Thursdays TDC Cabinet meeting discussed the Audit Commission's report on TDC Housing services. As the service only got a "Fair" rating one would have thought the Tories would have welcomed a thorough discussion of the report.
Not so Cllr Ezekiel!
At last night’s Cabinet meeting, Councillor Michelle Fenner, Shadow Cabinet member for Housing, was prevented from finishing the comments she had prepared on the Housing Inspector’s report.
What she had to say was obviously hitting home and Councillor Ezekiel couldn’t bear to listen to it all.
Councillor Michelle Fenner tried to make the point that The Inspector’s report commented that “TDC’s plans do not always have clear, consistent and stretching targets in place”.
At last night’s Cabinet meeting, Councillor Michelle Fenner, Shadow Cabinet member for Housing, was prevented from finishing the comments she had prepared on the Housing Inspector’s report.
What she had to say was obviously hitting home and Councillor Ezekiel couldn’t bear to listen to it all.
Councillor Michelle Fenner tried to make the point that The Inspector’s report commented that “TDC’s plans do not always have clear, consistent and stretching targets in place”.
Councillor Fenner stood up at Full council in December 07 and said just that but, at the time, her comments were dismissed. According to a Tory Councillor “it is better not to have stretching targets so that you can be sure to achieve them”. (!!!) At Cabinet last night, Councillor Fenner intended to point out that the action plan produced as a response to then Inspector’s report needed to be more stringent.
Councillor Fenner also expressed concerns that complaints from TDC tenants did not always appear to be taken seriously nor acted upon. A recent example of this was the fact that a council tenant had to wait 2 weeks and the strong intervention from his Local Councillor to the Acting Chief executive to have his toilet mended which had been condemned by the contractors.
On the issue of affordable housing, Councillor Fenner pointed out the Inspector’s comments that not enough affordable housing is being built because of TDC’s slowness in negotiating Section 106 agreements with the developers.
These are all important points that ought to be debated in a democratic fashion and members of the council ought to have the right to express freely their views.
With his reputation at low ebb over the f**king w**ker affair The Leader of TDC should show a bit of humility and not try and suppress voices of concern.
321 words
4 comments:
not as low an ebb as Mr Brown's, after the drubbing he took at the polls
Duh!
I didnt think Mr Brown was up for re-election.
I was at that meeting last night and quite frankly the attitude of Ezekiel and Martin Wise in particular was appaling, Wise was going quite scarlet with rage and was screaming in an uncontrollable manner while Michelle Fenner was speaking, whilst I accept the Tories right to disagree with what we (Labour) are saying at least they should do us the common courtesy of allowing us to speak without being interrupted by a senior Tory shouting like an out of control football hooligan.
TDC tenants are outright ignored in my experience as are most other people without deep pockets. Living in Dane Valley and provoking any reaction from anyone supposedly representing us is a notable event. That's why Labour scored zero votes from me - one for every letter a Labour councilor in my ward replied to in their time in office. I've given up on both you and the Tories as being equally ignorant with one single exception - Edwin Watt-Ruffell - the first Dane Valley councilor in 6 years to even respond to a letter.
So, yes, Councillor Fenner might just have a point. Which is refreshing for TDC who usually need a map to find their own backside.
I could earn a party more votes by passing wind than you lot seem to manage being in office for four years. I'm sure some of you are very nice people but frankly everyone who has represented Dane Valley before and after the elections has done very little to anything other than make you look collectively like the worst kind of people.
It sounds like from what I read here I might be glad Dane Valley councilors (Edwin aside) never bothered to communicate. Perhaps no one knows how? After all - all I read are the Tories and the Lefties having irrelevant slagging matches like children.
Frankly the lot of you seem to need to have your heads metaphorically bashed together by teacher.
Grow up the lot of you - you are supposed to be our "leaders"!
I stand myself except I'd be far to embarrassed to admit having membership of either of the main two parties - I'm utterly ashamed of them both.
Frankly the one or two half way decent councilors should quite their respective parties and form a "party for real human beings". You might get as many as six members from the current lot... if you're lucky.
TDC's biggest problem is that no one in Thanet has much respect left for it. I certainly have none left. Now you know why.
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