Cllr Wendy Clements

In the past 10 days, Wirral Council has undergone tremendous change. Following a no-confidence motion on 13th February, the Labour Leader was removed as Leader of the Council.

Conservative and Liberal Democrat councillors then voted to have Councillor Jeff Green as Leader of the Council. The new Leader has tonight held his first cabinet of the new administration, and brought forward a budget. This budget will see a 3% reduction in Council Tax.

Councillor Green has said that he will put more information on his blog  over the next few days, and on 1st March the Full Council will meet to consider the budget and debate it.

If you are considering holding a celebration for the Diamond Jubilee in June, the 4th annual Big Lunch is coming means you may be able to get a helping hand.

Taking place over the weekend of the Diamond Jubilee holiday (2nd-5th June 2012), the event is designed to bring communities together in celebrating 60 years of the Queen’s reign. The Big Lunch is run by the Eden Project. They describe it as ‘a simple idea… to get as many people across the whole of the UK to have lunch with their neighbours in a simple act of community, friendship and fun’. Last year, around 2 million people took part in a Big Lunch, with 19 local community groups receiving funding towards their own event from Wirral’s Area Forums.

This year, Wirral’s Area Forums are inviting residents and local groups to apply for funding of up to £200 towards the expense of running their very own Big Lunch event. The cash could be used to plan a street party or a meal in a local community centre or scout hut. Ideas for outdoor events are welcome too; residents might want to plan a picnic or barbecue at an allotment site or in their local park. Whatever your idea, Area Forum funding could help to get it off the ground. Events like this can be a great opportunity to bring our communities closer together. The funds that will be handed out by the Area Forums are a good start for groups that are planning barbecues, street parties or more off-the-wall ways to celebrate.

So what are your ideas for the long weekend, the more original the better! To find out more and to download an application form, apply here. If you’d like some help, please contact me using the details on this site.

The Council is holding a consultation about local parks and open spaces.

I know that many of the people of Greasby, Frankby and Irby are passionate about our parks and open spaces.  here   is the link to take part and have your say.

Councillor Jeff Green has declared, “Time has finally run out for Councillor Steve Foulkes and his discredited Labour Administration. The Klonowski Report has revealed failings which are matters for the Police and which have horrified people across this Borough. No Councillor could, with a conscience, allow this situation to continue. Carrying on as we are, simply rearranging job titles and procedures is not enough. At Council on the 13th February, I will be calling on Council to remove the current Leader.

“Steve Foulkes was in control of the Council when these abuses were carried out and not properly investigated, therefore he must take ultimate responsibility. He did all he could to prevent and block my calls for an independent inquiry into Martin Morton’s revelations of abuse of some of our most vulnerable residents and it is only because of the previous Conservative Liberal Democrat administration that these facts and potential criminality have now become known to the rest of us.

“Currently the Council is in a state of paralysis, the Labour Administration’s response to this report has been shambolic. Vital information is still being withheld and let us not forget the cynical way in which Cllr. Foulkes has pretended to operate on an all party basis and yet two senior officers were allowed to leave with council taxpayers money in their pockets the day before the AKA report was made public. More of the same will not do; a fresh approach is what is required to remove the stain of this shameful scandal and to refocus the Council on its true role of providing services to the communities and people of Wirral.”

I  will be supporting the motion he is bringing to Council on 13th February.

The full text of the motion is below:

In accordance with Article 7.3 (iii) (d) Proposed by Cllr Jeff Green, Seconded by Cllr Lesley Rennie

 1) Wirral Council is in crisis:

 We stand publically accused of mismanagement, incompetence, negligence and cover up.

• We have been found guilty of failing to listen or believe Martin Morton and allowing him to be bullied, belittled, browbeaten and driven from a job he loved.
• We have shown ourselves to be incapable or unwilling to apply basic controls on the expenditure of Council Taxpayers money or of being able to provide protection from abuse, compassion & care to some of the most vulnerable members of our society and their families.
• Not one senior officer or politician has been held accountable by the Council for the failings identified in the AKA Limited report.

 2) Council believes the nature of the crisis the Council now finds itself in is so grave, the imminence of collapse so real, that all Members must come together, under fresh leadership, to work together on behalf of our residents & communities, as equals and in genuine partnership.  

 3) Council resolves:

i) That, In accordance with Article 7.3 (iii) (d) of the Constitution, Cllr Foulkes be removed from the office of Leader of the Council with immediate effect.’

ii) That Council elect a new Leader in accordance with Council Procedure Rule 5B

 4) The next Leader of the Council is recommended to:

• Establish an all party ‘emergency Cabinet’ of 4 Conservative, 4 Labour and 2 Liberal Democrat Members to be reviewed at Annual Council 2012
• Provide opportunities for all Council Members to question and share any ideas or concerns they may have
• Review current officer delegations to ensure openness, transparency and effective democratic oversight of decision making.

Following the application by Greene King to build on the Red Cat car park there is to be a public meeting at Greasby Community Centre. This will provide local people with information about the application and allow them to express their response.  As a member of the Planning Committee I’ll going to be at the meeting on 4th January simply to hear the views of local people.

