Worthing Liberal Democrats Weekly Newsletter – 11th to 24th August 2013

Leader: Parking with care

News this past two weeks:

1. Anger Over Sussex Police And Crime Commissioner Snub

2. Statement Following Police And Crime Commisioner’s Visit To Lancing On Saturday August 17th

3. Bland Probes Cost of Shoreham Police Station Closure

WORTHING LIBERAL DEMOCRATS NEWSLETTER

11TH TO 24TH AUGUST 2013

Lib Dems will keep County services local where ever possible
Lib Dems will devolve more money to be spent locally and allow residents to decide how it’s spent
Lib Dems will ensure vulnerable people are safeguarded and support 20 mph in Worthing’s residential roads

Leader: Parking with care

Much mirth was spread on Facebook and Twitter recently when a photo was posted of a NSL van parked half on a central reservation in Broadwater Road. On the side of the van was written ‘We care where you park’. The Tories have majored over the last year how they care about parking and how they are going to put to rights all Worthing’s parking problems but have gone strangely silent as of late.

Cllr Yallop, Leader of Worthing Borough Council, was famously pictured on the front of the Herald with his arms folded defiant against the machinations of NCP and NSL. Yet Worthing Liberal Democrats understand Friday August 23rd was the date the agency agreement between Worthing Borough Council (WBC) and West Sussex County Council (WSCC) for on-street parking ended. There has been no announcement of which we are aware as to what the situation is now and parking is not on the agenda for the next meeting of the Adur & Worthing Joint Strategic Committee (September 3rd) – effectively Worthing Borough Council and Adur District Cabinets combined. Are we in a kind of limbo land or are the Tories handing back on street parking to West Sussex by default?

And what happened to the celebrated renegotiation by the WBC Tory Cabinet Member responsible for parking, Cllr Clive Roberts, to ensure the profits of £1 million plus from the Controlled Parking Zone (CPZ) would be spent in Worthing? Again – a deafening silence.

The NCP off-street car parking contract ends at the beginning of April next year but again we have heard nothing of how this is being taken “in-house” – another promise from the Tories. Expectations from local businesses are that parking will be cheaper but we have seen no evidence as yet. The last we heard was that parts would remain out-sourced but nothing appears to have been done and the very nature of the contracts would suggest Tories are running out of time to negotiate. Do they even know which parts are being outsourced?

One item that is on the agenda for the Joint Strategic Committee is the first “Capital Revenue Budget and Performance Monitoring 2013-14” which shows both in-house services Grounds Maintenance and Theatres suffering overspends. Grounds Maintenance shows £90k for Worthing “mostly in connection with salary increases to job evaluation posts” and Theatres an expected £70k “shortfall in income “. Currently Theatres show a £171k overspend but matters are expected to improve. Both these “in-house” services are not making budget – we trust car parks will do better.

Anecdotal evidence suggests the current state of the car parks is not good with Facebook comment on cleanliness, reports of lifts and CCTV cameras not working, and even the cash machines being on their last legs. Making a profit will not be easy if the cash cannot be collected. Have the Tories factored in sufficient maintenance costs just for day to day issues, let alone the £11 million refurbishment costs noted in the capital spending reserved list?

The Tories say they care about car parking – let’s hope they have taken due care with their calculations.

Worthing Liberal Democrats

NEWS FROM THE PAST WEEK

ANGER OVER SUSSEX POLICE AND CRIME COMMISSIONER SNUB

Thursday 15th August – Adur District campaigners are angry that Katy Bourne, Sussex’s Police and Crime Commissioner, snubbed a meeting to discuss the planned closure of Shoreham and Lancing police stations. The meeting, held at Sussex Police’s Centenary House in Worthing on August 14th, was attended by Jemima Bland, the Liberal Democrat parliamentary candidate for Worthing East & Shoreham, Councillor Alan Rice, the leader of the Liberal Democrat group on Worthing Borough Council, and Councillor Richard Burt, a Liberal Democrat on Adur District Council. The meeting followed the launch of a petition by Ms Bland to save the police stations in Shoreham and Lancing. The petition has already attracted nearly 700 signatures.
Ms Bland said: “We had a constructive meeting with the Worthing and Adur police divisional commander but we were hoping to discuss the policy decision to close the stations with Mrs Bourne. I wrote to Mrs Bourne on July 22nd asking her to hold public consultations before taking a final decision on closures and I have still not received a reply. I am very disappointed by the lack of response from the elected Police and Crime Commissioner, particularly since nearly 700 people have now signed the petition calling for public consultation about the cuts. It is abundantly clear that public engagement is just not a priority for Ms Bourne in Worthing and Adur. ”
Councillor Rice said: “I find it astonishing that Mrs Bourne, who is paid £85,000 a year for her services, cannot find time to discuss the future in the police service in places she is depriving of their proper police stations or even, apparently, reply to letters. In her election campaign last year she promised to be a ‘highly visible’ police and crime commissioner. But, as far as Worthing and Adur are concerned, she has become the Invisible Woman.”

STATEMENT FOLLOWING POLICE AND CRIME COMMISSIONER’S VISIT TO LANCING ON SATURDAY AUGUST 17TH

Monday 19th August – Liberal Democrat Parliamentary Candidate for East Worthing & Shoreham issued the following statement this morning: “I am pleased that after five weeks of campaigning by Liberal Democrats, Sussex’s Police & Crime Commissioner Katy Bourne finally agreed to make a brief appearance in the Adur District on Saturday morning. I would like to thank the many hundreds of people who have already signed our petition to save Lancing and Shoreham police stations. Without their support, I am not sure that Ms Bourne would have come, even for this short time. But I must make it clear that our campaign for a proper consultation before any final decisions are taken on the future of Lancing and Shoreham police stations goes on. Ms Bourne’s visit was announced late on Friday afternoon in a round robin e-mail that would have been received by very few people in Lancing or Shoreham. This is not full and open consultation as we know it and I again urge Ms Bourne to hold public meetings in both Lancing and Shoreham so that the many thousands of local residents who are deeply worried about the possible decline in police services implied in the closure programme can be fully discussed.”

