet.

Under the cabinet system, this won’t happen. The decision will be made by one person, who could reside anywhere in the borough. From my point of view, elected as representative for Brentwood West, how well will they know the people who live there and their everyday issues? Every ward is different, and every ward has its own needs, this is the strength in a committee/panel system …we all get heard.

The Conservative administration will tell you that there will be an opportunity for scrutiny with members able to call items into a scrutiny panel. Well, that’s where we find the ’snake in the grass’… they haven’t put this out for public consultation because they tell us they haven’t decided on it yet. Surely this is a crucial part of the process. So, if you vote for their option one, you haven’t even been told the detail of what you’re voting for.

Remember also, there are only nine opposition members in total. We could have a situation where 10 members have to call an item in to the scrutiny panel – which Tory member would be brave enough to back us up in that situation?

They will also tell you that this will enable “quick” decisions. Can you honestly say that the quickest decisions you make are always the right ones?

If you want to stop this, you must let us know. With 28 Conservatives and nine opposition members the people of Brentwood must rise up and tell us their views! Sign our petition on www.brentwood-ongar libdems.org.uk or fill in the consultation document and choose OPTION THREE to retain the committee and panel structure.

Cllr Karen Chilvers

Lib Dem councillor Brentwood West Ward

You can also vote in our on-line petition:

http://www.brentwood-ongarlibdems.org.uk/petitions/6.html

Some good news from last night’s Highways Panel:

• Crescent Road carriageway will be repaired.  This includes the humps which have become very worn over time.  After discussion, it was decided that these really do need to go back as they do slow down the traffic.  Cllr David Kendall reminded the committee of two deaths in that road some years ago which was the reason they were put in in the first place.
• The Vehicle Activated Signs for London Road and Warley Hill have been ordered.

However, some less good news regarding the Highways Rangers.  Of the 113 requests that I put in for works, only 11 made it on to the list.  Yes, ELEVEN.  All of these 11 were requests to clean or repair road name signs.  All the other requests will go into the general  programme of works. But at least they are on the list after I took the opportunity to drive down every single road in the ward to compile the list.

The Highways Rangers were trumpeted just prior to the elections earlier this year with the promise that they would be flying around town, ward-by-ward, filling in pavement damage, cutting back vegetation, sorting out fly-tipping, cleaning out gulleys, cleaning and re-painting street furniture and cleaning street signs.  Why then, has only the latter gone onto the works list?  Is this just another empty tory election promise?

We’ve set up an on-line discussion forum, on a trial basis, let us know your views on this or any other topic by registering at www.brentwood-ongarlibdems.org.uk.

To go to the discussions, click here: http://www.brentwood-ongarlibdems.org.uk/externals/PhpBb2/

If you want to take a detailed look at the plans for William Hunter Way, including a photo gallery and a Q&A, just follow this link: http://www.williamhunterway.co.uk/

Please tell me your thoughts on the proposal.

Just a reminder that the Highways Surgery for Brentwood West takes place this Tuesday, in the council chamber.

Residents are invited to come along and have their say!

Next year, we’ll be electing four county councillors and, I’m pleased to say, Cllr David Kendall (a familiar face to hundreds of Brentwood West residents, pictured on the far right with Nigel and me) is our county council candidate for the Brentwood South division (includes West, Warley and Brentwood South ward).

David was councillor for Brentwood West from 1991 until 2006 and is now representing Pilgrims Hatch as well as being group leader, having been returned to the council in a by-election in March 2007.  David was re-elected in May this year with a majority of almost 400.

The graph on the right shows that, at the last elections in 2005, David was only 570 votes (8%) behind the Conservative.  With the Conservatives having a stranglehold on every level of local government, isn’t it time to have an alternative voice at county council?  We fight for you at the borough level - we can fight for you at county level!

We can do this with your help! If you would like to help us, follow this link: http://www.brentwood-ongarlibdems.org.uk/surveys/5/

Read more about David’s bid and all the county council candidates here: http://www.essex09.mycouncillor.org.uk/

Last night I attended the Highways Panel.  I’m a member of this one so I get to vote too!

A number of initiatives were discussed and voted upon including:

• provision of a 20mph speed limit in Honeypot Lane
• Improvements to the junction of Weald Road and Lincolns Lane
• Repairs and widening to the A128 and A129
• Repairs to Queen Street, Warley

and I was pleased to support all of these.

There were further discussions about the provision of a VAS sign in Warley Hill.  The proposed site is near Hammonds Lane but I am not convinced this is the right place.  Conversations with residents on the hill show me that, actually, an issue is the acceleration as drivers reach the end of the shops at the top of the hill, with fast speeds as they approach Warley Mount and Junction Road. 

I’ve also asked for repairs to be made to the footpaths in Wharf Road, when (if?) the building works are complete.

I’m sure there are many other issues that residents wish to discuss so, make sure you come along to the Highways Surgery on 22nd July or let me know your concerns.

Did anyone see Brentwood get a mention on “Top Gear” tonight?  They are running a feature on ridiculous road signs and the huge signpost to our “Secret Nuclear Bunker” seemed to amuse them!!!!

I understand there are more problems on the trains today, but I was lucky enough to get a lift to Upminster.

This link will give service updates as the lines are repaired:

http://www.nationalexpresseastanglia.com/rtti/train_service_disruptions

or you can look at the live departure board here: http://www.vicinitee.com/lsl/xmlfeed/dsp_allstation.cfm

I’ve heard on the news today that Liverpool Street station is shut.  Thankfully, I’ve got the day off today but I am sure many of you are affected.

I know only too well the sinking feeling that you get when you get within a few feet of the station and there are hundreds of people milling about, not knowing what to do.  it’s happened twice this year, after New Year and Easter, with over-running engineering work.  What are your options: get a lift to Upminster, work from home, take a day off?  It’s inconvenient and annoying.

I’m on the committee of the Brentwood Bus and Rail Users Association, a non-political campaigning body that works with the people of Brentwood to improve the bus and rail services in the town.  If you want to add your voice to the group, why not join?  It’s only £5 per year (link on the left!)