Sunday 12 December 2010

"I was appalled at JPC meeting" say Henley Resident

Dear Editor,

Through your publication I must report on an astonishing experience I had whilst attending the meeting of Henley & Beaudesert Joint Parish Council on the evening of Monday 6th December.

As a local resident I have some concerns about the planning application submitted by Taylor Wimpey for the Henley Market re-development. At the special meeting convened by the JPC at the High school on 2nd December I listened attentively to all the points raised by those who spoke up. After a few days contemplation, I decided to submit my views by email to each and every member of the JPC in order that they could take this into consideration when reviewing the planning application and the various procedures associated to it.

On Monday night, I simply wanted to ensure that every councillor had received and read my email so I attended the JPC meeting in order to ask that simple question in the “open forum”. This is where members of the public are supposed to be entitled to three minutes to address the Council members on matters that concern them.

Before anyone could speak, the chairman, Cllr Les Goodman, declared that no comments regarding the planning application would be permitted. He then invited me to address the committee from the public gallery. I tried to say that I had turned up on a bitterly cold night along with others in order to provide further information about the planning application. As soon as I commenced, he shouted over me and demanded that I not do so before I had an opportunity to explain why I wanted to speak. I was dumbfounded by this and bullied into sitting down. Mr Goodman made it clear that he was not going to permit me to speak any further on that subject.

Councillor Les Goodman was dictating what members of the public could talk about in what is supposed to be an open forum. I didn’t realise that as Chairman of the Parish Council he had such powers of censorship over democracy.

I felt offended as I was embarrassed in public by his behaviour and consider his manner to be an abuse of his position and have made a formal complaint to the Standards and Ethics Committee of Stratford District Council. I hope all those who witnessed this outrageous conduct will support my complaint by writing to the Monitoring Officer.

Mike Faulkner - Resident Price Harry Road


Other Comments Received by Henley NEWS

If the JPC give this development the go ahead they will lose the confidence of the electorate that the JPC acts for the benefit of the community it is meant to serve and it will inflict further damage to what is already a much questioned and sullied reputation.

The Chairman doesn't have the authority to make such decisions.

The JPC more closely compares to a dictatorship than a democracy. Any attempt to mention the market development was stamped out by the Chairman - no Councillors were asked their opinion so the decision appeared to be taken by the Chairman alone. The open session is meant to be for the residents to mention anything that interests them – it should not be censored, particularly by one individual.

Cllr Osborne was not allowed to make her point in public session – once again by the sole discretion of the JPC Chairman.

The JPC Chairman objected strongly to being ‘told’ how to vote (with rumblings of hear-hear coming from a number of the Councillors)

The JPC Chairman was NOT being ‘told’ he was being ‘reminded’ that his position depended on voters – fact not ‘blackmail’

The JPC is meant to represent the residents, not operate unilaterally.

Even Cllr Matheou was censored from talking about ‘compensation’ which I thought was a good point.

With everyone standing over the District Council we ought to get a good result, so keep up the pressure and don't doubt that the CPRE will back you all the way. Can't believe the arrogance of the JPC and I fully expect a severe condemnation in the next issue of Henley NEWS.

I was very disappointed with this item on the agenda last Monday- it was made quite obvious that we were not permitted to speak in the open forum prior to the meeting. Several issues were discussed at the "special "JPC meeting last Thursday, we were not allowed to make comment during that meeting, therefore residents should have been given the opportunity to make a comment during the public forum at the beginning of this meeting as it was on the agenda. The "no comments on the development" ruling was not voted for at the start of the meeting by the whole JPC. I found it unsatisfactory and undemocratic.

I can understand Les Goodman not wanting to have further discussion on this matter but not sure whether he had the right to prevent it. There was a public session and therefore any member of the public should have been able to talk about any topic on the JPC Agenda. I believe there was a topic on the agenda to discuss the special meeting held on 2nd Dec and as such would have thought that public comment was admissible. Generally I got the feeling that there was little transparency about most subjects and it reminded me of some kind of secret society meeting.

It was amusing to hear Les and others complain bitterly about a statement of fact in a circulated e-mail. This is surely another example of them believing they are above the democratic process. What is normal political activity for everyone else, is blackmail in his and others' eyes. A wonderful contribution made by Trinder and Love AGAIN! Should we be keeping a record of the number of meetings they attend and do not contribute?

Plan 'too complicated' for council to decide yet - Stratford Herald headline.

Sunday 26 September 2010

Cllr Matheou on the 'Human Rights Act'

The letters to the editor in this week's Stratford Herald demonstrate that the ruling group of the Joint Parish Council continues to attack those residents who seek improvements and cost reductions in the way the parish council is managed.

