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Skegness Labour Party
Skegness Goes Green. 20th June 2008 The recent Skegness Town Council meeting saw the
presentation of a paper from Skegness Labour Councillors Gary Ellis, Phil Kemp and Steve Kirk entitled “The Skegness Declaration”. Council unanimously adopted the principle of the paper and
sent it to the Management Committee to finalise some detail before a big official launch, and signing ceremony, hopefully in August. The whole idea came from a private conversation between the
Councillors who believed that the Town Council should be doing more to ensure it works as environmentally soundly as it can. From this has
come a whole document and supporting paperwork with guidance notes and help for others to hopefully sign up to, to ensure that Skegness
becomes a better place to live. With advice on how to tackle litter and anti social behaviour as just a few points of interest, the
Councillors hope that this will take off and that businesses and organisations throughout Skegness will also wish to sign up officially and
play their part. The whole essence of the document is to take more care of our environment and empowers the local community to do just that. When asked about the Skegness Declaration, Cllr Ellis said,
“This is a move for Skegness to take more control over its own environment and we all have a part to play. As a Council, we can help the
local Communities within our town to have more authority to tackle some of the things that upset them directly. We are more than happy to
help. Conservatives have used a phrase before about the environment, but so far have only been seen to play lip service to environmental
issues. We are doing something about it, not just talking. It seems you have to actually vote red to go green in Skegness. Voting blue only
gives you the blues.” Ends
FLYING IN THE FACE OF DEMOCRACY 17th March 2008 East Lindsey Conservative arrogance was once again shown
recently when Skegness Councillors received an email that was sent at 4.31pm on a Friday afternoon to them informing them that a trial of
pleasure helicopter flights would be taking place over Easter on the Skegness Southern Foreshore. The email goes on to ‘explain’ “Time limits preclude
our normal written consultation process with ward members etc.” and that if all departments are happy, ELDC will be looking to create a
licence for the season to operate. It sounds like a license will be granted anyway doesn’t it? Not satisfied with having an atrocious record with regards to consultation, ELDC now seem to be deciding things
without due process of consulting with any statutory employees, any parties that would be directly affected by such proposals, a full and
proper risk assessment, consultations with the Emergency Services etc. This is a licensable operation and would need a licence to operate.
Due process has not been followed. Is it legal? Skegness Labour Party are gravely concerned over this
blatant abuse of powers to override due process and will be urgently requesting that this process is followed and the “trial” cancelled
until such time as the proper procedure has been followed. Cllr Cooper is reminded of his statement with regards to the foreshore when he
said: “I would like to reassure residents that, on my watch, there will be meaningful consultation with the residents.” When will
he start? So far there have been no negotiations with any concerned
parties at all that we have been able to identify and one wonders how many of the parties affected will react when they hear a helicopter
roaring overhead. Considering, amongst a number of other issues, including that this is next to a Site of Special Scientific Interest, close
to Gibraltar Point Nature Reserve and near an RAF training area, one wonders how much thought has gone behind this. Whilst we support new ideas, and welcome innovations, we
wonder why consultation has been ignored. Risk Assessment is always needed and consideration needs to be given to this being the most
suitable area to operate, being the quiet area of the foreshore. Do Skegness residents want to accept everything that ELDC tells them is
best for them? ENDS
East Lindsey Budget 2008 28th February 2008 Unfortunately for the residents of East Lindsey, the Conservative administration decided against an alternative to
their budget, which would have saved residents 1% on the rise in their Council Tax Bill, along with a reduction in the proposed increases in
car parking charges throughout the District. Labour Councillors understand that residents have had
enough of being over-charged for perceived ever-decreasing services. Concern is often expressed about deprivation in the District, yet seems
to be a different matter when it comes to charging residents more. Acceptance of the amount of deprivation throughout our District must mean
an acknowledgement of the ability to pay, and this was the reason for an alternative budget proposed by Labour Councillors who recognise the
very real problems residents have when paying their Council Tax. This comes at a time when East Lindsey is also
restructuring itself to cope with the demands of modern day governance, resulting in the loss of a number of posts through redundancy. This
will surely add more to the list of those with worries about making ends meet. This is yet another example of how out of touch with the
resident they claim to represent, the current administration really is. We suspect that those who chose to penalise our residents in such a
manner will have no such difficulties in paying their own Council Tax bill. This was a wonderful opportunity to show the residents of
East Lindsey that their concerns are taken seriously and it was abandoned in favour of politics. ENDS
A new Branch Chairman 30th January 2008. At the recent Annual General Meeting of the Skegness Branch
of the Labour Party, a new Chairman was elected. Cllr George Saxon is now the new Branch Chairman and a unanimous choice by Branch Members to lead the Skegness Branch
forward for the next 12 months. His plain speaking, easy manner and approachability, made him a natural choice. George said: “The Skegness Branch has been growing
steadily over time and with recent local elections returning 12 local Councillors to the Town Council, Skegness citizens have given their
seal of approval to what we have been doing over recent years. I am proud to be a part of such endorsement. I am looking forward to the
challenges of the next 12 months and will continue to work hard with my Labour colleagues to ensure the best deals for Skegness residents
wherever we can. If other like-minded local people would like to join with us, please contact me on 764933.”