BLAND PROBES COST OF SHOREHAM POLICE STATION CLOSURE

Thursday 22nd August – Sussex Police has been served with a Freedom of Information request asking it to publish the costs of relocating staff from Shoreham Police Station if it is closed. Jemima Bland, parliamentary Liberal Democrat candidate for Worthing East & Shoreham, wants to know how many staff will be relocated, how much accommodation they currently occupy at Shoreham and how much space they will need elsewhere. Ms Bland says more detailed financial information about the costs of closure should be made public before any final decision is made about the future of Shoreham and Lancing police stations.
In her Freedom of Information request, Ms Bland has also asked for information about the costs of rehousing more than 20 police vehicles currently kept in secure accommodation at Shoreham. Public bodies usually have to respond to Freedom of Information requests within 20 working days.
Ms Bland said: “Sussex Police have claimed there will be savings by closing police stations, but they have provided no detailed figures about the costs of housing police officers and civilian staff elsewhere. The way they have presented figures in the document announcing the closure does not enable the public to see both sides of the balance sheet – the costs as well as the savings. Without this information, it is not possible to explore different and possibly better options than closing much needed police stations.These vehicles have to go somewhere and there will be new costs. We need to know how those costs compare with keeping them at Shoreham.”

The text of Ms Bland’s letter:
Access to Information Unit
Sussex Police Headquarters
Church Lane
Lewes
East Sussex BN7 2DZ 19 August 2013

Dear Sir/Madam,

Please provide me with the following information:

The Sussex Police Estates and Facilities Department Estate Strategy 2013-2018 (paragraph 12.5) lists Shoreham Police Station for closure.

a) How many people (police officers and civilian staff, including the staff of the Forensic Collision Investigation Reconstruction Unit, the Sussex Safer Roads Partnership, and the Central Ticketing and Summons Unit) will be relocated from Shoreham Police Station following its closure?

b) Approximately how many square metres of office space do these staff occupy at present within Shoreham Police Station?

c) Approximately how many square metres of office space will they occupy elsewhere following the closure of Shoreham Police Station and what is the estimated annual cost per square metre of providing this space?

d) What is the estimated annual cost of providing a new secure facility for the police vehicles currently located at Shoreham Police Station, following its closure?

Yours sincerely,
Jemima Bland

DIARY

Saturday 31st August – Lib Dem Castle Ward Surgery – St Richards Church, Maybridge 10.00 am to 10.30 am

Saturday 31st August – Lib Dem Castle Ward Surgery – The Strand Parade shops 10.00 am to 11.00 am

Saturday 31st August – Lib Dem Gaisford/Tarring Wards Surgery – West Worthing Baptist Church 10.30 am to noon

FURTHER AHEAD

Tuesday 3rd September – ADC & WBC Joint Strategic Committee – Gordon Room, Town Hall at 6.30 pm

Wednesday 4th September – WBC Planning Committee – Gordon Room, Town Hall at 6.00 pm

Saturday 7th September – Lib Dem Central Ward Surgery – Sidney Walter Centre, Sussex Road 10.30 am to noon

and every first Saturday in the month

Saturday 7th September – Lib Dem Broadwater Surgery – Muldoons Coffee Shop, Cricketers Parade, Broadwater 3.00 to 4.00 pm

and every first Saturday in the month

Monday 9th September – WSCC Governance Committee – County Hall, Chichester at 2.15 pm

Thursday 12th September – Lib Dem Central Ward Surgery – Christ Church Hall. Grafton Road 3.00 to 4.00 pm

and every second Thursday in the month

Thursday 12th September – ADC & WBC Joint Overview & Scrutiny Committee – Council Chamber, Civic Centre, Shoreham by Sea at 6.30 pm

Saturday 14th September – Lib Dem Selden Ward Surgery – Jason’s Cafe, Ham Road at 10.00 am to 11.00 am

and every second Saturday in the month

Tuesday 17th September – WBC Licensing Control Committee A – Gordon Room, Town Hall at 6.00 pm

Thursday 19th September – WSCC Planning Committee – County Hall, Chichester at 10.30 am

Thursday 19th September – WSCC Health and Wellbeing Board – County Hall, Chichester at 2.15 pm

Thursday 19th September – Lib Dem Central Ward Surgery – Sidney Walter Centre, Sussex Road 10.30 to 11.30 am

and every third Thursday in the month

Tuesday 24th September – WSCC Cabinet – County Hall, Chichester at 11.00 am

Tuesday 24th September – ADC & WBC Joint Planning Committee – Gordon Room , Town Hall at 6.30 pm

Wednesday 25th September – WSCC Environmental and Community Services Select Committee – County Hall, Chichester at 10.30 am

Thursday 26th September – ADC & WBC Joint CenSus Committee – Horsham District Council at 10.00 am

Thursday 26th September – WSCC Children and Young People’s Select Committee – County Hall, Chichester at 10.30 am

Thursday 26th September – ADC 7WBC Joint Governance & Audit Committee – Council Chamber, Civic Centre, Shoreham at 6.30 pm

Friday 27th September – WSCC Regulation, Audit and Accounts Committee – County Hall, Chichester at 2.15 pm

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Published and promoted by Worthing Liberal Democrats, 18 Woodlea Road, Worthing, West Sussex BN13 1BN

Worthing Liberal Democrat Councillors

Worthing Liberal Democrats Weekly Newsletter – 11th to 24th August 2013

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