Empty office and car park at Westway Centre

Today I noticed that another major tenant at Westway Centre has moved out: Caudex, a medical communications agency that occupied nearly all (or, all?) of the multi-storey building behind Tesco Express, is GONE. They moved to nicer office space at Seacourt Tower.

This raises two questions for me:
1. Their car park is permit only. Can we get that un-designated so customers of West Way and local residents hard pressed for parking can park there?

2. I’m more concerned than ever at the demise of the precinct. How can the owners and managers attract tenants to fill the empty spaces?

Code of Conduct – new process

The Vale officers recently proposed a new Code of Conduct, which is fine, and a new process by which complaints regarding it will be handled, which in my opinion is not fine.

Here is the speech I delivered at Council on Wednesday 16th May 2012:

Managing Complaints: The Process

If there was a consultation for members on this proposal, I missed it. If there wasn’t a consultation, then a decision to accept this solution should be deferred until such a consultation has been held.

The New Solution:

  1. One senior officer and one non-elected appointed person decide initially about all complaints. There is no provision for any elected members to participate, except when the Monitoring Officer decides they should. While I understand the appeal of making the process more streamlined,  I don’t see how this solution meets an expectation for public accountability.
  2. The process of Managing Complaints should be clearly defined and publicly viewable, and should include at each step what the possible decisions are, who makes them, and how they can be appealed. This paper is mute on that subject.
  3. With a single person as the arbiter of all complaints received, too much depends on the ability of the person in that role to be impartial and to handle their own conflicting commitments. For example, when the Vale’s commitment to cost control meets their commitment to zero tolerance for bullying, it’s left to a single human being to provide a fair decision as to what should be done in any particular instance of bullying. How can one person resolve such a case of conflicting commitments?
  4. Item 15 argues for abandoning the standards committee approach. This paper points out that the standards committee met infrequently and claims that it had a light workload. Given that many Code of Conduct complaints in the last year took much longer to be resolved than the advertised 3 weeks, it would appear there are some problems with workload, or at least, problems with throughput. It’s not clear how the proposed solution will improve service delivery.
  5. The independent person with whom the monitoring officer will consult is an unelected volunteer. I see a danger that this relationship and their decisions might lead to claims of secrecy or lack of fairness and openness in how we make decisions.
  6. If the monitoring officer is accountable to the electorate, the process for scrutiny isn’t defined. And how would we ensure the appointed independent person is accountable and by what means of scrutiny or oversight?
  7. In item 16, there were some details promised before tonight’s meeting, which I haven’t received.

It seems to me that this proposal, though not wrong, is certainly incomplete. I’d like to see it taken back, consulted on, and defined more thoroughly before council considers it. If recent developments in planning have taught us one thing, it’s that we should be sure to get all the information from all relevant sources before crafting our solution to complex problems. If we ask, ‘What could possibly go wrong?’, and try to mitigate, we’ll have a stronger council.

The main points are that having a single officer, the Monitoring Officer, and an appointed volunteer as the arbiters of all Code of Conduct complaints can lead to claims of unfairness, lack or transparencey and non-accountability. When Cllr Bob Johsnton asked about what rememdies were available to the Monitoring Officer for councillors found to have breached the Code of Conduct, he was told, ‘Beyond censure, not much.’

Clearly, the Localism Act has taken away what few teeth were left in the process for enforcement of standards of conduc. For those who think local councils need to face up to the unacceptable behaviour of elected councillors, this latest move from the Government is a disappointment.

Transition from Blog to Facebook

I’ve just created a page on Facebook for my political persona. See it here: https://www.facebook.com/DebbyHallettLD

Did you know that 50% of the UK population is on Facebook?

And that over 50% of Facebook users are over 35 years old?

It’s the wave of the future, that, and Twitter.

I’m on Facebook nearly every day, and I only come to this blog on purpose when I want to write a blog post. That means it’s much easier on Facebook for me to to make more, shorter posts about what’s going on and what I think about it. It will be easier for you to contact me that way as well.

I quite like the way I have current planning applications listed on this blog. I wonder if any residents ever check here to see what’s going on?

But for blogging, I’m having a good think about the best approach. I’ll do double posting during this period while I’m cogitating.  But I get a sense I will move off this Lib Dem blog site and onto Facebook, where dialogue is easier, posting is faster, and more people hang out.

If you have an opinion about that, I’d like to hear from you.

How I look at Leaders

I just spent a heart-warming hour with @Nick_Clegg. Well, not personally in person (as they would say in Montalbano), but in his members-only webinar, where he took questions and answered like a champion.

I tend to view leaders, whether local or global, through a developmental lens, looking to see how much complexity they’re comfortable with, and whether they present an integral AQAL view. Clegg spoke of two things that moved me.

First, children need to feel cherished and special, and their behaviours tend to reflect how they feel. In order to combat any environmental disadvantages that they’re born into, the pupil premium is intended to embellish their early educational experiences, and reduce socio-economic inequality.

Second, whether the House of Lords should be reformed isn’t something most people care too much about, and isn’t the highest priority for government in these times. But when you look at it from a larger, third person perspective, it’s very important. What do the rest of the world think of the clash of our espoused democratic principles and our unelected House of Lords?

Twas fun to watch #Clegginar trend on Twitter. Annoying spam and porn bots though. But I saw lots of cool thoughtful people to follow.

