The following is the final text of a motion (as amended) passed by Coventry City Council on Tuesday 8 December 2009. The motion was carried with the Conservative Group voting in favour, supported by the single Liberal Democrat member. I didn’t see how the Socialists voted, but Labour Group voted against, despite them actually proposing it in the first place.
Popularity: 31% [?]
I’ve just got out of the full council meeting at Coventry’s glorious council house where the dominant topic was the local budget. This was also an event of national interest as the media narrative embraces the idea of looking at town halls for clues about what a future Conservative Government would do. Newsnight and Midlands Today cameras were there.
The budget offered little. No big cuts, no new spending. It was somewhat austere, though media are running with £10m cuts blamed on national Government. [Full budget report here]
The Labour alternative was a single sheet of paper proposing a bit of what the Tory leader, Ken Taylor, called “fiddling around the edges”. It was hopeless, but an improvement on the previous year when there was not even a propsed alternative.
The most interesting part of the marathon meeting was the debate around the Regional Spacial Strategy. Cut a long story short; the Government says more homes have to be built, Coventry’s got to come up with over 20,000.
It was a Labour motion proposed by Cllr Bigham (Lab, Longford Ward) and seconded by the Labour group and opposition leader Cllr John Mutton (Lab, Binley and Willenhall Ward) that essentially wanted the City Council to go firmly on record that they would not build on greenbelt land unless it was a last resort.
The public gallery was well populated by interested residents who were part of a campaign group of one sort or another. One woman had a high-vis jacket on plastered with writing in opposition to greenbelt development. Sadly, the behaviour of those residents, one or two in particular, was a shameful disgrace.
I, like some others including some youths, had come to the public gallery to observe our democratically elected representatives debate the issues in a manner fitting of a mature city. We were not there to observe disruptive and self-interested “i’m alright jack” residents stamp their feet and hurl personal insults into the chamber. The man who in particular singled out Cllr Gary Ridley should be ashamed of himself. The Lord Mayor should not have tolerated the outbursts and should have controlled the meeting better.
Even more interesting when it transpired that the so-called big bad Tories actually agreed with the Labour motion and proposed an amendment that went even further than the original and firmly put to bed the idea that there will be a massive development on the city’s northern greenbelt. It was a resounding victory for the noisy residents and the Labour group… or at least it could have been.
You see, dear reader, the residents were in a rare stunned silenced as they watched in shock as the Labour group voted against both the amendment and their own substantive motion meaning it was down to the Conservatives to carry the motion and protect the greenbelt with Labour suddenly voting against greenbelt protection and showing themselves up massively as well as being seen as the party in support of greenbelt development.
It was best summed up by Cllr Russell Field (Lib Dem, Upper Stoke Ward) who gave a barnstorming performance in slamming the Labour group for attempting to play cheap party politics with the Green Belt. The Tories had them bang to rights and the single Lib Dem member closed it down.
Now let the message be clear, dear Coventrians, that:
“This Council condemns recent attempts by the Labour Government to bounce the City Council into building an Eco-town on greenbelt land at Keresley. “
The motion (full final text coming soon) goes on:
“sufficient brownfield land is already available”
and
“we have no intention of building homes on greenbelt land at least until the overwhelming majority of brownfield sites have been developed”
The residents left rather quickly. I hope they are happy with that outcome. I certainly am and will be reminding people often that the Labour group voted against this motion of protection and questions have to be asked over their intentions to build on green belt land. Roll on May 2010.
Popularity: 10% [?]
Nov 6
Big news for Coventry’s Conservatives today: Andy Matchet , former Lord Mayor and councillor for Earlsdon ward, has been suspended for getting pissed at his party and telling a (presumably hot) woman that he’d like to fuck her.
Also on the table was, as one commenter on the Coventry Telegraph website describes, “a militant feminist” who “just got her big old granny pants in a bit of a twist” and complained about Matchet’s behaviour saying that it has brought the office of Lord Mayor and Coventry City Council into disrepute. The Standards Board upheld that complaint from the other woman at the table despite there being no complaint from the woman to whom the comments were intended.
