The sad red tail of the Greedy Pig....

Well, sometimes you just think the situation cant go from bad to worse and then it does...

or in Winsford, the Labour team cannot go from worse to even worse and then they do

Let me explain a little further ...hope you (don't) enjoy the ride.....

The site known as the "Greedy Pig" down by the river opposite the exquisite Liquid Lounge has been derelict, run down, abandoned for years. Unfortunately the site has multiple owners who own small strips of land. One of these is indeed our very own Labour run Winsford Town Council.

Putting all those strips together as a single option for sale site has been a challenge but as the land was highlighted in the Neighbourhood Plan (NP) for the following uses, which I have copied directly from the 2013 NP.

Policy TC 10A: Mixed-use development including hotel , leisure and commercial uses will be supported. (I have italisicised and underlined)
Policy TC 10B: Design Principles / requirements:
■ Development must address the river and the roundabout in a positive manner and be of the highest quality appropriate for this key town centre location.
■ A public river promenade must be provided and public uses, such as cafe, restaurants and / or retail should be provided along the edge. The buildings must deliver an active frontage, ideally with public uses along the waterfront.
■ Development in this location must make a positive impact onto the A54, in terms of good design, of an appropriate scale and massing, landmark buildings, key focal points and creating a positive gateway.

OK, so the world was turned on its head in 2015 when Labour were elected to power in Winsford (with some severe consequences to Winsford) and Labour Cllrs started to develop the NP and the house building started to escalate across Winsford. They set up a Winsford Regeneration Committee and I was asked to join, discussing what we want for Winsford and how to deliver it oh happy days, or so I thought.

In 2018 I was asked what I thought of developing this site with a KFC and Starbucks on it. I think I wanted to cry....a drive thru' KFC and Starbucks in Winsford, with all the associated  rubbish, poor health implications and not even stopping to enjoy our fine town and the riverfront.

My answer to Cllrs Clark and Armstrong that was a firm "No" given it added nothing to the town. Was this the only plan that came through? I asked. "No" was the sheepish reply. With the passage of time it turned out that there was another plan for some houses and a restaurant (nice looking in my opinion) brought forward by a local team.

Confused as to why the other option was not pursued, turns out Council officers discounted the other offer but that was never expressed openly or with much scrutiny apparently. It appeared that the KFC offer was preferred from the start. My contention being that if two offers came forward already, a third must be somewhere.

Fast forward to post election 2019 and a meeting I had with officers and Cllr Beacham in Wyvern House. I expressed again the fact that KFC did not represent any aspiration, did not meet the ideals of the NP and for a town with this many health problems in its population, a fast-food restaurant was not a good idea. Thankfully he agreed.

Then the housing plan appeared - and I knew I could object at the planning meeting. The planning meeting where officers said there was no one outside of the KFC coming forward to the site, which was simply not true.

Unfortunately the accident that night on the M56 stopped me from getting to the planning meeting (in Chester) and I had to watch it on the webcast.

I was horrified when I saw that Labour Cllr Tommy Blackmore stated he supported the application. Cllr Blackmore has been a Winsford Cllr for years, including the time the NP was enacted.
Was he not aware of the NP?
Did he not understand that approving the plan would almost invalidate the NP?
Did he not understand that by being a Town Cllr and that by the very fact the Town Council will financially benefit from the deal would make him look like Town Council first, Winsford Town second?

Then I see a post by Labour Winsford team on the Winsford Community (Labour) Forum saying they were going to start a campaign to overturn the decision!

I mean really - their own Cllrs approve, some of them don't agree and then they want to gain political capital by starting a campaign against themselves! Is this some strange alternate universe we've woken up in? Apart from the fact that they can't overturn the decision (the lawyers for the housing development would have a field day), don't they align as a team or are they just a gifted group of individuals who don't talk to each other? Do they even understand the planning rules?

Some of you will say that a Conservative Cllr spoke for it at the meeting. yes - but as a spokesman for the Labour majority Thrive Board (and who clearly wasn't told about the additional proposals).

Cllr Sam Dixon (Labour, Chester Cllr) said that the NP was written years ago and things change. Well, my house was mortgaged years ago and things have changed but I still have to pay the chuffing bank.

