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West Berkshire Liberal DemocratsWorking for you |
Thatcham Area Forum - A Sad Goodbye
September 29, 2008 12:00 AM
The current and past Chairmen of Thatcham's Area Forum have reacted with dismay and disappointment to the closure of Area Forums across the District by West Berkshire's ruling Conservative Group at the full Council meeting last week in Newbury.
Cllr Port, Chairman of Thatcher's Forum till its abolition last week, stated ' a unique opportunity for residents to debate and guide local policy for their Town has been taken away. Being given the chance to attend the Royal Berkshire Show once a year with a £15 entrance charge is no substitute for open and public discussion of the major issues that the Forums have tackled over the last eight years. The weight limit on Crookham Hill and the works at last undertaken by Thames Water to decrease the smell from the Lower Way Sewage works are just two of the successes achieved after sustained public pressure delivered by Thatcham's Area Forum'.
Cllr Jeffery added ' It is little short of cynical to 'allow' the Town Council to run a Forum in future (permission from the District Council that it does not even need!) How will the Town Council - which employs less full time staff in total then West Berkshire Council keeps on the payroll as Personal Assistants to the four Corporate Directors -now manage to take on a role that is apparently proving too difficult for a Council with over 1,600 employees? The idea that the Town Council can expect the direct assistance of West Berkshire Officers( which West Berkshire Councillors on the Forums were able to demand by right) is simply unrealistic. Without that support any new Forums will be likely to become talking shops with little ability to affect outcomes for our Town'.
As the Chairman and past Chairman of the now defunct Thatcham Area Forum Councillors Port and Jeffery want the Conservative Leader of West Berkshire Council to apologise to the many hundreds of Thatcham residents who have attended these forums Cllr Port added: 'Despite our protestations and votes, the petitions from over two hundred residents plus the favourable comments from almost every major Town and Parish in West Berkshire …. the current Conservative administration voted en bloc for the demise of these valuable opportunities for the public to meet with with their Councillors and WBC Officers. There were 14 responses from Town and Parish Councils: 10 were in favour of continuing the Forums and only 3 against. It does seem that democracy is no longer a priority with the current administration!'
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