About Wrinehill

 The issue of the whereabouts of the S106 monies from the two Wrinehill developments has been raised on several occasions but without a satisfactory conclusion or, indeed accountability.   It has been understood for several years that the latest development CIL will be spent on the Village Hall car park.  Despite its deplorable even dangerous condition this has not happened yet although it has/had been raised regularly at Parish Council meetings and deferred.   In the last PC Minutes (November 2025) it was noted vaguely that the money would be used for 'the Village Hall Car Park and associated areas'.  Hopefully 'the associated areas' means Wrinehill.  Residents have asked for some trees to be planted on the now wide grass verge.   Nothing from the Bluebell development S106 monies  (£47000) was spent in Wrinehill - although this tax levy is intended for that purpose - the improvement of the localities in which developments take plac...

 I was alerted to the County Council's External Auditor  preliminary report recently.  It made interesting reading especially where it mentioned that no complaints had been made against the council.  This would be a good thing if it was true.   Complaints have been made but these have not necessarily been admitted by the Legal Department/MO which is a different thing.  Badly behaved Councillors appear to be absolved with a tapped wrist even when evidence would appear to be prima facie.  It does not help either if such posts requiring an open mind are stacked by candidates whose role now seems to be to support the status quo - of bad behaviour.   Thus it is that some councils are able to ignore complaints and the requests made under the Freedom of Information Act with flippant responses which adhere neither to the letter or to the spirit of the Law.  Hopefully the Minister for Local Government will make a meaningful inquiry into such...

        NALC also reported that as part of its White Ribbon activity, in which it is urging all councils to participate, it is also exploring the  parish and town councils leading the way in tackling violence against women and girls through White Ribbon Accreditation and local action. White Ribbon Day is a powerful reminder of a collective responsibility needed to end violence against women and girls. Such a commitment needs to extend beyond one day. By taking the pledge and supporting the cause, it is hoped that all can help to create a safer, more respectful society. When this idea was presented to Betley Parish Council two years ago, it did not see the light of day. The Campaign, run by men, is in order to raise awareness and  focus on prevention, and encouraging men and boys to speak out against harmful attitudes and behaviours towards women and girls.  It should be extended to all, however.  This year's theme,  We Speak Up , ...

  The National Association for Local Councils (NALC) in an attempt to change/improve the accounting practices of smaller councils is launching a consultation re the proper practices for smaller councils re transparency and accountability and sound financial management.  The Smaller Authorities Proper Practices Panel (SAPPP) formerly AGAR which a fter the Audit Commission was abolished, became the core document for the new audit regime run under the Local Audit and Accountability Act 2014. The completed AGAR form had to  include accounting statements, Governance statements and an internal audit report. All these documents must be made available to the public in order to help residents see how local money is being managed and spent. The Internal and External Auditors review the AGAR to check that governance arrangements are sound, that accounting statements are properly prepared, that public money is being used lawfully.  However such reviews are very light tou...

  This Autumn 3430 fresh water sites were tested by Water Blitz.   60% of these showed poor water quality with unacceptable levels of nutrient pollution. The four last Water Blitz investigations have shown that water quality throughout UK   was at its worst in England.   This Autumn’s tests revealed that 66% of the water sites tested had unacceptable levels of nutrient pollution. Tyrone in N Ireland, Mid Glamorgan in Wales and Scotland sites had the best water quality.   Trent Lower, Trent valley and Staffordshire were found to be the most polluted waterways, and fell within the cohort of the worst polluted waterways in UK.   Cambridgeshire had the lowest water health standards of all, with 91% of the sites tested showing poor ecological status. It was reported that in this blanket test, additional contaminants showed pollution from sewage discharges and agricultural run off.   Concentrations of   antibiotics which suggested that anti-microb...

  Over the years a language can adopt new words, often incorporating words from other languages and countries.   Some words take on new meanings. The media is often responsible for coining new words and phrases that become part of every day speech and writing, eventually. More recently, politics has greatly influenced both language and meaning.   We now have a language of spin where nothing is as it seems and often meanings we once relied upon have now become meaningless.   George Orwell saw it coming and accurately termed it ‘double speak’   ie when the meaning is reversed, and the true meaning is masked. This might have been the case in 1984. In the 21 st Century ‘Truth’ now has a contested meaning.   ‘Honesty’ and ‘morality’ are two others which have become hard to define.    ‘Reality’ no longer exists as a shared experience since it seems it can mean whatever anyone wants it to mean.   So these words, once social anchors are now mea...