Record-breaking Swimming Club deserves our support...

Hats off to a trio of Deepings youngsters who have been breaking records in the swimming pool.

And hats off to their coaches at Deepings Swimming Club, who have a long record of achieving fantastic results - against all the odds.

Last time I checked, South Kesteven District Council were charging our thriving swimming club over £30,000 a year to use the pool.

In my view, our swimming club provides a fantastic service in investing in our young people that is vastly under-valued by Grantham-based South Kesteven District Council.

Isn't it seriously crazy that the main activity of our local swimming club is not swimming at all - but fundraising merely to get youngsters pool-side.

And holding our 'local' council to account

Trying to get home to Deeping in time for a public meeting at the Community Centre where I hope we can hold our 'local' district council to account...

I want to ask South Kesteven District Council why they pulled the rug from under the extremely popular summer playscheme this year, which they have traditionally part funded. And more importantly, persuade them it's worth backing this year.

My own daughters enjoyed the playscheme when they were young so I know personally how valued the scheme is - even though it was almost a quarter of a century ago. Since then the playscheme has gone from strength to strength - despite a blip a few years ago when red tape almost strangled it.

Fortunately, it survived and SKDC continued to see its value by sharing the costs with our very own DSJ Parish Council and Market Deeping Town Council.

But last year SKDC changed their priorities and said they would concentrate on helping teenagers rather than younger kids.

They published a series of glossy leaflets and a programme of activities.

But guess what?

Nothing for the Deepings!

Fortunately, DSJ and MD councils stumped up the missing cash to make sure hundreds of youngsters and their parents were not disappointed and the playscheme had a bumper year at DSJ Primary School.

Now we're hoping those we elect to serve us as the Grantham based SKDC will do the decent thing in the coming summer and give the Deepings a fair deal!

I got stuck on the tube on my way home tonight, but fortunately, my parish council colleague, Judy 'the Rotweiller' Stevens will be at the Community Centre, so I know our voice will be heard loud and clear!

U-turn on bus passes by SKDC...?

South Kesteven may finally be dragged into the twentieth century with the same travel concessions for elderly and disabled people as have been enjoyed for years in every other part of Lincolnshire. The Conservatives who run the Grantham based South Kesteven District Council have finally been persuaded that they can afford to offer free concessionary travel on local buses before 9.30 in the morning. Every other council in our county of all political persuasions snapped up the Labour Government's generous cash handout to give elderly and disabled people a better deal a couple of years ago.

The change of heart is a victory for the long running campaign by local people - and supported by the Stamford Mercury.

Today's Mercury reports that a decision will be made next week to go for a 'consultation' before possibly making the changes in six months time.

If you see Deeping St James Conservative district councillors Ray Auger or Brian Hellyar - or any of their Tory mates - ask them why they are delaying doing the decent thing for another six months...

WHY NOT NOW...?

Who's holding our council to account...?

This week's Stamford Mercury has run South Kesteven District Council's press release on the appointment of the new Chief Executive word for word.

What, no questions...?

What on earth is going on at South Kesteven District Council...?

Tory Leader of SKDC Linda Neal is trying to justify banning anyone who doesn't already work for the council from applying for the £105k a year top job.

At the same time, she refuses to confirm reports that she authorised a £100,000 pay-off to get rid of the biking Duncan Kerr who mysteriously and suddenly quit the job a couple of months ago - the Grantham Journal says he was sacked.

The Council insists that their deal with Duncan Kerr to quietly pedal all the way to the bank is "confidential" and nothing to do with us - local taxpayers who are forced to stump up the money!

Congratulations of course to Beverly Agass, whose appointment as new Chief Exec was rubber-stamped at a meeting of SKDC. I don't know if anyone else even applied for the job, but I'm sure we all wish her well.

And congratulations to the Grantham Journal for asking the right questions.

The Journal reports that the council voted to get rid off former boss Duncan Kerr and

The position of chief executive was only open to internal candidates already working within the council.

Council leader Linda Neal defended the appointment process.

She said: "I would like to state emphatically, Mrs Agass actually got the job - we did not give it to her.

"There was nothing about the whole process that gave any leeway to Mrs Agass because she was already working here."

Except of course, that if she wasn't "already working here", she wouldn't have been allowed to even apply for the job!

For the record, I've posted on the debacle HERE, HERE, and HERE
mysterious departure of Duncan-the-bike-Kerr.

Second class service for Deeping...?

How long does it take Grantham-based South Kesteven District Council to deal with fly-tipping...?

Apparently, it depends where you live.

Weeks ago, a resident of Deeping St James contacted SK over some dumped tyres at the corner of Outgang Road and Hall Meadow Road.

Nothing happened. So he emailed SK, and also passed on the information to DSJ Parish Council.