In his letter to The Stratford Herald, reproduced below, Cllr George Matheou talks about a secret agenda. There is no secret agenda. Residents are calling for economy and cost efficiency for their parish council and an end to the "we know best attitude" by the vast majority of parish councillors. Cllr Matheou has repeatedly told Councillors he wants to see Cllr Bill Leech in prison!

Henley NEWS has been conducting a survey of 112 parish councils in the Stratford area and the preliminary results show that the Beaudesert and Henley-in-Arden Joint Parish Council has the highest precept (parish council tax) of all the medium sized parishes of 1,000 to 3,999 population. At £82,650, the JPC's precept shows the massive excess over the average for all medium sized parishes of £26,363.

Those with a secret agenda frustrate council’s work

Sir: I should like to take this opportunity to explain some of the facts relating to the article  in your newspaper last reporting that Mr John Tristram of Prince Harry Road, had accused me of disregarding the Human Rights Act.

First, may I say that I do not know Mr Tristram, yet, he wrote two articles about me posted on a local website which contained inaccuracies, were biased and offensive to me. Since I have done nothing to infringe the Human Rights Act, in which I am a firm believer. I should also like to add that to the best of my knowledge in Henley we don’t torture, we do not have forced labour but we do believe in liberty and a fair trial. To bring the Human Rights Act simply as an argument to attack the parish council is propaganda of the lowest form and an insult to the intelligence of the people of Henley and to the reputation of our town.

In contrast, the parish council will continue working actively with other local organisations, with our community and partners to promote and improve every facet of our town. We do this because it is our job and duty as volunteer councillors. A few people with an unknown motive and a secret agenda who wish to frustrate our work by wasting our time, diverting our attention and providing negative publicity will not succeed in stopping the progress of our town.
Cllr George Matheou

John Tristram Responds
Dear George, 
I was intrigued and flattered to read your letter published in the Stratford Herald on 23rd September 2010. All this talk of ‘Secret Agenda’ makes me seem like a character from a John Le Carré or Ian Fleming novel and borders on paranoia. Let me assure you that I do not have a Secret Agenda. Mine is quite open and straight forward. I would like to see a democratically elected Parish Council which properly represents the wishes of the electorate. I am not alone in believing that the current composition of the JPC does not achieve this.
image
To quote an extract from Oliver Cromwell’s speech at the Dissolution of the Long Parliament on 20 April 1653: "Depart I say; and let us have done with you. In the name of God, go!" Cromwell may have gone a little ‘over the top’, but he had a valid point, born of frustration. 
Regarding the Human Rights Act 1998, may I refer you to the Minutes of the Joint Parish Council meeting held on 6th September 2010, Minutes which you voted to adopt. Under Item 11 AOB it says: “Cllr Matheou went through the Human Rights Act paper article by article. He concluded that none of the articles applied to Henley in Arden”. 
I have received various interpretations of what you meant by your dismissal of the Act, but the approved minute accurately records what you said. Whilst I accept that there may not been any recent cases of torture in Henley, unless you include sitting through a JPC meeting, there are other Articles within the Act which do apply to the JPC and to which it must pay due regard. 
Finally, you say that you do not know me, this despite your spending some time talking to me about the problems of passing traffic not stopping to shop in Henley. You attributed this problem to a lack of adequate parking for passing trade, a worthy argument but the problem which has now been exacerbated by the extension of restrictions through the inclusion of more ‘Disabled’ spaces. I assume this is legal requirement but it does little to alleviate the problem you highlighted.  
George, as a native of Athens and an aspiring local government politician in England, you may be interested to read Cromwell's address which is a landmark event in English political history.  
John Tristram - Prince Harry Road

Resident's outrage at the Letter from 'Ruling Group'

By Susie Latham - Riverside Gardens
Stratford Herald - 23rd September 2010

Dear Sir,

I read the letter in last week's Stratford Herald from a number of Henley & Beaudesert Parish Councillors and take objection to their comments that members of the Reform Group, who are working hard to bring back Democracy to local government in our town, are actually people who just cause trouble but don’t actually do anything.

Yes there are one or two voices that are relatively new to the town but the vast majority are residents who have worked tirelessly over many years (and are still doing so) in many areas of the town’s life that are not so much in the limelight and don’t hold so much power as the JPC but are nevertheless doing work that is an important part of what makes Henley Special. The fact that the JPC don’t know what they do is because, with one or two exceptions, all that most of them do is turn up for JPC meetings and nod through the spending of our council taxes.

