This is yet another Hastings Labour manifesto commitment that will now be delivered. Like the pledge to take action on the Pier or bringing empty homes back into use – it proves that we are a party of action!

Last year you might know that I campaigned for the introduction of local planning forums in The Ore Plan. People on the doorstep told me that they’d like more say on planning – it didn’t seem to matter which party they normally support – whether Labour, Lib Dem, Tory or other – more involvement in the process was seen as a good thing.

I’m confident that these forums will be good for residents, good for ward councillors, good for members of HBC’s Planning Committee and ultimately good for developers.

Good for residents

Now residents can challenge developers on wildlife concerns, play space or playground funding, on the number of trees, parking spaces, disruption and noise. They can really put the developers under pressure to address these concerns before they put in an application. And of course, there will be a public record of what is discussed and what actions were agreed to be taken.

Good for councillors

We can speak up for those residents who are not part of an organisation or residents association. More people will get their say – it will no longer be just one petitioner who gets to speak at a Planning Committee meeting for 5 minutes – but many people.

Good for members of the Planning Committee

I’m new to the Planning Committee and I do not know it all. There are times after a meeting where I’m kicking myself that I didn’t ask a particular question or get more information prior to the meeting. I go to each Planning Committee worried about the impact a development will have on wildlife, residents and businesses. But I know that I have a limited set of criteria which I have to make my decision – there might be issues that I would like to be addressed (and residents would like addressed) but cannot be used to reject an application. These forums might make it possible for residents to negotiate, debate and ultimately address these parts of a proposed development which cause concern.

Now with residents, councillors, traders and organisations getting in early I will have more information when hearing an application. Instead of asking basic questions of developers – I can now go to the next stage. Ask them follow-up questions. Finding out what has been done to address any concerns or suggestions that come out of the Planning Forum. All of us working together to hold developers to account and get better developments in our town.

Good for developers

For good developers this could be a great thing – they will be engaging with the community where they’d like to build. This is a chance to improve or build upon their reputation and show that they care. Showing that they listen and act on concerns. They will have the chance to refine their plans prior to application and learn from a community that clearly knows the area better than they will ever do. If they are a good developer – what’s not to like?

I’m really looking forward to attending one of these forums and I welcome the fact that the power to influence the shape of future housing and commercial developments will now be in the hands of the many rather than the few. The people of Ore and the people of Hastings can only benefit from this Labour initiative.

Our local police team are aware of a number of reports but I am very concerned that there are residents who choose not to report damage to the police. The more reports they get, the more important Old Top Road is when it comes to allocation of resources.

As well as increased patrols in the area I have also suggested that temporary CCTV would be a good deterrent – either a camera on a lamp post or the Sussex Police CCTV van parked in the street for a while. I’ve been told that the case for these options are made stronger by having a record of more incidents.

I urge all residents to report any damage to their vehicles by calling Sussex Police on 0845 60 70 999.

As some of you will know I was appointed to the Planning Committee a couple of months ago. The first meeting I attended didn’t last very long. There were only a few issues on the agenda and there was not much that I considered to be hugely controversial. Last night, however, was a different story.

A number of the applications in yesterday’s meeting were for large scale developments. It’s my job to make a decision after weighing-up evidence provided by council officers, community groups, developers and residents. To be honest, I found last night difficult and I got an inevitable stress headache!

I appreciate that debate needs to happen in full view of all concerned parties, but it does ramp up the pressure. With one group willing members to vote one way and another group willing members to vote the other, it’s difficult not to feel divided. It occured to me that the jury system of retiring to debate away from the gaze of interested parties seems very attractive.

Don’t get me wrong, I know the current system is the way it is for a reason. It needs to be open and transparent but I do wonder if different questions would be asked and more intense debate would occur if the pressure was less.

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It’s called Ore Together and links up residents, traders, community leaders, local police and others. A regular meeting where people will be able to ask questions and get answers, suggest improvements to the village and really have a say in the future of our area.

The first meeting is at 6.15pm on Thursday 19th August at Salvation Army, 418 Old London Road, Ore.

I’m really excited about what we can all achieve together!

You can read full details of Ore Together on the new website: www.oretogether.com

I spoke to a resident in Winchelsea Road who witnessed a neighbour fly-tipping in the alleyway but didn’t know what to do about it. She said that it has been an eyesore for ages and that a lot of local people knew who was doing it.