Councillor Tony Cox has made it clear that he will be joining residents and traders in their campaign against this latest planning application. He said, ” We need to do all we can to support our local shopping centres. It is clear that a supermarket  would harm Greasby’s local economy, making it less vibrant and diverse. I’d encourage all residents and business owners to make their views known on this latest application.”

I would encourage you to look at the planning application online and make your own decision. The Planning pages also provide a facility to make an online comment.

From speaking to local people,  my colleagues Tony Cox and Mike Hornby know that many residents of Greasby are concerned about any application to build on the Red Cat car park. I have been notified that just such an application has been received by Wirral Borough Council.

The relevant details are that the application number is APP / 11/01418 and it was registered on 15th December 2011. The application is for “erection of retail unit and vets surgery”. Further details are available on the Wirral planning pages . You have until 19th January to make representations to the Planning Department, either by email link on the pages above or by letter. 

This is a busy time of year I know – don’t let the opportunity to respond pass you by.  If you have a strong point of view, (for or against) make sure it is made known.

At the meeting of  the Planning Committee where the decision is taken, I will be listening to all the material considerations put forward at that time before I can make my final decision as to the way I vote.

In the time that I have been a Councillor one of the concerns most often raised with me by local residents has been about the state of the roads.

It may be hard to believe but Wirral’s Cabinet ‘forgot’ to include £1.6 million investment in road maintenance and road safety measures in plans for 2012-15. At last night’s Council, Conservative Councillors successfully had the investment added to the Council’s Capital Budget for 2012-15. Included in the spending is £500,000 to prevent main roads becoming pot holed, another half a million for residential areas and £650,000 for road safety improvements and local transport schemes. Councillor Lesley Rennie said: “The Cabinet’s plan for capital spending over the next year seemed to neglect these really important issues. Many residents – pedestrians and drivers alike – will know of potholes or roads that need to be repaired.”

I must say that  I’m delighted that our initiative was passed by the Council last night. Now, we must see local communities consulted and work to ensure that those roads in most need of maintenance get a fair share of this cash. I am sure you will let me know which roads you believe that should be!

You may be wondering about which services are affected by the strike tomorrow. The press release from Wirral gives up to date details and was updated today (Tuesday).

Those who have Wednesday bin collection day should note that the bins are expected to be collected as normal – good news in much of Greasby.  We can’t go through the Tunnels, or catch the Ferry,  but Merseyrail will be working. Fortunately Wirral isn’t an island, so there are options open to us in other directions!

 Commiserations to all those people who are having to take leave tomorrow to look after children, or others who usually receive care during the day. In addition I personally know people whose hospital appointments have been cancelled. Unfortunately it seems virtually certain that the planned action will take place.

We now have a new number to use when wishing to contact the police about a non-emergency number. Callers can dial 101 and will be connected to our local Merseyside police, its quick and easy to remember.  To find out more see these details about 101 

While 999 is a well-recognised number used to report emergencies, the 2010 British Crime Survey found that only 54% of the public know how to contact their local police if they want to talk to them about policing, crime or anti-social behaviour. The introduction of the 101 number will help communities to keep their neighbourhoods safe by giving them one easy way to contact us to report non-emergency crime and disorder. Calling 101 will not result in a call receiving a lower priority than calling 999 about a non-emergency issue. The cost will be 15p whether you call from a mobile or land-line. What a good idea!

Following a series of damning independent reports into the running of Wirral Council, a motion calling for the removal of Cllr Steve Foulkes as leader of Wirral Council has now been submitted to the Borough’s Head of Law.

 The move, by the Leader of the Conservative Group, Cllr. Jeff Green, was made in response to the exposure of a catalogue of failures, some contained in yet another secret report, occurring under Cllr Foulkes’ leadership, which are bringing the Borough into disrepute.

 Cllr. Green said  “People, both inside and outside the Council, are deeply concerned at the repeated stream of revelations and scandals.  It is clear that Cllr. Foulkes and the one party Cabinet he leads is not able to provide the leadership the Council needs at this critical time.  

“Instead of seeking to bring the Council together to solve these issues, Cllr. Foulkes is reverting to his bunker – unable or unwilling to listen to more than a few of his most trusted Labour lieutenants – while the residents of Wirral and the rest of the Council looks on in horror and disbelief at the revelations”, added Cllr. Green.

“Wirral Council must change, the warning signs of what his leadership was doing to Wirral were clear to those that had suffered under it, which is why I commissioned this latest independent report”.

“Cllr Foulkes has refused to accept accountability for his failures and step down of his own accord. It is now time to blow away the corrosive culture he has allowed to develop, where questioning and transparency are discouraged and staff intimidated into taking actions to protect those at the top. Trust has been lost. More bluff and bluster will not do. The current Leader of the Council is part of the problem, not the solution.”

 The call for Cllr. Foulkes to step down will be decided by Council on 17^th October.