Street signs

As I walk or drive around Epping I regularly report broken or poorly maintained street signs to the district council and I am pleased to say that in most cases council staff respond fairly promptly. Sometimes they have even spotted the damage and ordered a replacement before the problem has been reported.

I was pleased to learn that signs in Springfield and Centre Avenue in Epping are to be replaced this week as both have been steadily deteriorating. The nameplate in Springfield is literally on its last leg, as one of the supporting metal posts has disappeared or been taken.

The design of the street signs used by the council has changed over the years. Personally I think the current design, with the black edging and wooden posts (see Tidy’s Lane example below), is more attractive than those used in the past. I hope the council sticks with it.

Springfield street sign - before it lost its leg

Tidy's Lane street sign - an example of the current street sign design

Another Liberal Democrat election win

Congratulations to Gavin Chambers: the latest Liberal Democrat candidate to win an election in Epping Forest.

Gavin Chambers (left) is congratulated by Councillor Peter Spencer

Gavin was elected to Buckhurst Hill Parish Council on Thursday following the sad death of Malcolm Woollard, who worked so hard over many years for the local community.

The result was convincing:

Lib Dem (Gavin Chambers) – 614 votes (63%)

Conservative – 312 (32%)

BNP – 56 (6%)

It represents something of a vote of confidence in the hard work of the Lib Dem team who run Buckhurst Hill parish council. The council has chalked up a number of achievements in recent years, including saving the old Roding Centre (now renamed the Woollard Centre) from being sold for housing redevelopment and delivering a new playground and ball court for local young people.

I know they have plenty of future plans too and will continue to campaign for the interests of their local residents.

Essex County Council Election Results in Epping Forest

All the results are now in. The Liberal Democrat highlight in Epping Forest is a victory in Epping & Theydon Bois, where Janet Whitehouse overturned the Conservative majority

  • Janet Whitehouse, Liberal Democrat: 2,481 (42%)
  • James Surguy, Conservative: 2,080 (36%)
  • Andrew Smith, UKIP: 581 (10%)
  • Tony Frankland, BNP: 306 (5%)
  • Daniel Kieve, Green Party: 219 (4%)
  • Simon Bullough, Labour: 192 (3%)

Total number of votes cast: 5,859
Turnout: 45%
Majority: 401

Read the rest of this entry.

Thank you

Thank you to everyone who voted for the Liberal Democrats in Epping Forest yesterday. The votes will be counted at Theydon Bois Village Hall today and you can check the results on the Essex County Council website here.

Some districts, including Chelmsford where the Liberal Democrats won five seats and Brentwood where the Liberal Democrats gained two seats from the Conservatives, have already counted. Full results here.

Eleanor Laing: Time to stand down

Like most Epping Forest residents I don’t have a £1m second home (or first home!) so I have never had to deal with a possible capital gains tax bill of £180,000. When the Daily Telegraph first revealed how our MP told the parliamentary authorities that her second home was in London but told the tax authorities that her second home was in Theydon Bois I was prepared to wait for a full explanation. But all we have had instead is a legalistic statement which avoids the main issue.

I suggested on Saturday that Mrs Laing would be asked to pay the £180,000. David Cameron certainly stepped up the pressure over the weekend when he said in a response to a question about Eleanor Laing on The Politics Show:

“I don’t think it is right to get money from the taxpayer for what you nominate as a second home and then to sell it and not pay capital gains tax”

He also implied she may not have long left on the Conservative front bench. As Shadow Justice Minister she can’t credibly speak on law and order issues if she is suspected of manipulating the rules.

Along with Ann Haigh and these people I don’t think she can credibly continue as our MP either. Those that make the rules should be scrupulous about how they obey them.

Allnutts Post Office: re-opening preparations underway

Along with Janet Whitehouse I was calling round on people in Bower Hill and Allnutts Road on Sunday morning. We were delighted to see that preparations for the re-opening of Allnutts Post Office are already well  underway. One of the conditions imposed by Essex County Council is that Allnutts Stores should have a new shop front, so on Sunday the old one came down and a new framework went in.

Work underway on the new Allnutts Stores shop front

It’s clear from talking to residents in the area that people appreciate the hard work that Janet put into getting the post office re-opened.

MP Expenses Furore Reaches Epping Forest

I was startled from my sleep this morning to hear the BBC reporting on Epping Forest Conservative MP Eleanor Laing’s second home. Mrs Laing is the latest target of the Daily Telegraph, whose main interest seems to be the profit she made when selling a flat in London which was part funded by her MP’s allowances, and how the income was treated for capital gains tax purpose.