Another resident in Grove Road said that it was unclear who owns the land between the properties but he was very grateful that Hastings Borough Council and the Probation Service had recently stepped in to sort out the mess.

If you see anyone fly-tipping please contact the council’s fly-tipping hotline on 451077 or you can email
refuseandrecycling@hastings.gov.uk giving as much detailed information as possible.

Residents spoke of how they have had problems with loud music coming from neighbours, rubbish that has been dumped behind houses in Winchelsea Road / Grove Road, and continuing efforts to get a local play area up and running. I won’t mention the establishments or organisations involved yet as I’d like to speak with them first.

There was also news about a community notice board that has been put up in the area, the fantastic Ore in Bloom project, questions as to why brambles have been left to grow on land that is meant to be properly maintained! Plus there was discussion about Red Lake Primary School and how it is consulting on a possible new school crest and colours.

It was a well-attended meeting and it was mentioned that they would like to get more people involved. So, if you live in the Red Lake area of Ore please consider attending one of their monthly meetings. If you see things around where you live that need improvement -why not talk to councillors and residents and help get things sorted!

All you need to do is turn up for one of the meetings, you don’t need to tell them you’re coming. The next regular meeting is Monday 11th October at 7.30pm at Downs Farm Community Centre. Hopefully see you there!

This week I’ve knocked on every door in Hawthorn Road and spoken to loads of really friendly people; the major issues there are planning and dog bins. I was accompanied by a new member of The Labour Party – one of 30,000 odd that have joined since the May 7th. If you’d like to join and get involved read more here.

You might not know that being a councillor is supposed to be something you can do even if you have a full-time job as well. It really isn’t easy! Over my first few weeks it has dawned on me how much time councillors must put-in to do the job well. I’m so glad that as a househusband I have the flexibility of being able to make phone calls and send emails throughout the day from home, even if my two kids make phone calls a major challenge! If I was still working as a nurse I wouldn’t have managed to finish half of my casework.

During the week I’ve received letters from Ore residents who would like help and advice. One of which lead me to take some photographs of our ward’s untidy pavements to send to the county council highways department. There are quite a number of pavement improvements needed in Ore, I just hope they have the will and the resources available to do it. I’ll keep the pressure on!

Tomorrow I’ll be attending the Red Lake Residents Association which I’m sure will be very interesting. I’ll feed back on what is said in my next post.

( Hawthorn Road view from: Street Cities – Free Mapping and Street View Tools )

In this visit I was given 4 issues/questions to deal with – A public litter bin full to the brim and in no sign of being emptied, why the council only collects 3 bulky items at a time, a very specific council tax query and a question about planning in the area.

Within 24 hours I was able to get answers/solve 3 out of the 4 queries and I’m hopeful that the last one will be sorted tomorrow. This type of thing is exactly why I wanted to be a councillor!

I’ll be visiting a different street every week. You don’t have to wait until I visit though – if you need my help now please get in touch.

Also this week I went to the Ore in Bloom fundraising quiz night – which was incredibly well attended. Our team Eastern Block didn’t do too badly but Council Leader Jeremy Birch’s Twitterers won!

I will be writing more about Ore in Bloom at some point. The organiser has some wonderful ideas for Ore and I hope to be able to post some of those ideas here on the website soon.

There has been quite a lot of admin tasks – filling in forms for a council telephone, ID pass, IT resources and stationery. All pretty essential things but it all takes a little time to get sorted out. I’ve also been shown around the Town Hall and other council offices so I know who I need to speak to when I’m trying to sort out problems in the ward.

I’ve also set up monthly Saturday surgeries at the Ore Centre. I thought this would be a good place to hold them as there is parking and it seems quite central to the ward. We’ll see how it goes but I’m quite open to changing the location if necessary.

I’m arranging a letter that I’ll be sending to all residents to introduce myself and give details of how to get in touch. Just waiting now for the stationery to arrive.

I’m also intending to choose a couple of streets in Ore this weekend and knock on those doors. I’d like to find out what priorities you think I should have and what issues affect you.

I’ll write again next week and let you know what issues seem to be popular on the doorstep.