My News - Cllr Burbage

23 April 2006

Full council meeting

One of the results of the refurbishment of the Town Hall is the change to the Council chamber itself. We had a few members of the public wanting to watch us last week but there was insufficient space for people to sit! The old chamber at least had a public gallery built in but this is now blocked off. There were also public questions, mostly about the situation in Hythe End. The transport plan caused some sharp exchanges, as did the debate on Holyport Manor School. We did get crossparty consensus on Valley Gardens, at the end!

13 April 2006

Planning

3/4 of the applications to the Maidenhead planning meeting were Bray related. Many people interested in the Phoenix gym decision, which was quite a difficult decision because of the "linked" application on the site for 60 plus dwellings, which was refused. The panel decided that the gym could have a new building, but they are saying that they can only proceed if there is that wider planning permission for the site.

7 February 2006

The Council tax proposals have been announced - at 4.95% it's just under the 5% limit for capping.
No doubt we will have plenty to say about this when the Council meeting itself comes around, on 21st February!

1 December 2005

Members had training last night in declaring interests and on the work of the Standards Board. What is obvious is that it is very difficult to establish anything with any certainty when things are not black and white. Major decisions that the council take (e.g. on planning policies affecting the flood plain) may or may not be able to be taken depending on the interpretation of the rules. Standards Board people themselves have apparently been giving out contradictory messages to our officers, and this has been played out in the press.

One common view is that it takes everything too far. At our planning meeting one member declared an personal interest because he visited a hairdresser close to an application site in Maidenhead Town Centre!

25 November 2005

Cabinet last night was a great success for residents in Eton Wick who managed to persuade the administration to change their minds over the sale of land at Bell Farm, Eton Wick.  Ward councillor Stephen Smith had presented a petition, organised a public meeting and had good publicity in the press with opposition to the sale. Of course, the fact that the change not to sell happened at the last minute meant that everybody's speeches were then ruined! But a good result all round - and a triumph for common sense.

Curiously there was no answer to a question I posed on the total cost of the Town Hall works, information which had been previously released at the opening of the Town Hall, and also to the Press. I'm pursuing exactly how this situation has come about...

24 November 2005

Maidenhead planning meeting last night, as usual proposed development of flats caused the most difficulty. We were challenged by very late verbal advice (which contradicted the written reports in front of the Panel), to the extent that we had to defer an item in Cookham (after spending about half an hour on it) until next time. What is unclear is how 'potential' sites should be treated when considering affordable housing quotas, and whether adjacent plots of land should be included in part of the 'site'.

The application at Lower Road, Cookham on a builders yard was thus deferred. Another, on Cookham Road in Maidenhead was approved despite also being a backland development which could spread to other sites, and finally Shoppenhangers Road - we refused an application at Wichita which was going to be a 3 story block, although some councillors were in favour.

23 November 2005

First update. Attended the very end of a public meeting organised by fellow Councillor Stephen Smith in Eton Wick last night, where apparently about 60 people turned up to discuss the proposed land sale in the village. Missed the main part of the meeting as I was at a prior engagement, but Cllr Bateson and I spoke with Cllr Smith and a few residents about what had happened. A lot of opposition to the proposed sale of land, apparently.

Cabinet takes a view on Thursday, this time in public (the original report was going to be discussed in private) and I expect we'll see a number of residents from Eton Wick coming along to make their case.