A blog about Wirral Council, Wirral Council's councillors & officers
A blog about Wirral Council's public meetings, Wirral Council's councillors, Bidston & St. James ward and other public bodies on Merseyside
Will Wirral Council start charging up to £25 a year for parking permits in resident parking scheme areas?
Wirral Council’s Cabinet will be asked next Monday morning to approve recommendations that include consulting residents on an annual charge for parking permits for those that live in the following resident parking scheme areas:
Continue reading “Will Wirral Council start charging up to £25 a year for parking permits in resident parking scheme areas?”
Will Cllr Phil Davies weaken greenbelt planning policy to help planning permission for Hoylake Golf Resort?
Earlier this month I wrote about the Strategic Regeneration Framework consultation which includes the Hoylake Golf Resort project.
A week tomorrow (2nd October 2017) Wirral Council’s Cabinet meets in Committee Room 1 at Wallasey Town Hall starting at 10.00 am. On the agenda is a report in Cllr Phil Davies’ name to Cabinet that recommends not only is the new Strategic Regeneration Framework agreed as policy but also recommends to Council that the Strategic Regeneration Framework is adopted as a “material planning consideration” and that it’s used in the Core Strategy Local Plan.
So what does this mean? If the Strategic Regeneration Framework (which includes the Hoylake Golf Resort project) is adopted as a planning policy by Wirral Council, then this will be a material consideration in favour of approving any future planning application for the Hoylake Golf Resort that the Planning Committee will decide upon.
At the moment due to the greenbelt nature of the site proposed for the Hoylake Golf Resort, Wirral Council’s planning policies only allow development in “very special circumstances”.
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Auditors state Wirral Council doesn’t provide value for money for 2nd year in a row!
Wirral Council’s auditors Grant Thornton will be telling councilors on Wirral Council’s Audit and Risk Management Committee next Monday evening (25th September 2017) that Wirral Council doesn’t provide value for money.
The auditor’s concerns are to do with the lack of improvement following the OFSTED report last year that rated Wirral Council as inadequate. In a report to be discussed by councillors next week the auditors state:
The Council has established an Improvement Board and developed an Improvement Plan to address the Ofsted recommendations, and provided an update on progress in its Annual Governance Statement. However, a subsequent Ofsted monitoring visit in April 2017 reported that while inspectors identified areas of strength and improvement, there are still some areas where inspectors considered that progress has not yet met expectations.
This matter is evidence of weaknesses in proper arrangements for understanding and using appropriate and reliable financial and performance information to support informed decision making and performance management, and for planning, organising and developing the workforce effectively to deliver strategic priorities.”
Since the publication of the OFSTED report, the Cabinet Member for Children and Family Services Cllr Tony Smith, the Director for Children’s Services Julia Hassall and the Chair of the Improvement Board Eleanor Brazil have all resigned (for clarity Cllr Tony Smith resigned from his Cabinet position not as a councillor).
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Wirral Council consult on 11 metre wide Hoylake Bypass as part of Hoylake Golf Resort project!
This story continues from three earlier blog posts, headlined What are the 21 paragraphs of reasons why Wirral Council opposes release of the Hoylake Golf Resort contract?, Wirral Council asks judiciary to intervene to keep 94 page report on Hoylake Golf Resort secret! and ICO require Wirral Council to release 94 page draft agreement with Nicklaus Joint Venture Group Limited about Hoylake Golf Resort.
The vast majority of the development agreement for the Hoylake Golf Resort (although there is still disputed information which will be resolved by a First-tier Tribunal (Information Rights) case) was released by Wirral Council yesterday and published on the whatdotheyknow.com website.
There is also mention of the Hoylake Golf Resort in the Strategic Regeneration Framework consultation, specifically on page 36 of the draft Strategic Regeneration Framework of a proposed road.
The proposed road referred to in the draft Strategic Regeneration Framework referred to in the development agreement as Hoylake Bypass is defined as a “7.5 metre, two-way undivided main carriageway with a 1 metre wide service/buffer strip and a shared 2.5 metre wide gateway/cycleway (providing for a 11 metre minimum total highway width) which is to be constructed on the Site pursuant to the Highways Agreement the approximate route of which is shown marked in pink on plan 6 or along such other route as the Developer and the Council may agree (acting reasonably)”.
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How are 275 invoices connected to Wirral Council’s plans to change food waste and green bin collections?
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Wirral Council’s Cabinet meeting 27th June 2016 (item 9 Domestic Refuse Collection Outline Business Case starts at 25 minutes 21 seconds)
When I read the Wirral Globe article about the proposed changes to bin collections (which may include a new food waste collection and possibly changes to the green bin collection) that have been delayed, I remembered that I received invoices from Merseyside Waste Disposal Authority (also known as Merseyside Recycling and Waste Authority) earlier this week.
Wirral Council have the legal responsibility for collecting rubbish from households on the Wirral (which they do through a contract with Biffa), but Merseyside Waste Disposal Authority then deal with what to do with the rubbish (and charge a levy to Wirral Council and other local councils).
Earlier this year, during the 30 working day period when you can do so, I requested copies of 275 invoices paid by Merseyside Waste Disposal Authority over the last financial year (2016-17).
Out of the invoices supplied electronically, one was missing and one was a duplicate. I flagged this up with Merseyside Waste Disposal Authority and have since been supplied with the correct invoices.
This is invoice 186 (that was missing originally from what I was sent).
This is invoice 67 (that was originally duplicated with a different invoice already supplied.
The invoices are supplied in batches of fifty due to file size limits on emails. One of the invoices is for MWDA’s share for this study by Local Partnerships which included Wirral. At Wirral Council’s Environment Overview and Scrutiny Committee last month it was stated that changes to Wirral’s waste collection were on hold while a regional study was being finished.
Merseyside Waste Disposal Authority 2016-17 Invoices 1-50
Merseyside Waste Disposal Authority 2016-17 Invoices 51-100
Merseyside Waste Disposal Authority 2016-17 Invoices 101-150
Merseyside Waste Disposal Authority 2016-17 Invoices 151-200
Merseyside Waste Disposal Authority 2016-17 Invoices 201-250
Merseyside Waste Disposal Authority 2016-17 Invoices 251-275
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