George Saxon (centre) is congratulated by fellow Town Councillors Phil Watson (left) and Andrew Delaney (right). ENDS
Where is all the money going? 5th January 2008 Skegness residents and Councillors, asked the following
question (amongst others) to Labour Councillors: “Why was Skegness Chamber of Commerce given £1,000 by the
Chief Executive of ELDC to help stage a commercial parade to mark the re-opening of Grand Parade after the devastating fire at the Parade
complex?” We have failed (so far) in getting satisfactory answers from
ELDC. We are now attempting to get these questions scrutinised by Council. Whilst we fully support what was a well-intentioned event,
we assert that an ELDC committee should have agreed this expenditure. Other organisations have to fill in Grant Forms, why was this treated
differently? “Which budget has this money come from?” and “Is it
normal procedure to give money to a commercial venture without asking to see their accounts?” remain unanswered at this time. What is
clear is that £1,000 of Council Tax payers’ money has been spent on what many consider to have been nothing more than a publicity event
by and for the Chamber of Commerce. Not all the businesses affected by this sad event where even invited to take part, let alone any
Councils. ELDC is coming under severe criticism for a planning
application that has proved so controversial that it has already cost the Council Tax payer £30,000. Having also recently been served a
writ claiming £50,000 in damages for defamation of character, it is clear that some decisions are proving rather costly for us all, the
taxpayer. ELDC LABOUR GROUP working for all ELDC residents. ENDS
A day to remember? 14th November 2007. Despite securing himself as much publicity as possible, a certain Councillor’s bid to get himself
even more attention, failed when his motion did not impress even one other Councillor that attended the Council meeting. Even pleas for
Councillors to ‘come clean’ by what seemed to be the chairman of his local fan club went unheeded as no Councillor apparently considered
the motion worthy of seconding. So the date of 7th November 2007 will go down in Skegness history as the date that nothing
happened! The first time this Councillor went running to the press on this matter, it was reported that he had passed on all the details of the alleged wrong-doing to the District Auditor. It appears that this was untrue and likely just another attempt at securing more publicity for himself. How do we know this? Because he says he will now report the matter. Rather than being intimidated by this, we would welcome their comments and act upon any recommendations they made. Independent specialist advice has already made it very clear that in their opinion Skegness Town Council has not been guilty of any unlawful act. The saddest factor in the whole incident is that this has yet again cast a shadow over the
achievements for the Town & Council by the former Clerk, leaving people wondering if that is the real motivation. Skegness Labour
Councillors want to take this opportunity to reiterate their good wishes and thanks to the former Town Clerk and his wife. ENDS
Paving, the way ahead. 12th October 2007 In the first of it’s kind for Skegness, a deal has been negotiated with Lincolnshire County Council by
Skegness County Councillors, Mark Anderson and Phil Kemp, securing £1 Million on footpath renewal in the town over the next 3 years. For a number of years, the County Council has had a programme to change slabbed footpaths to asphalt,
commonly called a “back to black” programme. Because of financial restraints on the budget, it has meant that the improvement programme
has made little progress, concentrating mainly on repairs to existing slabbed footpaths in order to avoid accidents and subsequent insurance
claims. With Skegness enjoying such a high profile, this has been considered a source of embarrassment despite the sterling work of all
concerned. Finances have been the restraint. Cllrs Anderson & Kemp produced a joint plan for all Skegness, which they in turn presented to the
Portfolio Holder who agreed and has released £1 Million to address the problem. With this fantastic achievement, the benefits to the town should be immediate, bringing smoother footpaths
for the pedestrian, parents with young children and mobility vehicle users alike, making things much more comfortable. Other benefits will
include a financial saving over time and a positive effect to the environment with less need for harmful weed killing chemicals. All in all, this is a positive step forward for Skegness, for the benefit of us all, thanks to the successful bid of 2 dedicated Labour Councillors. ENDS
Road improvement works in Skegness 21st July 2007 It is with the greatest pleasure we can announce that a new Pedestrian Refuge will be constructed