Over the next few weeks, he tells me he reported the fly-tipping TEN times to SK before anything happened.

With no action from SK, our parish council clerk told SK that unless they dealt with the problem, she would pick up the tyres herself.

Then an apology from SK to our resident for an email going astray and finally, this week, the tyres were removed.

Overall, a poor service.

In contrast, I understand that the latest issue of SK Today, the Council's own newsletter, has an article bragging about picking up fly-tipping in Grantham within 24 hours of it being reported.

So why does Grantham get a service within hours while we have to wait weeks before anyone takes any notice...?

BBC picks up story on Chief Exec's departure

Our local Council seems to think how they spend our money has nothing to do with us taxpayers. Isn't that what the following statement means...?

"For reasons of confidentiality we can't discuss the specific details of Duncan Kerr's departure from SKDC."

That was SKDC's response to BBC Radio Lincolnshire who ran an interview with me on Drivetime this evening. The interview followed my official challenge to South Kesteven District Council to reveal the facts that will establish whether reports are true that they have handed their Chief Exec more than £100,000 to quit his job.

In days gone by, a council might have got away with hiding behind an anonymous statement which basically says 'mind your own business'. But now we have the Freedom of Information Act which will force some answers and hopefully prise out the real costs of Duncan Kerr's sudden departure last week.

I'm very disappointed there's still no word on this affair from any of those who were elected to the Grantham-based Council to stand up for residents of Deeping St James.

Holding the Executive accountable is a key role of any councillor and I would urge my colleagues on SKDC to end their wall of silence and come clean with the residents they are supposed to represent.

Certainly, I won't be taking 'mind your own business' for an answer.

After running the interview with me this evening, and SK's bland response, BBC Lincolnshire reported that both they and the Grantham Journal have also put in Freedom of Information requests about the affair.

Hopefully, between us, we'll get to the truth and the real costs.

Keep watching!

Has Chief Exec been handed £100k to go...?

With unconfirmed reports that the Chief Exec of SKDC has trousered more than £100,000 to clear his desk - and with a wall of silence from the Conservatives who run the council - I've today lodged Freedom of Information questions today to try to get to the truth of the affair.

I had hoped the Council would come clean by now and reveal the costs to the public purse. But it seems not even the report in the Grantham Journal that he has collected over £100k has flushed them out.

I'm not a member of SKDC - but as a county councillor I saw first hand the disgraceful behaviour that went on to get rid of the Chief Exec of Lincolnshire County Council following the jailing of Conservative Leader Jim Speechley.

That scandal cost local taxpayers £400,000 in the payoff alone.

This time, with no word either from those elected to stand up for the Deepings in Grantham, more than a week after the Chief Exec of SKDC went, the FOI route seems the only way...

Duncan Kerr apparently cleared his desk last Monday after a secret meeting of elected councillors.

I posted HERE and HERE.

Watch this space!

Determined to ask the awkward questions...

Surprised that I seem to be the only local councillor calling for more information about the cost of the mysterious sudden departure of the Chief Executive of South Kesteven District Council.

I was interviewed for the Oakham-based Oak FM last night and quoted in today's Stamford Mercury trying to get the Conservatives who run SKDC to come clean and reveal what deal has been agreed - and at what expense to the public purse.

Linda Neal, the Conservative Leader of SKDC is denying that Duncan's departure is sudden, claiming she's been speaking with him all year about him going!

But she hasn't explained why the man we paid £105,000 a year to run our district council cleared his desk on the day of a secret meeting of councillors earlier this week, and apparently biked into the sunset.

Given that I'd been hearing rumours that the Tories wanted rid of him, I find it hard to accept that he's walked - or biked - from his £105k a year job without negotiating a generous severance deal.

I'm surprised no other local councillor else seems to be speaking out in the local media - specially as the Tories in Lincolnshire have form on getting rid of chief execs (after Tory Leader of the county council Jim Speechley was jailed for abuse of office, they launched a witch-hunt to sack David Bowles. He agreed to go for a payoff of £400,000- and we're all still paying the price of Speechley...)

Given what I know about the Speechley scandal and the cover-up antics at County Hall which followed his imprisonment, I'm determined to get the the bottom of the cost of Duncan Kerr's departure.

Someone has to speak up on behalf of local taxpayers and get answers about how much Duncan's departure is costing us all...and I full intend to keep asking the awkward questions.

Watch this space.

What cost the Chief Exec's sudden departure?

Serious questions need to be asked following the sudden departure of Duncan Kerr from his £105,000 a year job as Chief Exec of our district council.

He was no friend of the Deepings. But in the interests of taxpayers, someone surely needs to ask how much it's costing us to see him 'get on his bike'.

