Riverside Parking Charges - another year on

Back in August 2010 HDC was imposing car parking charges on the Riverside Car Park. There was outrage at the thought of imposing 20 pence a hour - free evenings and Sundays. In the annual footfall survey taken in St Neots and the surrounding Towns there has been a fall off in footfall but an increase in St Neots by 1.3%. This blog held firm that imposing these charges against the background of cuts was the only way forward. 

Back in 2010 the doom mongers were out at the imposition of this modest imposition of charges.

Former Councillor and Town Mayor Gordon Thorpe said: "We have already been advised there has been a 6 per cent downturn in footfall and charging for parking will only increase that downward trend, as people will be unwilling to pay when, for the same price, they could go to Bedford, Cambridge or Peterborough. (Wrong)

"Town mayor, Cllr Gordon Thorpe described the news as “bitterly disappointing” predicting it would have a “devastating impact” on the town’s trade.

“HDC has chosen to ignore the people of St Neots. People who visit the town will now be out of pocket and once we lose shoppers we won’t get them back.”

Cllr Farrer who said: "...he would consider going Independent if the 3 hours scheme did not go through." It didn't and Cllr Farrer didn't resign the Conservatives.

Steve van de Kerkhove said:

"the impact on the town would be immediate with shops and businesses suffering during an already difficult economic period."

“This is going to be tough on the town. All you have to do is look at all the empty shops in High Street to see that the town is already suffering. We should be trying to increase footfall not drive shoppers away.

Town Councillor Jennifer Bird predicted that the move could result in retail businesses closing.

Of the others:

Jon Mountfort amongst his website full of lies said:

They (HDC) will bankrupt our shops
We will lose the Thursday Market

Then there were the statements made on the Facebook site.

Well the charges haven't kill the shops. Trade hasn't been killed off by the introduction of a 20 pence an hour charge at the Riverside. Footfall may have risen by 1.3% after a fall of 3.6% in the previous year.

HDC was right to impose charges as there is a big hole in the revenue. Either the Council Taxpayer pays or the user. I'm for the user paying. As for killing trade this hasn't happened.

New Homes Bonus - HDC still doesn't get it.

I've been banging on for sometime about how badly HDC is treating St Neots over the New Homes Bonus. Now it was on the front page of the Hunts Post a few weeks ago.

HDC has been very disingenuous about the New Homes Bonus. It started off by not acknowledging the New Homes Bonus by changing its name to New Homes Rewards Grant. Of course this new stream of funding is a boon to HDC who were in a quandary, before this new money was introduced, as whether to cut services or ramp up the Council Tax. By nicking the New Homes Bonus for HDC to spend they have taken the sting out of any cuts. Nor does HDC need to look to a referendum to get Council Tax up to a sustainable amount.

All this and no council tax freeze for next year.

In the article HDC is quoted as saying:

Err...No...Not quite. The New Homes Bonus IS extra money. The other grants have been reduced. If HDC wasn't getting New Homes Bonus, the grant money would still have been reduced.

Previous articles on New Homes Bonus:

New Homes Bonus. What is in it for St Neots?
New Homes Bonus - Money for Local Communities. Where is St Neots?
What is the point of the new developments?Conservative Leaflet for Eynesbury now receivedNew Homes Bonus - where now?If the New Homes Bonus is bribery then bring it on!
HDC still does not understand the New Homes Bonus

Cut the cost of local government?

That is the promise the District Council Conservatives made at the last local elections back in May 2011. In the Medium Term Plan for 2012/13 all the forecasts show higher spending not reducing the cost.

Instead of reducing the cost of local government, Cllr Ablewhite and his fellow Conservative Councillors are increasing the cost of the District Council. Borrowing is going up by £11 million in the next year alone.

This is a pretty silly promise to make, but one the Conservatives did make and should be held accountable for not keeping this promise.

The Councils have nothing to do with the cinema?

I was intrigued that some of our councillors think HDC and the Town Council have nothing to do with the cinema project. This notion seems ludicrous seeing that HDC decided on the cinema project, owns the cinema land and gave planning permission for this project. Below is another example on how HDC and SNTC are enmeshed in this project.

Helen King has been sacked

The Town Clerk has been dismissed some 6 months after Helen King initially went sick. Helen was Priory Centre Manager before being promoted to Deputy Town Clerk in mid 2008. A few months later and the Town Clerk, Phillip Devonald, left under a cloud and Helen took over as Acting Town Clerk. Later the Liberal Democrat administration promoted her to Town Clerk.

At the time I said this was wrong. The Liberal Democrats should have brought in a proper Acting Town Clerk and should have held a proper job application process. Instead the Liberal Democrats just went for the person in post. St Neots Town Council is one of the largest Town Councils in England. And needs a person to run this organisation.

Now Helen has been sacked by the new Conservative administration at the Town Council. The Conservatives need to find candidates for a proper job application process. I have no doubt this isn't the last we hear of Helen King as she is likely to go to an Industrial Tribunal.

HDC builds new homes?

I was intrigued by the statement of Cllr Ablewhite - Executive Leader of HDC - in which he claims HDC has built 798 new homes. Sounds good! In reality HDC has built nothing. It is the developers and housing associations which built this housing. HDC gave planning permission that is all.

Cllr Ablewhite takes credit for developers and housing associations building in Huntingdonshire.

In the middle of the article is:

That is true! HDC has received £832,000 in NHB and is looking to spend £2,029,000 disabled facilities.

Now compare this to the forecast for the New Homes Bonus over the same period.

The New Homes Bonus is bringing in £20 million and the Disabled Facilities is costing £8 million. Whilst Cllr Ablewhite's assertion is true for the current year, much of this has to do with a backlog of work.

HDC doesn't want a referendum at any cost

In the report to Cabinet it says:

9.3 The Secretary of State has announced that Council Tax increases in excess of 3.5% will have to be supported by a positive referendum result as a replacement to the previous capping regime. This seems unfair to Council’s with low tax levels as they will effectively be caught in a “poverty trap” of very small cash increases thus requiring higher levels of service reductions than in the high taxing Councils. The Leader has therefore written to the Secretary of State proposing that the referenda limit be based on a cash sum equivalent to a percentage of the average District Council level.


Low taxing/Low spending councils will not be caught in a "poverty trap". Low taxing/High spending Councils are caught in a trap. That was the same with capping. Unlike capping HDC has a way out of this situation by holding a referendum and letting the electors decide on whether they want to pay a higher Council Tax rate. This is what this Conservative run Council wants to avoid because they don't think the electors want to pay more!

As is says further on:

9.5 Overview & Scrutiny recommended that the Council should not accept the freeze grant as future referenda limits may prevent the Council ever being able to increase its Tax level to compensate for the freeze.

If the Conservatives want to up the Council Tax to a much higher rate they need to have the balls to hold a referendum. This, of course, will mean they will have to face the electorate which this council doesn't want to do. The Conservatives have already won the next election. Yet they are trying to find ways around putting this issue to a binding referendum.