It turns out that the same London flat can be a “primary residence” for tax purposes but a “second home” for the purposes of the Parliamentary Fees Office – which is confusing to say the least.

Mrs Laing points out that she took legal advice which confirmed that no capital gain tax was due and that she has broken no rules. This is not in dispute, but what many of us find troubling is that the Parliamentary rules have historically been so weak that some other MPs have apparently been able to exploit them for personal gain.

It is therefore unfortunate that when Mrs Laing had the opportunity to help clean up the system last July she was one of 21 Conservative MPs (and 146 Labour MPs) who voted against toughening up the expenses rule. The following week my Lib Dem colleague Ann Haigh expressed her disappointment in the Epping Forest Guardian:

“The vast majority of MPs are not corrupt. But so long as they resist having their expenses and allowances subject to robust, external audit, the public can be forgiven for wondering what they have got to hide…I am sure many residents of Epping Forest will be deeply disappointed that Eleanor Laing voted against allowing all MPs’ allowances to be externally audited.”

Read the rest of this entry.

Gypsy and Traveller sites: government consultation

Yesterday was the deadline for responding to the Secretary of State’s Proposed Changes to the draft policy on Gypsy and Traveller Accommodation in the East of England [PDF]. This is almost the final stage of a very lengthy process which will determine how many pitches Epping Forest district is expected to provide. It is an issue which Janet Whitehouse and I and other Liberal Democrat councillors have been thinking about very carefully.

Liberal Democrat district councillor Janet Whitehouse with proposed Gypsy site at Woodside, Thornwood in the background

The submission which I put in as Leader of the Liberal Democrat group on Epping Forest District Council described the Secretary of State’s decision to reduce the pitch requirement for Epping Forest from 49 to 34 pitches as a welcome improvement compared with the original proposed policy. It shows some recognition of the particular local circumstances in Epping Forest.

However I argued that it does not fully take into account the difficulty of delivering a large number of gypsy and traveller sites in Epping Forest.

Unlike some other districts Epping Forest has a very low amount of what is described as “unconstrained land”. In other words much of the land in the district is environmentally sensitive (e.g. Epping Forest and parts of the Lee Valley Regional Park or Green Belt or both). It also remains the case that the number of additional pitches sought as a proportion of total new dwellings is disproportionately high when compared to other districts in the region.

The Thornwood Action Group has carried out excellent research and analysis which I relied on heavily when putting in my response. Like other local residents’ action groups, I think the evidence justifies a further reduction down to 19 or fewer sites.  I’ve not yet been shown a copy of the official Epping Forest District Council submission, but this will also seek a reduction.

Although the Secretary of State will decide how many pitches are required locally, it is up to the district council to decide where  the pitches should be located, hence the controversial consultation which ended in February. We are now waiting for an analysis of the consultation responses and technical and sustainability reports on the proposed sites.

Caffè Nero gets another chance

There weren’t many council meetings last week but the regular planning sub-committee took place on Wednesday . The most high profile agenda item [PDF] was about Caffè Nero  in Epping High Street: the latest installment of a long saga which dates back to July 2006.

The coffee shop has been trading in defiance of planning law for the last few years but, judging from the emails and comments I have received, it has built up a loyal group of customers in that time. Councillors were asked whether Caffè Nero’s owners should have the opportunity to submit a new planning application which could take account of changed circumstances since the original planning application was submitted in 2006.

I argued that councillors should have the chance to consider a planning application and I’m pleased that other members thought the same. Caffè Nero now has just under four weeks to submit a planning application which councillors will consider in public at a future planning committee meeting.

Swine flu in Epping Forest

Catch It Bin It Kill It poster

The government’s swine flu leaflet (download PDF here) dropped through my letter box this week, hot on the heels of news of the first (and I sincerely hope only) local case of swine flu.

I was surprised at how long the advice leaflet was. Sadly the very basic design means it isn’t a particularly user-friendly read. Given the importance of the information that the leaflet is meant to convey and the time and attention that goes into marketing and communications these days I expected something more arresting than slabs of text and some boxes.

This must be a consequence of the need to get it designed and distributed in double-quick time: printing 25 million leaflets is not something that can be done overnight and perhaps didn’t leave time for much creative input (other than the deeply unattractive image on the front page).

Swine flu advice number 0800 1 513 513

There is a comprehensive list of sources of advice on the Epping Forest District Council website here with links to everyone from our local NHS Primary Care Trust to the World Health Organisation. So far swine flu has not proved as devastating as was first feared but we are told it may yet spread much further. I am glad that the government and local emergency planning teams have prepared for far worse to happen – but I hope they never need to put their plans fully into practice.