Tuesday 24 July 2012

Executive Board hits the road

As predicted by Cneifiwr recently, the high spot of the Executive Board's day out to Ammanford Town Hall next Monday will be the announcement of a couple of months free parking whilst the town undergoes public works. Kevin Madge, the new Leader, will have to make the most of this for the weekly photo opportunities as the rest of the Agenda is not quite so thrilling. Even Item 11 on the Agenda 'Partnership agreement between the Labour Party and the Independent Group "Working together for a better Carmarthensire" doesn't sound too promising when Carmarthenshire is spelled incorrectly. Still, we will have to anticipate the contents as there is no link to this top secret document yet, I expect that senior officers of the Authority are busy drafting the final version to hand over to the two leaders. One can only imagine the Kev and Pam waffle that will be announced, just in time for the local press deadlines on Monday afternoon. I predict there will be extensive but inaccurate use of the words 'deliver' and 'promise' peppered throughout. And not much else. Further photo opportunities may prevail though with Kev and Pam embracing before the camera...eyes gazing into the future...

Another item on the agenda is an update on the Council's Modernising Education Programme as it bulldozes and strives to close all schools in Carmarthenshire and open a super-super-school, I doubt they'd have trouble finding an obliging landowner with enough acreage to spare....
I'm joking of course.
The report to be considered on Monday details the progress so far, and the proposals for the forthcoming year. I am particularly interested in the area close to me where a bitter fight to save Pantycelyn School, Llandovery, from closure (many previous posts) travels to the Court of Appeal on Friday where campaigners will bid to try and overturn a previous decision to refuse permission for a Judicial Review. I wish them the best of luck. 
The closure of this school will have a devastating effect on the town, and I believe, the education and well-being of local children. As we know, the council has a general aversion to 'campaigners', and use scaremongering tactics to divide communities and push through it's plans, the attitude towards this group are no exception; the report states that; "It is of increasing concern that this legal action by a relatively small number of people is placing the effective education of children in the region at increasing risk" I would argue that it was the council's flawed decision to close the school in the first place that has caused uncertainty and risk, and the complete failure of the local Members Cllrs Theophilus and Jackson, to utter one word of disquiet against closure hasn't helped much either. No wonder the Director of Education, Robert Sully gave Cllr Theophilus such a warm cuddle after the election count. The primary schools of Llanwrda and Llansadwrn are next for the chop, I wonder if they'll pipe up then?

Update 25th July
ITV report that the campaigners have lost the final legal battle to prevent the County Council closing Pantycelyn School. It appears that the council will be free to continue to fiddle and fix consultations for years to come.


"The Court of Appeal has rejected Ysgol Pantycelyn Action Group's fight to save the school in Llandovery from closure. They have been fighting since September last year to get Carmarthenshire County Council to reverse its decision to close the school.
The authority is planning to merge the 11 to 19 secondary school with Tregib, near Llandeilo, and to build a new, larger facility on a different site. Lord Justice Maurice Kay today refused the group permission to take their case any further.
The school had argued that the council had "fiddled and fixed" the consultation, but that was rejected by the judge.
But Lord Justice Maurice Kay said it was clear that the action group was able to "have its say" through the consultation into school reform in the county.
The school's closure is part of a £50m project to reorganise secondary education in the area and the plans are currently under consideration by the Welsh Government"
ITV website

6 comments:

johnsouthwales said...

is this free parking on top of the usual november/december free parking or is the free parking THE free november/december christmas parking?

while they are it, i wonder if they have found out yet if the quay street regeneration is ahead, on schedule or behind?

if behind, how many days behind are they?

caebrwyn said...

The free parking will be for 4 hours, after 10am and will be for two months starting on the 1st September. Maybe the usual Christmas free parking will now be abandoned as the council recoup lost revenue, I've no idea.

Emlyn Uwch Cych said...

Here's the link:

http://online.carmarthenshire.gov.uk/agendas/eng/EXEB20120730/index.asp

caebrwyn said...

@EmlynUwchCych
Forgot to add the link, now done. Thanks for reminder

Cneifiwr said...

It will be a positive step at least if they publish the agreement between the two political groups, but I can't see for the life of me why this should need to be "approved" (rubber-stamped) by the Executive Board, which is supposed to be about determining council policy.

Unless, of course, it's yet another PR exercise.

Makes you wonder too why the chief executive did not flex his muscles to prevent an overtly party political document going before the
Board.

Perhaps, to paraphrase Old Grumpy, the Independent/Labour coalition really is just the political wing of the officer corps.

Jack Old Oak said...

Councillors Theophilus and Jackso are, by failing to reprsent their constituency members, behave just as one would expect of many local councillors - they are not councillors to represent anynes intersts or genuine concerns, but only to collect their unwarrented, extremely generour and completely unjustified excessive allowances and expenses - thus living off the backs of those they purport to represent!