A couple of weeks ago, I was tipped off by a usually reliable source that the Tories who run the Grantham-based South Kesteven District Council were planning to 'get rid' of their chief officer Duncan Kerr by staging a 'vote of no confidence'.

Sure enough, earlier this week, an 'extraordinary' secret meeting of the Council was held, followed by an official press release saying Duncan Kerr he was leaving that very day.

Not even a day's notice?

In fact, it seems he'd already cleared his desk and was no more.

A press release was issued after the meeting saying that Duncan Kerr would be leaving that very day. The only comment was from the dearly departed himself saying what a swell time he's had as boss of SKDC.

What wasn't in the press release spoke volumes. No comment from anyone other than the dearly departed himself, who claims he's decided to 'take his life in another direction'. Answers on a postcard, if anyone knows what that means.
A second press release appeared on SKDC's website at the same time to announce the appointment of an interim chief executive.

In contrast to the first release, Council Leader Linda Neal says the Council's strategic director has 'the council's full confidence and support' and she's 'delighted' that she's accepted the role of interim boss.

In other words, Duncan Kerr doesn't enjoy the council's confidence or support!

I don't know what's led to Mr Kerr's departure. Certainly, eyebrows were raised last year when he was given three months (unpaid) off for a biking holiday when it seems that the council realised they could manage without Mr Kerr.

This time, it seems, he's been told to get on bike and don't bother coming back!

Lincolnshire Tories of course have form in 'getting rid' of Chief Execs.

At the county council, the Chief Exec David Bowles called in the police leading their Leader Jim Speechley going to prison for abuse of office.

The Tories vowed to 'get rid' of David Bowles for his 'treachery'.

The price to the public purse was a massive £400,000 pay-off to Mr Bowles which the Tories tried to keep secret.

After that disgraceful episode, the county council was forced to pay a massive premium to attract top officers to work in Lincolnshire.

Much has changed since then. But every taxpayer in Lincolnshire is still paying the price of Speechley.

So isn't it reasonable to now ask what's the price of Mr Kerr's departure?

It seems that, like Mr Bowles, the Tories wanted Mr Kerr to go.

Are we expected to believe that he just decided to simply walk (or cycle!) away from his £105,000 a year salary without giving any notice?

Or has he done a deal?

If so, what's it costing us?

We deserve to be told.

Decision on gypsy sites delayed until June...

South Kesteven District Council are under fire for the time they are taking to make a decision over gypsy and traveller sites.

Given the local storm that was sparked when Grantham-based SKDC announced their shortlist of possible sites almost two years ago, it's probably not surprising they're not keen on re-opening the debate...

CCTV and Police catch suspects after card-skim scam

While most of us were still safely tucked up in bed early this morning, local police gave chase after two men were spotted apparently attempting to remove a carsd-skimming device from the hole-in-the-wall cash machine at the Rainbow Supermarket in The Deepings.

They were spotted tampering with the machine by South Kesteven District Council's closed-circuit TV controllers at about 5.30am. Police were called and chased two men.

A 32-year-old and a 29-year-old were arrested and taken to Spalding Police Station, where they are currently said to be helping police with their enquiries.

Time for a Fair Deal on the Buses...

Mean-spirited councillors at Grantham have again decided to put off giving Deeping pensioners the same deal on the buses enjoyed in every other part of Lincolnshire.

Last April, Conservative-controlled South Kesteven Council refused to join a county-wide scheme to extend the Government's concessionary fares scheme to include buses before 9.30am.

They said they needed time to see how much it would cost.

Now the figures are in for the first six months of the scheme - and the actual cost to the council is about HALF what they actually bugetted for.

Now they have decided they need more time.

I believe it's an absolute disgrace.

Whad'ya think of it so far...?

And the answer is of course: 'Rubbish...'

A stink over a council refuse lorry that spewed rubbish onto Spalding Road, Deeping St James, instead of sucking it up, makes a page lead complete with picture of said offending mess, in tonight's Peterborough Evening Telegraph.

The lady who publicised the story gets a roasting from some ET readers for not taking matters into her own hands and clearing up the mess herself.

A bit unfair, I thought.

But at least South Kesteven District Council pitched up within an hour to clear up the rubbish caused by a malfunction in one of their vehicles...

Lifeline scrapped for Deepings, but not for Grantham!

Dial-a-ride, a lifeline for elderly housebound people, is to be scrapped in The Deepings, Stamford and Bourne. But not in Grantham.

The Stamford Mercury report that Lincolnshire County Council will only continue to fund Dial-a-Ride in partnership with district councils.

Just a month after Grantham-based South Kesteven District Council was shamed as the only district in Lincolnshire to refuse to support extending bus passes for over-60s and disabled people, they - and Spalding-based South Holland are the only two districts refusing to back Dial-a-Ride.

