Comment reply, Mick & Pete D.

Comment reply.

Written for the Blog by a Preston resident

Hello Mick.

I’m afraid I can’t answer why they keep it so quiet we just don’t know but you must remember these minutes are taken from a few years ago so a number of those councillors have now left the council, there is only a small number of councillors left from the mid 1990’s and it’s with those that the problems have originated and continue to this day.

These 3 councillors appear to have the attitude of ‘we know best because we have been councillors for a long time so we’ll make all the decisions without any involvement from anyone else (including the Council) who aren’t as knowledgeable as us, so just leave it all to us and don’t worry your little selfs!’ If people want the Parish to be run by no more than 4 people without any input from anyone else let us have a review and establish that.

There has been many telling comments made in council over the time I have been attending meetings, one stands out very clearly from the beginning of 2011 when it became clear that there would most likely have to be an election for the first time about 15 years. A view very strongly and angrily expressed by these same councillors was ‘OK, if these people want an election we’ll put the precept (council tax) up and they can pay for it themselves’. That I’m afraid was their attitude and I’m sure it still is although it has by necessity to be muted at the moment. They seem to have forgotten that we as residents are entirely entitled to elect those who we wish to represent us. There are councillors on the current council who witnessed those comments.

I did say very recently that the neighbours of the then Chairman didn’t even know he was on the council so what chance would the rest of us have at knowing anything. You have to remember that the council have always been very secretive, they have the belief that the least they tell people the less they can be picked up on, that includes their written word as these minutes clearly show, that’s worked for them for many years and they have never been questioned about it.

With such behaviour it isn’t just us of today that are effected, it really is generations to come who would like to look back and read the records to see how we lived. It may be your great grandchildren who are doing a school project to appreciate the time of their Great Grandparents, they will be able to glean very little from our records of today. The council really do need to get those minutes sorted out as a priority with the view that anyone reading those minutes at anytime in the future will be able to understand and make full sense of them.

Hope that makes some sense Mick, thanks for your comments.

Hello Pete D.

I seem to recall late 2010 or very early 2011 someone called Pete approaching the council to get access to the Sports Pavilion to start playing football there again. The request, I’m sure was in writing and the council said they would consider it, the council didn’t consider it! I attended virtually all council meetings at that time and I can assure you that letter was never raised or acknowledged in any council meeting, so who made the decision not to allow it?

It could only have been the then Chairman and Vice Chairman who took that decision themselves without consulting the council, as we have already established the only binding decisions that can be made are by the whole council as a body and not by any individuals, whoever they may be, they must have been advised against making such decisions.

Those people didn’t want the Sports Pavilion brought back into use for reasons we have already touched on in a previous posting. It’s quite wrong that a couple of people who are prepared to abuse their position can make decisions that have far reaching consequences without going through the correct channels of consulting the council or residents to enable a wider consideration of the issue.

At present you may well be right in your opinion that it’s a ‘total waste of time trying to talk to them’.  The problem with that is, if we simply walk away with that sentiment ringing in our heads every time this happens things will never change and a council without any checks and balances can only get worse and become corrupt.

At some point you have to stand up and challenge them and take the action that ensures the council operate in a proper manner with due regard to both other council members and residents, the only people who can do that is you and I with other residents acting as a group.

Don’t forget it’s our council, we elected them and we are fully entitled to our say and view, in my opinion the sooner we get some kind of a group together and working together the sooner we can start to make a difference.

Hope that answers you Pete and thanks for the comment.