My husband, who I am proud to say is a member of the Reform Group because he has a genuine concern for the way the JPC behaves and manages matters, has been involved with running the town's facilities and raising funds in Henley for nearly 40 years; he would not wish me to list them here, or the many, many thousands of pounds he has helped to raise, but I would ask if any member of the JPC could compare with the commitment of another Reformer, Peter Crathorne. He is too modest to mention that he is a former chairman of High School governors (that raised £500,000 for the new Performing Arts facilities), Chairman of the War Memorial Trust which runs the Memorial Hall and the Playing Fields (who are putting together a £400,000 package for a new sports pavilion), is chair of the Hub Youth Centre and also of the elderly group called the Henman.

Don’t the JPC know this? If not, why not? It makes a nonsense of their letter and does them no credit to rubbish people who are in so many practical ways doing far more for the grass roots of the community than they are themselves. Perhaps it’s time “they stepped up to the plate”.

Thursday 16 September 2010

Councillor accused of disregard for Human Rights Act

Rebekah Smith - Stratford Herald - 16th September 2010

A member of Beaudesert and Henley Joint Parish Council came under fire from residents at a meeting of the full council on Monday night for his alleged disregard of the Human Rights Act, writes Rebekah Smith.

John Tristram, of Prince Harry Road said Cllr George Matheou had referred in the Human Rights Act at a meeting 6th September. Mr Tristram said: “He'' [Cllr Matheou] closed by saying the Human Rights Act did not apply to the parish council. Cllr Carsina Goodman said it should be shredded." Mr Tristram said it was totally unacceptable tor councillors, who were public servants, to talk about an Act enshrined in human law in such a way. Mr Tristram said he would like a full inquiry into the councillors' conduct and asked why neither chairman Cllr Les Goodman nor clerk Jenny Walsh had acted immediately. He then presented a written complaint to the council.

Cllr Matheou argued he had only said the Act was not relevant to Henley as he did not know of any cases in the town where it applied.

Resident Margaret Twigg, who made a plea for councillors to stop bickering at last week’s meeting, said: "I was appealed at the way Cllr Matheou ridiculed the Human Rights Act. He has his opinion but the way it was delivered just adds fuel to the fire." Brian Twigg added: "Whatever Mr Matheou says the Human Rights Act applies to all public authorities and applies to the JPC."

Later, clerk Jenny Walsh defended her failure to correct Cllr Matheou: "What he was trying to say was that the legislation wasn’t appropriate to the questions that were being asked. That's why I didn't correct him."

Referring to the length of time the public are allowed to speak at meetings she said: "I can assure you legislation is not being infringed by only asking people to speak for up to three minutes."

Later in the meeting the council was asked to approve its manifesto for 2011.

Cllr Bill Leech suggested items about cost savings in line with government policy and David Cameron’s Big Society concept be included. He said: "I would have expected to see an endorsement of the Prime Minister’s Big Society concept that we would be working with other organisations in the town and it doesn't really make any reference that. Also we're aware of cost savings now in the public sector and there's nothing about seeking cost savings in this authority."

Cllr Matheou said no specific details about the Big Society had been revealed yet so it would be difficult to include anything in the manifesto.

Cllr Goodman said he thought the council should discuss the manifesto at another meeting towards the end of October when councillors had more understanding of the Big Society concept. He said: “When there’s something specific I recommend the parish council put it on the agenda and discuss it in full when we have something to discuss.”

Friday 27 August 2010

YouTube Video Success

A new news report on the JPC website stated, "An early success of the tourism strategy was to see more than one thousand people viewing the podcast for Henley-in-Arden".

In fact, 1,101 people have viewed the JPC YouTube video which has been up 206 days. Therefore, it has been viewed by 5.34 people per day. There is no information on how many people, if any, actually visited Henley as a direct result of the video.

By comparison the Town Meeting video which was uploaded last Sunday (only 3 days) has been viewed by 253 people, which is an average of 84.33 people per day.

75% of Councillors Don't Support No-Confidence Motion

I attended Wednesday night’s meeting of the JPC, where the agenda included an item of interest to me, ‘To discuss arrangements regarding the proposed cattle market development and Councillor involvement’. This was my first attendance at a JPC meeting for some time and it proved to be an interesting, enlightening and entertaining experience. Having made a statement regarding the request for a parish meeting I stayed for the remainder of the meeting.

Having argued that there was no reason to discuss the exhibition proposals because there was no application, George Matheou went on to launch an attack on Cllr Leech for breaching ‘council rules’ by assisting residents to organise the Town Meeting. There was no elaboration on these’ council rules’. Cllr Matheou was not at the Town Meeting and he also was probably unaware that Cllr Leech did not speak at the Town Meeting.