Newest Deliverer

Young Ben Smith helped his mum Emily Newson deliver the Spring Focus in Sycamore Road North Hinksey this week.

He’s working hard to get the word out that Liberal Democrats are in government, on your side!

Thanks to Tim Smith and Emily Newson, and Ben’s brother Alex, for all their help. Ben was born on Mother’s Day 2012.

Vale Budget – my proposal

Your Vale Lib Dem councillors proposed an extra £100K to the Vale budget for 2012-13 for revitalisation of main shopping areas, especially Botley. As the seconder to the proposal, I spoke spoke to council about the need for extra funding in North Hinksey/Botley:

…The Westway Centre is to also have major new development, and to make way for it, the buildings housing Seacourt Hall and our beloved library will be demolished. This proposal would provide money that would go some way to putting in place real plans to ensure the community gets replacement library and community hall.

This year, the rate of deterioration of Westway precinct has increased:

–  two units are long-term vacancies, one has serious internal damage that makes it hard to rent;

–    police ejected squatters from the flats above the Co-op;

–    outdoor light fixtures have broken and fallen onto the pavements in the precinct.

Shoppers report they no longer feel safe there. In Botley!

North Hinksey is doing its share to meet the Vale’s housing needs. In order to revitalise the main shopping area for thousands of residents, I’d like to see some extra money targeted to bring this shopping area up to the standards the Vale council holds for other shopping areas.

Support came from all councillors from Cumnor, Dean Court, Appleton, Kennington, Radley, North Hinksey & Wytham, except for Cllr Eric Batts of North Hinksey & Wytham, who voted against.

Get It Sorted – Local Survey Results

Oxfordshire County Cllr Janet Godden and I continue our Get It Sorted sessions in local neighbourhoods, where residents can have your say about local issues. Surveys point to three major areas of interest and concern:

  • Litter
  • Local development projects
  • R recreational facilities for older children

The Vale has made clear that one big aim is to improve their customer satisfaction ratings regarding street cleaning and litter pick-up, and this year they’re implementing new ways to measure your satisfaction with how they’re doing.  One way you can help is to report problems when you see them: http://www.whitehorsedc.gov.uk/pay-report-apply/report

The recent public information meeting about the progress of Westway Centre redevelopment demonstrated the Vale’s intention to listen to local people. I speak regularly with planning officers at the Vale to keep informed of progress – I post info on my blog and in The Sprout.

Children riding bikes and skateboards in the car parks of abandoned buildings, and, more alarmingly, under the A34 fly-over on Botley Road is a huge concern to residents and visitors. Recreational facilities for older children can be provided by the local parish council with help from the district and county councils. Your local Lib Dem councillors are working with residents to find ways of providing safe places for older children to play.

Westway Development – Pre-consulation meeting

Matt Prosser, Strategic Director for Vale of White Horse District Council, spoke to about  150 local residents and traders in a public ‘pre-consultation update’ about Westway Centre redevelopment on 29 Feb 2012.

Several current property owners, including the Vale, have formed a consortium to sell their land to a developer. The site for sale comprises the vacant Grant Thornton building, the building housing NatWest, cleaners, library and Elms Court flats, Seacourt Hall, Botley Baptist church, the car park and part of the Coop. The sale will generate a capital receipt, part of which is intended to fund the refurbishment of the main precinct.

Most of the meeting was a question and answer session. Here are some highlights:

Tony Wood, local resident and business owner, asked if it was certain to be retail space. Matt said  yes, it’s likely to be a combination of retail, residential and car parking, but there are no definite plans yet.  It’s also part of the plan to provide a community hall and a library.

Mike Sage, chairman of the successful Save Botley Library campaign, asked for assurance that the Vale was working as hard as possible to ensure the library will stay in the centre of Botley. Matt told us that the library is a county responsibility, that the county has stated their intention for the library to stay, and that the Vale are in close communication with county officers on this issue.

County Cllr Janet Godden asked what could be done to minimise vacancies and keep the community ticking over during this period of change. Matt said they will keep rents attractive and allow short term leases.

Some people were puzzled about why this meeting at this time, and commented that it seemed premature as there are no plans to comment on. Matt said, ‘We came at the invitation of North Hinksey parish council to hear what your concerns are.’

The timescale is estimated to be 2 to 4 years. The next step is for the developers to submit a proposal, after which there will be a public consultation. Then will come a formal planning application and another consultation. Matt Prosser said he hopes there will be a planning application by the end of this year.

Online consultation is open now through the 5th of April for the initial gathering of comments. See the consultation and background information at: http://www.whitehorsedc.gov.uk/about-us/tell-us-what-you-think/current-consultations/westway-area-development

£30k more for Westway Centre

Within the approved Vale budget is £30k for strategic property advice for the Westway Centre:

The Vale Council, as part of a consortium of land owners, presently proposes to sell off part of its freehold interest in this site for a food store development, which if successful will generate a substantial capital receipt. Part of that receipt is earmarked for a refurbishment of the remaining centre in order to upgrade the appearance of the centre and it appeal to shoppers and retailers. The work will require the services of a number of professionals and this bid is to fund those costs for 2012/13.

So far, the only provision we have for replacement facilities for Seacourt Hall and the Botley Library are verbal assurances from the Vale.

I seconded an amendment to this years’ budget that could have been used to provide more certainty, but it was defeated.