What have the Conservatives done for Shropshire? Not much, I would have said, but at least they brought a university to our county. Now even that is not true. The University of Chester is leaving its base at the Guildhall in Shrewsbury Frankwell at the end of term. The University is looking for a new home in Shropshire but it doesn’t sound committed to remaining. The Conservatives are talking about moving the council into the Guildhall so that it can flog off the Shirehall site for housing and use the money to pay for its pet projects around Shrewsbury town centre and the North West Relief Road. Here is a shocker. The decision to give the University of Chester it marching orders was not made by Shropshire councillors or by the council leadership. It was made by council officers and the leader of council, Lezley Picton, did not know about […]
Chris Naylor Liberal Democrat hopeful for South Shropshire MP stands down with health concerns
Sometimes you can’t get where you want to be. It is gutting that Chris Naylor, the candidate that we so much wanted to win the South Shropshire seat for the Lib Dems is having to stand down. The reason is a flare up of a heart condition. Campaigning flat out to get elected in big rural patch doesn’t work when you have a problem with your ticker. Chris’s health has to be top priority. Chris has done so much to prepare South Shropshire for the next general election. He talked the values of the farming community. He has voiced the concerns of social tenants. He has helped mop up and clean tenant’s houses that are flooded. He was destined to be a community MP not a career building politician. But fate has worked against him. He leaves South Shropshire Lib Dems with a legacy of an enthused campaign team. A […]
Council Cuts: 300 jobs to go between April and March
Shropshire Council has a huge range of responsibilities and services. Many, such as education, planning and social care are statutory. Others are discretionary. Pest control has already been abolished at Shropshire Council. If you want to control rats you will have to hire a private company for the task. Some other duties are not well defined. There is a statutory duty to provide a comprehensive and efficient library service but that hasn’t stopped councils reducing the number of libraries and scrapping mobile library services. As part of its push to save £62 million in 2023/24, Shropshire Council is to axe around 300 posts by next April, around 10% of the workforce (excluding schools which employ their own staff).
Conservative councillors approve another £17m for £50m a mile North West Relief Road
At the last council meeting, Shropshire Council’s portfolio holder for transport, Dan Morris, refused to give an estimate of the cost of the four-mile North West Relief Road in Shrewsbury saying that would lead to contractors bidding up to that estimate. Just three days later, Shropshire Council published a tender for construction that revealed the cost as £110m, an eyewatering £38m a mile. No wonder that the council leadership didn’t want councillors to know or perhaps they didn’t know. They voted through £95 million of funding for the road before without realising it was wrong, though now that looks close to what is needed. The £17 million is on top of the £27.9 million already spent, brings the cost to £42 million of government and Shropshire Council funds before the scheme is finalised. The current cost of the scheme is there £42m + £110m + £38m VAT. A whacking […]
Council Cuts: I will ask council to save the Craven Arms Household Recycling Centre next week
The reaction to the possible closure of the Craven Arms Household Recycling Centre (HRC) has been fierce. I have not heard one message of support for the closure. The plans are not finalised yet but Shropshire Council seem determined to close two household recycling centres whatever the consequences for residents, the climate and fly-tipping. More than 6,000 people have signed the petition against closure. https://bit.ly/cravenarmsrecyling We have to be realistic here. We didn’t light the fire spreading through local government finances. It has been burning for a long while and the leadership at Shropshire Council over the last 13 years has made decisions that have made our local situation worse. To put it bluntly, and at the risk of unpopularity, it hasn’t raised council tax enough to get anywhere near the council’s needs. The comeuppance for that is the emergency programme of cuts which are now going through. I propose […]