Ironically there was no criticism of Cllr Haycock or Cllr Hadley who also attended the meeting and did speak. Cllr Matheou’s accusations violate the Human Rights Act 1998 and Cllr Leech reminded him that similar legislation applied in his native Greece. It was accepted by the chairman and confirmed by the parish clerk that the residents had an absolute right to hold a Town Meeting. it was therefore a legally constituted meeting and provided residents with the opportunity to effectively update their preferences in the ‘Village Design Statement’.

Cllr Matheou recommended that a working party should be set up to formulate an approach to the anticipated planning application, to be chaired by himself. The chairman stated repeatedly that such a working group could not be formed by the JPC until the planning application was submitted to Stratford District Council. Cllr Matheou continued to press the point but, to the chairman’s great credit, he did eventually succeed in silencing Cllr Matheou.

Councillor Matheou then proposed a vote of no confidence in Cllr Leech. There was a long silence and it appeared that no councillor would second the motion until, to the obvious relief of the chairman, his wife Cllr Carsina Goodman came to the rescue and, seconded the proposal. 75% of councillors did not support the proposition. After the vote of 3 to 2 in favour, Cllr Matheou told Cllr Bill Leech that he should resign. In an act that was pure theatre, Bill Leech turned to the residents and asked them if they want him to resign. There was an immediate and almost universal roar from residents of “No”.

During the previous week the Town Meeting, chaired by Mike Willmott, had demonstrated a good example of David Cameron’s Big Society in action. It had contrasted sharply with the ‘dysfunctional JPC meetings’ chaired by Cllr Les Goodman. Chairmen must be impartial and inclusive and, of course, understand the correct procedures, including the Human Rights Act. The JPC chairman’s bias is clearly illustrated by the form in which he addresses individual councillors, referring to some by their first name and those with whom he does not agree only as ‘Councillor’.

There was a confusing and humiliating scene at the end of the meeting under an agenda item ‘To consider complaint from resident regarding Cllr Leech requested by the Chairman’. The item was due to be held in private session and, after an objection, the Clerk had to advise the Chairman of the correct procedure for implementing a secret session. The item was in fact withdrawn just before it was due to be discussed. Although the chairman did not give a clear reason for the withdrawal, it appeared that it was an unsubstantiated verbal complaint and should not have been on the Agenda.

All together a most entertaining evening and well worth turning out for despite the inclement weather. I shall certainly attend again.

John Tristram - Henley NEWS Online - 26th August 2010

In support of Henley NEWS

At Wednesday night’s meeting of the Beaudesert & Henley JPC, Peter Crathorne, right, speaking in his capacity as chairman of the Hub@ Henley Youth and Community Centre Management Committee, Treasurer of Henley Men (HENMEN), a trustee of the Heritage Centre, and chairman of the Managing Trustees of the Henley War Memorial Trust, started by saying,
“I rise to speak to counter the assertion that Bill Leech does nothing for the town”.
He said that he believed that the work of running Henley NEWS Online is often taken for granted by the organisations that depend on it for their publicity. He expressed the appreciation of the many organisations and individuals who had contacted him in the 24 hours prior to the meeting of the JPC, and asked that this should be considered by the JPC when talking about the motion of no confidence in Bill Leech.
Mr Crathorne later confirmed that he spoke on behalf of 33 residents and 16 town organisations and businesses, all of whom had contacted him in the previous 24 hours.
Henley NEWS Online - 26th August 2010

Friday 13 August 2010

Wasting Our Money on Propaganda

This following article appeared in the latest edition of the JPC Magazine which is delivered to every household in Beaudesert and Henley and paid for by the parish council tax payers.

The contents of this issue were not approved at a full council meeting and many residents are outraged because they consider the article to be both party political and inaccurate. They consider the small cost of contested elections to be minimal when compared with the £20,000 the JPC is accused of wasting each year.
Elections for Parish Councillors are held every 4 years. If a vacancy occurs between that time. advertisements would be placed locally and the vacancy filled by co-option within the Parish Council. This year two such vacancies occurred but a small group of residents claimed that the normal practice of co-option was undemocratic and forced a by-election to be held by the District Council in both instances. In addition, they claimed that Parish Councillors were not doing their jobs correctly and used an ancient right in law to request a Parish Poll be taken on this matter. If ten or more electors in a Parish agree to this, then the Poll would have to be conducted by the District Council. 13 Henley electors requested this so the Poll was held in which 117 voted in favour and 102 voted against the claim. 87% of you did not turn out to vote. 
As the result of the Poll is not binding in law, the purpose of holding one is questionable. However, the cost of the Poll being conducted, and the cost of holding the two by-elections is charged to the Parish Council who will have to pass on the cost to the electors of the town in the form of Precept on the Council Tax. 
The total cost of the Poll and the by elections is £2,700 which will mean that every elector in Beaudesert and Henley will have to pay an additional £1 on their Council Tax next year whether they agree with the views of the opposers to the JPC or not. We believe that you as tax payers should be aware of this fact.
The 'ancient' law referred to is the current Local Government Act 1972. We live in a democracy and contests are the norm for both elections and by-elections. As a result of holding the first contested parish by-election in living memory Sue Osborne defeated George Atkinson, the preferred candidate of the JPC "Ruling Group". In the second contested parish by-election, the candidate nominated by one of JPC "Ruling Group" came last. In the Parish Referendum the JPC "Ruling Group" lost the vote of confidence. 