Labour have made another nonsense decision, whether its Labour CWAC, Labour WTC or the local Labour team. We in Winsford pay the price - houses coming out of every piece of land we have, no plan for the infrastructure and now we are the affordable housing capital of Cheshire.

We had a plan to make Winsford a destination but now we will have a housing estate and a drive thru town. Apologies if I sound negative because this one was one we could have got right yet the reds messed it up for us and I annoyed at the level of incompetence.

I will join the fight to over turn the decision even as I know we can't because it is the right thing to do. I think those involved should look at their own record and ask what is the right thing for them to do.

34,000 reasons to cheer (or not) in Winsford

Well, I hope you are all easing into the new year well enough and that you are not feeling too battered by Storms Ciara and Dennis?

Another battering is coming our way in Winsford of course as the Labour tax rises come barreling our way once again led by the cheery band of Labour Cllrs telling us how much it really isn't and how they don't get anything from the Government to help (they do, money in such large quantities they forget to ever mention it).

4.99% from our Labour Police and Crime Commissioner (even after cutting support for our Remembrance day parade)
1.99% from the Labour led Fire Authority
6% from the Momentum dominated Winsford Town Council.....

Wait...did I get that right?? 6% after the blockbuster 10% last year? Really?

Yes indeed - courtesy of legal team Stitch, Up & sons we get another 6% rise in our WTC precept this year.

Is that a lot? it is after all ONLY another 6p a week and it's only because of Tory Cuts right? Errr....NO. The Town Council does not get money from the government in grants, everything it needs is raised in the precept - the money they get from you and me (maybe more from you than me if you live in a Band H dwelling but I don't think we have many, if at all, of those mansions in Winsford - happy to be corrected on that one).

So this is money that the Labour led WT Council "need" from us to deliver the services etc. for the next year.

It's this point of "need" that is the point I stood up at Town Council on Monday this week to challenge and I would like to explain the reasons why that challenge was necessary for the hard working taxpayers of Winsford to have their say.

Compared to last year WTC is spending £20,000 LESS on public buildings (the Guildhall), £10,000 LESS on grants to organisations, 1,000 LESS on printing. This is £35,000 which could be spent on other important items without raising the precept. Compared to last year £15,000 MORE on "events management" and £35,000 on "special Items (play Leadership)" although there is already an allocated amount for Play Leadership later in the Budget).

At this point, we are about even with perhaps a few questions around the special items and the event management hikes.....and then the kicker....

£31,000 on participatory budgets...gulp....what are they for I hear you ask? Well, these are being sold to us from the CO-OP....sorry from the Labour CO-OP members as an opportunity for community groups to apply for money from the council to help fund groups, ideas, events. Hmmm...didn't we do that before? Apparently so - such a great success that only the old-timers know about it.

I've called it a "slush"...twice in fact during my speech on Monday. £31,000 of YOUR money to fund ideals which your Labour Loony left Cllrs - some who continue to call WTC a Co-operative Council, which it is not, it is a Council with members of Labour CO-OP on (because they are to scared to say Corbyn supporting Marxists) - wish to use to fund their left agenda and make them look like the good guys come voting time.

I'm waiting with baited breath on who applies for monies, who receives monies and the Guardian headlines they will receive when residents either respond to their loaded and orchestrated polls or go cap in hand to them for money.

As a CWAC Tory Cllr, this one really troubles me, the level of politics at this level, the disrepute that this Labour group has brought to the town and the appearance of self-service and disregard for others is very troublesome. I cannot believe Winsford needs Millitant leadership, with far left socialist ideals and many I have spoken to have said they feel duped by what they voted for being different to what they received.

But there is a glimmer of hope for our town - Cllr Mellor (Lab) actually voted against the budget saying the money belonged in residents pockets. I salute her for that after all the raises and  while the Council sits on money they can get from the Greedy Pig site disposal and the £150,000 sitting in the capital fund and £322,000 at Statement closing January 10th.

Seems there is plenty of money around...despite those Tories eh? 34,000 reasons to cheer indeed.....

Winsford - when the left was lost

Now that the 2019 General Election is over and we safely resume political life in 2020 knowing that Corbyn isn't going to get his hands on the countries coffers (although we now have to wait to see whether the Corbyn clone/clown Wrong Daily or one of the other group of Marxist nobodies get the second bite of the red cherry), things in Winsford have a chance to settle down for a bit.