Not everyone is upset at the actions of the one who is being dubbed Coventry’s Lewd Mayor. One commenter on the Coventry Telegraph website said:
What a legend!
Anyone know where he lives? Want to put an invite through his door for our Christmas Party!
UPDATE, JAN 2010: Cllr Matchet had his appeal against his suspension dismissed and will now likely face deselection.
Popularity: 7% [?]
Jul 4
Next week I might pop down to the building site that is going to be Severn Trent’s new Coventry headquarters and attempt to remove goods from the location to the value of £168.63 because this is the amount they have owed me for 3 months.
Yes, it’s simplistic logic, but if I owed then £168.63 for 3 months I would have a CCJ by now. Indeed, on the account in question I feel behind last year and got a threat of legal action within 5 days. Somehow I get the feeling that if I sent them a letter in big red writing it won’t have the same effect.
It all started when I moved house and asked for a final bill, only to find out I was in credit. Don’t worry, they said, we’ll refund it automatically within 21 days.
A month and a half later I got a letter saying they didn’t know who to send the money to, so I called, and called, and called, and eventually got an answer. Now I’m a busy man so I didn’t make all those calls in one day, it took a couple of weeks to get to talk to somebody.
By that time they had started sending me bills for a supply of water that didn’t even exist. I told the girl on the phone that I was being charged for a phantom supply and was told that the reason they were taking money off the credit balance was actually because of a "typo". Check again, I told her, and enjoyed the apology when she realised what was going on. I told her where to send the money and waited.
It’s now 3 months and the cheque’s arrived…. made out to the wrong name. When I tried to call the offices just now (Saturday afternoon) they’re closed.
So, instead of running around the phone systems again for them to only get it wrong again I think I might just pop down to the nearby building site and help myself. I could also throw some kippers in the walls.
Of course, I can’t get close enough to do any of that, but I would rather like my money back without heavy doses of incompetence. Perhaps somebody from Severn Trent’s public relations team can give me a call?
Popularity: 3% [?]
Protestant March
The Orange Order have been given permission by Coventry City CouncilWest Midlands Police to march through the city to the War Memorial Park on 20 June. The organisers say that in a tolerant society we should be able to allow people of faith to express that faith in a manner of their choosing. Catholics in the city, however, are against the idea.
One catholic I spoke to claimed that Coventry was a “catholic city” and the Orangemen had no right to march here and that it was a deliberate act of provocation. He indicated quite clearly that catholics will be mobilising to disrupt the proceedings, however he might have just been winding me up.
Either way, I agree that we should just let them march and show that Coventry is a tolerant city. If the catholics have a problem with it then they simply just look away or don’t turn up. We have many parades and celebrations in Coventry – remember it’s a very old city that has long been a melting pot because of industry – and all of the proceedings have gone off without incident because Coventry embraces the many cultures within as part of the heritage of the city.
Update: A reader has contacted me to say that the Coventry Telegraph report linked above is inaccurate as usual. It was West Midlands Police that granted permission, not Coventry City Council. An important distinction to make because the former has no democratic mandate whilst the latter can raise questions about local council policy and reflect badly on Councillors as it is they who will be seen by the public as having made the decision. The Coventry Telegraph ought to print a correction considering the damage that can result from mis-placed perception.
Popularity: 5% [?]
May 19
As friends will tell you, I hate cyclists. With a passion. When I was hanging around 18 Doughty Street Talk TV scratching my head over how to market a TV station with a £0.00 marketing budget I would often see a rabble of cyclists go past as part of some monthly protest. If I happened to be on the wrong side of the ride, say on the way back from the pub, I’d be stuck until they all went past. This would happen often and equally as often I would ponder the merits of purchasing a machine gun to mow them all down and clear a path for myself.