Do these comments in the latest edition of the JPC Magazine mean the "Ruling Group" considers its maxim to be:

"I do not agree with what you have to say, and I'll prevent to the death your right to vote for it"
with apologies to Francois Marie Arouet Voltaire 1694 - 1778

The JPC is increasing the number of editions of its magazine from 4 to 6 per year, a 50% increase in cost. Many residents are asking if the "Ruling Group" should be using parish council tax money and the parish clerk's time to fund their propaganda machine? In fact why does the JPC need a magazine, when they could use Henley Focus and Henley NEWS Online for FREE? The same question should be asked about the JPC's website upon which the "Ruling Group" are currently spending our money revamping. Why shouldn't they use the 'Town Website', sponsored by the Henley-in-Arden War Memorial Trust, which would be FREE and would be in line with David Cameron's 'Big Society' idea and would save the JPC a lot of money. After all, the Town Website is the one visitors look at as it is at the top of the Google listings. 

Town Meeting about the Market Site Development

imageIn 2007, Henley NEWS supported a successful campaign by 217 Henley residents, pictured below, to ensure that the Joint Parish Council publicly declared that it was opposed to the first scheme proposed by Taylor Wimpey for the redevelopment of the market site. With this experience, the residents are now having to repeat this process with another Town Meeting on 17th August 2010. Commenting at the last parish council meeting on Monday 2nd August 2010, Cllr George Matheou said, "Cllr Bill Leech has no right to organise a Town Meeting". Consequently, it is not expected that the "Ruling Group" of the JPC will attend. So far, only Cllr Osborne, Cllr Hadley and Cllr Leech have told Henley NEWS Online that they will be attending.

The parish clerk has declined to confirm that 33 Henley parish electors have written to the Chairman of the Joint Parish Council, Cllr Les Goodman, requesting that he convenes a parish meeting after the Town Meeting on the 17th. Cllr Goodman told the Stratford Herald that he would seek advice regarding the validity of using the parish poll system in this way.

Under the 1972 Local Government Act, six or more parishioners, who must all be on the electoral roll for the parish, can convene a parish meeting to consider any business, which is a matter of concern to the parish and seven clear days notice must be given for such a meeting. There is no requirement under the Act for parishioners to ask for the permission of the Parish Council.

With 33 parish electors, which is far in excess of the 6 required by law, having written to the JPC Chairman requesting a parish meeting, many residents believe the JPC chairman has no option but to convene a parish meeting so that the residents can inform the JPC of their concerns about the proposals which Taylor Wimpey displayed at their exhibition last month. If the chairman fails to hold a parish meeting, this will be a violation of the 1972 Act and the residents can go ahead and call on Stratford District Council to hold a parish referendum on the acceptability of the proposed development.

Taylor Wimpey has declined to speak at the Town Meeting, saying that they have "already carried out a public consultation exercise and have received representations from the members of the public who attended the recent event [exhibition]." A spokesman for the developers told Henley NEWS Online that the developers had already met Cllr Les Goodman and some of the parish councillors as part of their local consultation programme required by Stratford District Council.

Mr John Stott Chairman of the Beaudesert and Henley Society, Mr Paul Wright Head of Henley High School, County Councillor Mike Perry, District Councillor Stephen Thirlwell, the Flood Risk Officer for this area from the Environment Agency and a significant number of residents are expected to speak.


We MUST be prepared to take responsibility for the community in which we live!
Simon Halsey - High Street


The proposals, as they stand, seem to be solely for the financial benefit of the developer and will have a long term detrimental impact on the residents of Henley.
John Tristram - Prince Harry Road


It seems all our concerns from the first planning proposals have been ignored. School safety and the increased risk of flooding are also of major concern.
Steve Aston - Warwick Road