However, no one seems to have told the hard left tribe of loony lefties who were elected at the last Council elections that Labour actually lost the General Election (ahhh...what would have been if we had secured Brexit earlier eh?). The cabal continues its purge of the normal ones while on a direct course to alienate most residents of Winsford while getting itself to the pinnacle of utopia (which in this case appears to be every pub in Winsford being owned by a "co-op") with the dark hand of a puppeteer in the background firmly thrust up the rear. A bit like the Sooty show but a whole load more dangerous.

Now I've never agreed with Cllrs Kennedy and Edwards from a political point of view but (and I have stated this many times) I have always thought them to be good people. We have not seen eye to eye on many things but we talk, we laugh and we can chat about "stuff" and I for one believe Cllr Kennedy was a fantastic Mayor for the town - even though I was extremely jealous of the fact he had some hair to dye purple for local charities.

According to the lefties - they apparently were not left enough, now they are accused of "acting illegally". Really? Let me state that again "acting illegally" Really? Maybe it was doing so in that charity work? Or helping residents? Or listening to residents? Or not agreeing to move the Council chamber to a larger venue so that lefty supporters could turn up........at a very significant cost......

I don't know - I'm at the point of not really wanting to turn up to a Town Council meeting knowing that the cabal have decided everything "down the red" in the day before, knowing that any comment I make at council will be instantly shouted down on as obviously I am one of the "haters"

I would say I would prefer the on-line discussion but like many others in the town, run the risk of being blocked from the "Labour" Community Forum because I have a different view or indeed dare to criticise. You may know the forum I speak of - where Cllrs post under admin (although you have to guess which one because they don't state their names) and the Labour party has free hand to post what it wants. Mind you, posting elsewhere runs the risks of "big brother watching" back to the cabal and results in being sent messages (very passive aggressive ones) in an effort to silence.

Anyway, enough of my frivolities.....my New Year message to residents of Winsford is....don't accept this poor behavior from your Town Councillors, you are in control and have the final say - albeit in years rather than days. Those of us who behave above the residents and without respect from residents don't deserve to represent...and I include myself in that.You are not wrong or "haters" because you have different opinions. You are Winsford.

Now, back to Boris and the GE.....BIG SMILE ON FACE......

Back again.....Labours un-safe hands for Winsford

Hello reader,

Been a while since I posted a blog on happenings in Winsford as seen from a rational viewpoint.

But first.....back by popular demand.....or by a mighty majority of seven votes, I have to express my gratitude to all of you who voted for me in the recent Council Elections. Both Brexit and Labour tried their best to topple me but fate retained me for four more years to be a thorn in the local reds team side.

SO , whats new in the town? I hear you ask.....

Well, the Count ended up with status quo in the Over and Verdin ward - 2 reds and myself. I would put the reds in the "moderate" end of their party and I quietly hope we have once again three reasonable people representing the ward.

The rest? Clearly Winsford Labour has taken a large step to the left with at least two of their new three coming from the Momentum arm....you know, those lovely rational, calm and reasonable bunch of crackpots who want to take us right back to the "good ol" days of the 1970's yet actually never lived in them. Bring on the strikes comrade.......down with the Tory scum (me as well apparently) and all that rubbish.

Right, so they are CWAC results.

On to business then and I hope I'll have plenty of time to report on whats going on to make things better in Winsford but let me give you an insight on what I'll have to contend with in the Town and how it'll fare under the new management of Labour Cllrs on the Town Council.

Our Labour Town Cllrs are already making a name for themselves.....one has publicly had a spat with our MP and another takes up the fine tradition of Labour Cllrs in Cheshire of having a fracas at a nightclub, which in this case is owned/managed by another Labour Cllr. A post tonight by the nightclub managing Cllr's team is already blaming the behaviour of the other Labour Cllr (interestingly not stating they are a Cllr but calling them a "visitor" at the nightclub) for the clubs imminent closure.

With in-fighting already starting, it surely cant be said that Winsford is in safe hands with Labour.............Interesting times ahead for sure for all of us.....

The road to Chester is a long one.....but mind the potholes on your way

Delamere Street

Chester Road

Just two streets, you might know them...they might even be streets where you live.