So why would I go out and buy a damn bike? Complete with mud-guards, a paneer, a helmet and a strong D-lock. Why would I join the group of people I profess to hate? I could argue that I wish to know thy enemy, but the real reason is simple: weight loss and impatience.
As much as I hate cyclists I hate even more how long it takes me to get anywhere locally. I also hate more how I’ve been a fat bugger since I was like 11. It’s time for change.
The hypocrisy part is that I am actually starting to understand some of the issues cyclists complain about. Having just spent a pretty penny on a new bicycle (I can’t afford anything too fancy – political web design doesn’t pay very well) I don’t really want to have to fork out again and again on repairs. However, it’s clear I am going to have to set aside an amount for this because the quality of the paths and cycle lanes are going to slowly ruin my purchase. I’m trying not to get too wound up about it, though, there are more important things in life.
What does annoy me, however, is the behaviour of some motorists. It’s worth pointing out that most so far have actually been pretty good – overtaking with consideration, seeing me before pulling out, etc. But, I notice it’s the younger drivers who have the least consideration. It seems that to some of them scaring a cyclist or causing me to take action to save my life is a great way to show off to their passengers. I shouldn’t be too surprised, though, they are the bain of a lot more people than just me – their fellow road users, I would imagine. We all know who I mean – the chavs with the heavily modified Renault Clio’s. They should be summarily tied at the end of a piece of rope to the back of their pimped out cars and dragged along the motorway.
You see what happened there? I turned into a crazy cyclist calling for the surefire death of ignorant motorists. Shame on me!
In all seriousness though folks, it’s been a great purchase and the main ambition is to lose a bit of weight and enter some charity bike rides. I’m hoping to raise a bit of money for the Macmillan Nurses who cared for my dad in his last weeks of life and for various Lupus charities so that people like my mum can have awareness of their condition raised and hopefully more money put into research and treatment.
The video is of some cool bicyles from the Gadget Show:
Popularity: 3% [?]
I was reading this news story on the Coventry Telegraph’s website about a raid on an adult store because it was selling R18 videos without the necessary permit:
More than 100 DVDs were confiscated from the Private shop, in High Street, Leamington, amid allegations that they were being sold illegally.
The raid, on Wednesday, October 8, was a joint operation between workers from Warwick District Council’s licensing committee and the county council’s trading standards team.
It was triggered by tip-offs from concerned members of the public.
The stash was made up of R18-rated DVDs, which can only be sold with a special sex establishment licence.
Shame. But what really got me laughing was two things. First, “tip-offs from concerned members of the public” makes me wonder just how clued up the people of Leamington are. I mean, for the “members of the public” to be so well informed to know what permits the shop should have is pretty amazing wouldn’t you say?
Then things became a bit clearer…
District councillor Roger Copping visited the shop last week following a complaint. He described the films as “evil”.
“The thought of these DVDs being left around the home carelessly by a family member and being seen by children and young people fills me with horror. They are evil.
“This shop is in a sensitive location on a busy main road, a route to school, very near another school and a church.
“This part of town needs regeneration, not seedy shops like this.”
So, basically, it not being obvious enough that the shop is an adult shop did the District Councillor just have to go and take a peek to make sure?! It sounds like a story you’d make up if you were caught creeping out of the back door of the adult shop and got caught by the local journalist or nosey neighbour: “Uh huh, yes, urm, well, I was visiting following a complaint you see…”
I think the Councillor doth protest too much my dears… Then, he shows an amazing amount of ignorance (either real ignorance or an attempt to sound ignorant and maintain his cover, perhaps?) by ranting about the DVDs being left “carelessly” around the home.
I don’t know about you, but when I was a young teenager I would have thought something like “Naughty Nurses Go Wild IV” was an early Christmas present if I had found it lying around. But even if we take the Councillor seriously for a moment and assume he’s not having a joke with us, when was the last time anybody heard of an R18 video being left lying around carelessly for the wife and kids to see? I dare say that if there are households where that happens they might have more to worry about than the DVDs being left lying around.
Popularity: 8% [?]
