The difference a Town Council can make
On Friday, I spent some time talking with the Executive Officer (Town Clerk) from Harworth & Bircotes and he gave me the draft Neighbourhood Development Plan the Town Council has written for the Town. I haven’t gone through all 69 pages in detail yet but what I have read shows a well thought out detailed plan for the future of Harworth & Bircotes. I am very impressed by the document and it shows what a good local council can do with drive and vision.
Much of the credit for the plan, and also for turning the town round, must go to the Chair of the Council, June Evans. Even though we come from different parties, that doesn’t stop me admiring the work Mrs Evans has done for her community.
By coincidence, I have also been sent the Gainsborough draft Development Plan, again a dynamic Town Council is working with the residents of the town to shape their own future. This story is being repeated across Nottinghamshire, Lincolnshire and further afield. Towns like Southwell, Bingham, Newark, Market Rasen are taking charge of their own future and, working with their District & County Councils, creating plans for the development of their own town.
Apart from the plans for the future, these Town Councils are also helping to improve the lives of their residents today, here are some examples of what Harworth Town Council have done (and thanks to Steve Bowman, the retiring Executive Officer, for taking the time to tell me about them):
Investigating the introduction of a free local town bus service, initially on a one day per week basis, to bring those who can’t walk easily into the town centre
The Sure Start Centre which opened two years ago at the Town Hall brings health visitor and midwife services to our young families;
buy land for & commission a new cemetery for the town;
set up a local information hub used by the Police, Bassetlaw District Council, A1 Housing and others in a building that Bassetlaw were disposing of;
refurbish the main shopping street with new street furniture, large planters & hanging baskets;
finance and build a fantastic new Town Hall as a Community Centre for the town.
All this (and more) at the cost of only £25 year per resident on top of their Council Tax.
Why am I highlighting the work of Harworth & Bircotes Town Council? Because it is a great example of what can be done and stands in stark contrast to what happens in Retford or Worksop. Neither of these two towns (the biggest two settlements in Bassetlaw) have Town Councils and both have suffered because of this. No vision for the future of the towns, no involvement of local people in running the towns’ amenities, no say for local people in the planning decisions that affect them. Town Councils in Retford & in Worksop would give local people that say in these matters and would give a focus to the community life in these towns.
The arguments for local councils are many. Not just for the reasons above but such councils have access to grants & loans that District Councils cannot get. They also, if run well, reconnect people to local democracy and bring at least some decision making down to the local level. This is why I am in favour of setting up Town Council for Worksop & Retford.
Finally, because all the civic amenities in Worksop & Retford are paid for out of the District’s Council Tax, everyone outside Worksop and Retford, are helping to pay for those amenities as well as paying for their own Parish or Town’s amenities through the precept (the extra they pay on top of the Council Tax) for their Parish or Town. This is not fair for the rest of Bassetlaw and is why all of Bassetlaw should support Town Councils for Worksop & Retford.