The ones I am talking about are in Winsford. One starts at the Over roundabout, the other is the A54 but we pick it up as you enter Winsford (heading to the residential area). However, both meet "in the middle" so to speak.

So, they are connected, they are interdependent and they suffer the same fate as many of our roads......POTHOLES.

"Oh NO" I hear you scream. Perhaps you dare to believe that under CWaC labour there couldn't be any potholes, anywhere. After all, there were record complaints last year and they all got fixed right? I mean, they must have been....Government has just given then 3.5 Million on top of the many other times they have given CWaC money to fix the roads (potholes).

Now, I know some of you read my blog and think, "Come on Mike...here you go again, giving those poor Labour lot a hard time, like the times you said they don't listen and that they don't know what they are doing - they must be hard pressed to leave a couple of potholes on Delamere street"

Well, I'm a reasonable bloke - maybe one or two potholes, yes. Maybe Labour have other things to do like writing Notices of Motion in Council which result in strongly worded letters to Government Ministers or hiring another couple of consultants to tell us what we already know, yes, maybe.

That wouldn't explain the lunar landscape that is Delamere street or Chester Road though, would it? You know, the bits in between the traffic "Cushions" that has been filled more times than a taxis fuel tank? Or the road markings which you can barely make out the word "School" or the row of holes before one of the raised areas which make Beechers Brook at Aintree look like a puddle?

I'm even thinking of sending them a picture of a Zebra so that they can understand what colours the stripes on the crossings should be (in case you don't know - it's black and white).

The fact is, this road is a MESS. It needs an overhaul, it is gone past it sell by date and half-hearted attempts to fix it only make it worse.

I have of course taken this up with the fellas at the local highways department (and here I will commend them for all the help they have given me over the years - a very dedicated team which I enjoy working with) to ask them when it will be done or to find out even if it is on the priority list.

It turns out there is a new system and now everything that was kept local has moved over to the bods in Chester. "Good luck in finding out about it, Cllr Baynham" was my own internal reply when I heard that great news.

I will keep campaigning, Labour will keep dodging. This will be the dance until perhaps nearer the election some "magical" amount of money will be found to fix Delamere Street and Chester Road. I'll leave it to the reader to make any decisions then about why it took so long.

They have the money, I would like them to spend it but perhaps, just perhaps, awarding one of their own an extra few thousand to chair a committee is money better spent.

Until then, safe driving but mind the potholes.......

Q. When does 800,000 go into 20? A. When Labour propose some new signs

The nice man from the post office recently dropped a letter through the door which stated that CWaC are proposing more 20mph zones for Winsford. This sparked my attention because the highlighted streets included the one I live on and others within the Glebe Green area of Swanlow Ward and one road in the Over and Verdin Ward. At the bottom of the blog you'll find the relevant map.  

The data collected by CWaC to support this proposal shows that most of us don't travel at more than 20mph on most of these roads - so changing the speed limit merely reflects what most of us are already doing in any event. 

Most of what is proposed in the scheme is uncontroversial - given that only one of the roads (The Loont) is a through road, all the others being cul-de-sacs. I don't have any evidence of drag racing on Over Hall Drive for example that makes me think that we are in desperate need a new sign for that road.

However there are aspects that we all need to think about the whole scheme across Winsford and its effect on certain areas. 

How do we feel about the short lengths of road - such Delamere Street/Chester Road , which rapidly change from 20mph to 30 mph to 40 mph within a matter of yards (or metres for the modern folk)?  Sure, I am 100% in agreement with the 20 mph in front of Over St Johns school and any other school in the whole town and borough (although interestingly enough, Whitegate Primary School "does not meet the requirements" apparently) but what does it mean for the rest of the road and users along it when clearly limits are not enforced?

I don't have the exact figures for how much these schemes will cost but the letter I received said anywhere from £1,000 to £6,000 for this relatively small patch. Winsford itself would therefore be far in excess of that - perhaps even above £60,000 given the total budget the Labour have set aside for the scheme is a staggering £800,000  

So if you had say £60,000 to spend on road safety schemes in Winsford - would you choose putting your money into 20 mph signs on roads where those speeds are not exceeded or something else?  I know many people want to see a pelican crossing on Delamere by Littler Lane - that would cost a little more than £25,000.  What about sorting out the junction on Grange Lane and the High Street once and for all? Or the installation of a speed camera along Swanlow Lane to catch a few speeders? Or a flashing speed sign on Cinder Hill in Whitegate? Those are just a few projects around Winsford that could be done with that sort of money.