on Wainfleet Road near the junction with Heath Road within the next 3 months. This is something that has been campaigned for by Skegness
Labour Town, District & County Councillors for some time now and we are glad to see this coming to fruition. The process has taken some time and necessitated the changing of the reduction of the speed limit
in the area first and the addition of some parking restrictions in the area as preparatory works to the refuge. All these works are designed
to improve pedestrian and driver safety in the area and to aid access to the Retail Park and the Wainfleet Road Memorial Playing Fields, as
well as to Hawthorn Medical Practice. With work being undertaken in the near future to enhance facilities at the Wainfleet Road Memorial
Playing Fields that we should all benefit from, this is coming at the appropriate time. It has been with the safety of the resident in mind
that these works have been pursued. ENDS
A pivotal position? 4th June 2007 As Leader of the East Lindsey Labour Group I have been
requested to put the record straight from Labour's’ point of view with regards to Cllr O’Connor. I can confirm that talks had been very advanced between
The East Lindsey Independent, Labour and Liberal Democrat Groups up until 1 week before the District Council AGM and that Cllr O’Connor
had never even been considered as part of a “Rainbow Coalition”. The numbers we were working with were ELIG 19, Labour 8
and Liberal Democrats 3 equaling 30. With a Chairman from one of these Groups we would have had a casting vote as well should the need have
ever arisen. The system was only agreeable if there was a much different approach from the ex-Leader. I have paperwork that show that Cllr O’Connor was never
a consideration, at least from the viewpoint of Labour and the Liberal Democrats. Cllr O’Connor was never even considered as part of a
“Rainbow Coalition” as he has always been considered a Conservative and since these talks collapsed, he has indicated that he will be
voting with Conservatives, probably giving an indication of where his politics really lie. It would be interesting to know why the
Conservatives did not offer him any position at all. However, it seems that the ex-Leader considered things
were better with the Conservatives and went and did a deal with them, unbeknown to us and, it appears, to many of his own Group. With regards to Cllr O’Connor leaving the Council
meeting after about 25 minutes and then being absent from the Special meeting of the Council, how is this representing those who elected
him? We, as the Labour Group, will continue to be constructive
in a common sense approach to the running of the District, arguing always for the benefit of the resident. Cllr Gary Ellis East Lindsey Labour Group Leader ENDS
East Lindsey's New Tories 23rd May 2007 We now have the official news that the Conservatives have done a deal
behind closed doors to ensure that they are the ruling Party at East Lindsey District Council. Whilst they were only successful in securing
28 out of the 60 seats at East Lindsey, we have seen 18 "independents" immediately turn their backs on the people who have only
just elected them and turn Conservative. We will of course, be insistent that they deliver on their election
promises. Residents of East Lindsey can be assured that we will be doing all we can to encourage them to spend your money wisely and be
openly accountable in all they do. ENDS
Skegness is a Labour Town 4th May 2007 Skegness Labour Party is pleased to report a very successful election campaign resulting in
12 Labour Town Councillors and 4 Labour District Councillors. With the National trend being one of going against Labour, we were successful in
keeping the attention focused on the local scene and the residents of Skegness have given us their vote of confidence once again. We thank
them for their confidence and we will be working hard over the next 4-year term to bring further improvements to public services in
Skegness. Each of the 4 wards in Skegness tell their own story and we are pleased that as a
local Labour Party we are able to say we have the approval of Skegness people. With St Clements ward returning Mark Anderson with the
highest vote and the highest percentage of the vote in the town, we believe we have the necessary mandate to take Skegness even further
forward, and we will be getting on with this task immediately. Skegness is on the verge of major new investments and developments and we are
confident we have prepared the Town Council to be able to meet the challenges this will bring. With public consultations currently ongoing
with respect to our Town Plan and the Sunshine Pool area, we would encourage as many that can, to take part and have a say in the future
shaping of our town over the next 5 to 10 years. The resident is at the heart of what we do. ENDS
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