Posts from — April 2008

A couple of years ago I visited Longwood Primary School in Mile Oak.

It was the first school I’d visited after my election to County and despite the fact that it was in need of modernisation it really had a great atmospere and the kids were clearly enjoying themselves and liked being there. At the time they were also keen to set up a new pre-school nursery group for the Fazely and Mile Oak area but weren’t getting much assistance from the County Education Department.

I remember it was all very bureacratic and despite the enthusiasm of everyone at Longwood it really was an uphill battle. I helped them with some publicity and lobbying officials in Stafford but the rest was down to their determination and enthusiasm. And they’ve certainly won through.

I visited the school, its new Head Teacher and Little Oaks nursery group today and the same great atmospere is still there but the facilities have been improved tremendously. The leaky windows and entrance lobby have been replaced, carpets throughout and new rooms like the ‘chill out’ area for youngsters to talk about any problems to their teachers.

And Little Oaks has gone from strength to strength. New classroom, new equipment and a waiting list for nursery places despite the gloomy predictions of Education officials back in 2006. A real success story and I’m delighted for them and the people in the local area who have such a great facility for their kids.

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Shenstone has had problems with 44 tonne heavy commercial vehicles using the narrow road through the village perfectly leagally on the way to a badly located industrial estate.

Over the last year or so problems in Hopwas with HCV drivers simply ignoring weight restrictions through the centre of the village have been on the increase. I’ve arranged for the police to do the odd enforcement operation there but when they’re gone drivers are quickly back to ignoring restrictions.

And now there’s Edingale where over the last month locals have found massive lorries using weight restricted small winding roads which are just not suitable for that size of vehicle. It’s a real headache to tackle and the problem itself is at best inconvenient for local people and at worst a real danger wherever it happens.

Hopwas and Edingale are enforcement issues but the problem is not seen as a priority for either the police or the County, the two main agencies responsible for Traffic Regulation Orders such as weight restrictions. In fact, I learned this week that, the Labour controlled County Council made a policy decision several years ago to cease any proactive enforcement, instead leaving it purely to the police.

So, I’ve been in talks to renew some of the work that the County used to do on this. HGVs will become a bigger and bigger problem over the coming years and the County are doing little to plan strategically to cater for the growth in massive lorries using the Staffordshire road network.

On the positive (but short term) side I’ve now agreed for County to arrange some work around enforcing problem areas where HGVs are ignoring the restrictions.

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A chance conversation about the use of state-of-the-art surveillance equipment for catching deer poachers on Cannock Chase has made me think about whether it’s an option for anti social behaviour hot spots.

I’ve just visited a bridge over the canal near Fazeley which is completely covered with graffiti, some of it pretty disgusting, and regularly littered with empty beer cans and sometimes signs of drug taking. It’s a few hundred yards from any houses but does form part of a well used local walk. And the fact that it is slightly remote means it is difficult to police resulting in the issues mentioned.

My first thought was that because it’s a fair distance away from ‘people’ it is less of an issue than other parts of the area where it has been a problem by people’s homes. Actually it’s wrong and completely unnecessary anywhere at all. I’m told a lot of locals use the walk and that sometimes the youths hanging around the bridge in the early evening can be somwhat intimidating.

So, bearing in mind a major problem is identifying those responsible for this sort of criminal damage and local upset I am going to persue the use of tiny pin head cameras which can record clearly day or night. Some will say it is overkill for petty crime meaning a Big Brother state is around the corner. Well, just for the record, I’m not a supporter of endless fixed cctv. I think it just pushes the problem around. Main locations, like busy urban centres fine, but not the ever creeping surveillance.

No, what I want to see is targeted use of surveillance equipment… where there is a continuing significant problem and when identifying those responsible is difficult. And for those that say anti social behaviour or defacing public places is petty, they clearly haven’t talked to normal people who go about their everyday lives minding their own business but are plagued by this sort of thing.

To me it’s all about the ever creeping rise of tollerence levels. What was not generally acceptable behaviour only ten years ago is today considered petty and not worth bothering about. I firmly believe that what you can see in the pictures is wrong and pointless and if those who are doing it on a regular basis can be identified using modern technology then I’m all for it. A spot of zero tollerance may just have an effect in the long term!

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Today marked the end of an era for Whittington Barracks and the Army Training Regiment (Lichfield). It also marks the end of my work there chairing the Independent Advisory Panel which scrutinises how the Army trains recruits.

Cath and I were invited to the final Passing Out Parade for newly qualified soldiers which was also a celebration of the work that ATR (Lichfield) has done. The place was packed with dignitaries and as well as the parade there were displays showing what the recruits had been up to during their 14 weeks, motorcycle stunt riding by the Army’s White Helmets display team, a celebration Service in the Barrack’s St Georges Church and lunch in the Officers’ Mess.

As I’ve found throughout our inspection work at Whittington Barracks the youngsters who turn up for Army training from all different walks of life, some of them not entirely on the straight and narrow, turn out to be impressive after their weeks of training. I’m always taken aback by the transformation and today was no exception. Despite the pressure of such an important day they were great.

I still believe there’s huge potential for some youngsters who don’t know what they want to do with their lives or are at risk of finding themselves in trouble with the police and Criminal Justice System. I’m not talking conscription but I have seen with my own eyes what a positive difference it can make and the genuine life chances available for some.

The National Union of Teachers vote at their annual conference not to allow the Army’s career liason teams into schools is a chance lost and very narrow minded. It could make a real difference for a lot of young people and a position taken without hands on insight as to the potential.

You can read more about our inspection work at Whittington here and can read the full Annual Report on what we found during training here.

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The Elford Gardens restoration project is really moving on well now. It’s not all systems go, quite, but compared with two years ago when I first talked to the Elford group and Birmingham City Council about plans for restoration of the historic site it’s fair to say things are on the final lap to at least get the project kicked off fully and work on the ground started in earnest.

It’s been quite a battle dealing with Birmingham City Councilwho, for historical reasons, hold the land around Elford in Trust. Latterly, once the various hurdles to real discussions were knocked down one by one, Birmingham have been pretty good and now appear to be very positive about the community group taking the area over on a long term lease.

Officials at Staffordshire County have also been tremendously helpful over the last year or so and I thought, a few weeks ago, I’d try and coax for that advice and information that has been so forthcoming to turn into something a little more tangible in the way of money. And they came up trumps with £2500 to help the group get their full charity status. So, a result, and the group have already used some of that money to start ground clearance and moving fallen trees on the site.

I popped up to see them the other Sunday morning and have to say the area they’ve now started work on by the river looks absolutely beautiful. Hopefully an even greater transformation will be well on the way by the end of the summer.

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