Would you put the £60,000 to bringing a quality CCTV system to Town Park?

Lots to think about .....but by the time Labour work it out, the money would have long been spent.

From a community asset........to an asset to the community. Labour can't quite join the dots.

When I retire (in a long while I hope), I will need something to keep me busy (apart from my "list" of things the good Mrs B has in store for me) to take place of the long days in the office followed by the Council meetings. I have a long list of books I would like to read - although A Journey by Blair, T is most definitely NOT one of them.

So, with this in mind...along with stories of isolation and loneliness that can come after retirement or loss, I have been working with a very well known organisation to bring a sanctuary in a shed for some men (and women) to Winsford. I purposefully am not mentioning the organisations name as I am trying NOT to to politicise their great work (unlike Labour and the NHS) but use them as an example of what could be done better with an idea, an asset and an "can do" attitude.

The task set out should be a relatively easy one...find a building in Winsford which is currently empty, fit for purpose, big enough and possibly owned by the Council. "There must be many" I hear you cry with memories of the Drill Hall, The Brunner Guildhall, The Edge, The Marina building etc. etc. fresh on your mind.

Well, unfortunately not as the case may be. The Marina building was transferred to the Town Council, who if I may be so bold about it - were as imaginative as the Town Council always are i.e not very and didn't exploit its location to set up a cafe (perhaps even with toilets for those of you with a twitch over the comments made about Town Park) or a hub. The Drill Hall has long gone after a stint as a botanical pharmacy "ahem"....and The Guildhall, albeit owned by the Town Council (see above) is unfortunately not well set out internally for a shed based organisation.

There are other buildings dotted around Winsford and hopefully we shall hear some excellent news very soon but that leaves us for the moment with The Edge as the initial prime location for any organisation to use as a hub. For those who don't know, The Edge is a building off Cheviot Square and was formerly a community building until its closure due to financial irregularity in 2013. It's loss has been keenly felt by local residents who have lost a great addition to their community.

The Edge has been a topic of much debate as it is a Council owned building, and some locals and locally based groups have asked why it cant be used. All good questions, especially as we have the model of "Community asset transfer" whereby Council has powers to transfer an asset via tenancy at will or the more legal Community asset transfer. A wonderful example of this is the Whitegate Station Community Cafe - a place I wholeheartedly support and would ask the reader to go along to enjoy a refreshment or two.

All making sense so far? We have an empty building, which can be used by a community group to support the local community. Great. Well, Errr....not quite.It appears there are a few small matters that need to be addressed before anyone can "get the keys" so to speak.

The first is that any community must have a business plan. Fairly obvious but of course having an idea in the community, often not backed with any capital and without too much business acumen means that people are put off quite quickly. The officers do a sterling job of helping but a clearer message of "we will help you" should come from the Council.

Second, The Edge needs some fairly major repairs before it is fit for purpose. Initially, it was good to note that a smattering of arsonists had not made too much of a negative impact on the building but it was discovered the "the roof" needed some work - and the following numbers started to be discussed 50K then 130K with a final bid of 195,000 pounds....from the guy in the yellow jacket at the back.

That is then, the end of that - a building which would be great in the community, for the community which now requires so much money spending on it that no one wants to ask if we can have it. A building left in such a state that those wonderful sheds and the men and women who would be in them cannot use. A building that had community out reach potential for health, advice, children's groups, inter-generational training (young people learning skills, older generations learning a bit more about smart phones for example) now not being used.

So, I'm calling on CWaC Labour to tell me their plan for The Edge - perhaps they have one neatly stored away for publication (most likely before the election next year), perhaps they could spend some of their stash of unallocated reserve (£6 Million) on this and no doubt other community asset buildings before the building goes the way of Winsfords much publicised derelict Liquid Lounge building (that maybe another blog someday).

In the meantime, I wish those shed men and women the very best and will continue to support them in their search for a location in Winsford. It's a shame it cant be The Edge and I will be asking about the Labour plan at council. That is of course, if Labour actually answer any questions........I live in hope....