The fact that South Kesteven will continue to fund Dial-a-Ride for Grantham only adds insult to injury.

A total disgrace.

UPDATE: I see there is a partial Call Connect service to be launched as a partial replacement for Dial-a-Ride where there are no local buses.

UPDATE 2: As of Friday morning, still no news on SKDC's own information website about the scrapping of Dial-a-Ride in The Deepings, Bourne and Stamford. SKDC's website has some info on the scheme, but says the last update on info on Dial-a-Ride was made in September last year...

More important, no information at all on the Call Connect 'service', which the Mercury says will not be provided on bus routes...The whole point of Dial-a-Ride was that it was specifically aimed at people who were unable to use local buses!

Local man appears in Ken Livingstone's biography...

Intrigued to learn from last week's Local newspaper that Brynley Heaven who now lives in a village near Bourne worked closely with Ken Livingstone some three decades ago.

Brynley, one-time prolific commenter on this blog, even gets a mention in the latest biography on Ken, which came out during the recent Mayoral campaign...

More recently, Brynley has been an active campaigner against data chips in wheelie bins, which he believe SKDC will inevitably use to collect information on the amount of material we throw away.

Isn't it amazing what you learn in The Local...more HERE.

Fair Deal for Deepings finally delivered today with free off-peak bus travel...

Discrimination by our local council against over-59s in The Deepings officially ends today - thanks to Gordon Brown!

For years, Grantham-based South Kesteven District Council has insisted on one of the meanest travel concession schemes in the country - which hit those in Deepings the hardest.

Deepings pensioners and disabled people have had to pay more to get to Queensgate shops or local hospital appointments because SKDC refused to join other councils in Lincolnshire and allow concessionary travel to destinations outside SKDC borders.

It was the local campaign I started some seven years ago for improvements that led to me becoming known as Fair Deal Phil.

So today really is very special to me - and to the 11 million people who will benefit from the new nation-wide travel concessions brought in by the Labour Government.

But from today, disabled people and those aged 60 or over will benefit from free off-peak travel on the buses.

Details here.

ET's webcast slip confuses SKDC with SHDC...

The Peterborough Evening Telegraph don't seem to know their South Kesteven from their South Holland when it comes to local councils.

A news item in Monday's edition suggests that Peterborough City Council may take a leaf out of South Kesteven's book by webcasting council meetings to make them more accessible to council taxpayersPeterborough Evening Telegraph.

In fact it is South Holland who deserve the credit for currently webcasting their meetings, not South Kesteven who are not doing webcasts as far as I know.

The ET then compounded their error by referring to South Kesteven's Chief Executive as Terry Huggins.

Last time I looked, Chief Exec. of Grantham based SK was still Duncan Kerr. Terry Huggins is Chief Exec. of Spalding-based neighbours South Holland District Council...

Meantime, full county council meetings at Lincolnshire have been available by webcast for some time.

You can see the last Lincs CC meeting in its full glory (complete with contributions from yours truly!)HERE.

Just thought you ought to know!

Recycling incentives not 'binned' after all...

When I picked up my Bourne Local newspaper last Friday, I was surprised to see they splashed on 'news' that the Government had binned plans to allow local councils to charge residents to 'pay to throw'.

As I reported at the time, the Government responded to the rumour mill by making it clear that 'pay to throw' was in fact still being actively considered - but no mention of this in the Local's story which seems rather curious.

Now, three days on, Environment Minister Hilary Benn has announced that the draft Climate Change Bill will indeed give power to local councils to provide financial incentives for recycling.

Under the proposals, the financial incentives will be revenue-neutral and are expected to help save between two million and six million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent through landfill emissions in 2020.

Last week South Kesteven District Council told the Local they had no plans to introduce charges.

Now it has been confirmed that 'pay to throw' is in the draft legislation - which could become law by next Spring - the Conservative Party nationally has slammed the idea.

I wonder whether Conservative controlled SKDC will become one of the first councils in the country to adopt it - assuming of course that the proposals announced today survive scrutiny by Parliament and become law.

Watch this space...

Weighing up the recycling options...

A recycling rebel and regular commenter to this blog is celebrating this weekend following reports that the Government has dropped 'pay to throw' proposals.

Brynley Heaven removed the chips implanted in the twin bins rolled out earlier this year and posted them back to SKDC, so they couldn't measure the amount of rubbish.

Earlier reports suggested that the Government was about to give local councils the power to charge residents for the amount of rubbish dumped in their bin.

But now it has been claimed that Gordon Brown has scuppered the plan - though the Government says the idea is still being considered.

In any case, the story provided the Bourne Local with a front-page splash yesterday.

Watch this space...!