Local Government re-organisation and cancelling of county council elections.

Just before Christmas the government published a white paper proposing the establishment ‘unitary authorities’ and ‘combined mayoral authorities.

This would mean the disappearance of Wealden (and four other district councils) and East Sussex becoming the sole local authority in which Buxted would sit. It would deliver all the services currently split between East Sussex County Council and Wealden District Council. The same would happen to district councils in West Sussex – Brighton and Hove is already a unitary authority.

East Sussex, West Sussex and Brighton and Hove would then also form an additional combined authority with a mayor directly elected by all residents.

Government clearly has a mandate to push through this reorganisation. But they gave local authorities less than a month to respond and make their proposals. The three councils have decided to apply to make these changes to take place over the next 2/3 years. So far there has been little consultation with local people or even with the district councils. There is still a lot that is unclear as to how all this will work.

In my opinion there may a case for more regional level decision making on, for example, transport, acting on climate change, planning infrastructure etc. But it needs to be based on engaging with local communities and organisations.

So, what concerns are there? The proposals seem to shift power upwards, reducing the influence of local communities.

I am concerned that your voice as a rural community will be lost – already many people feel that East Sussex is remote and unresponsive.

But the most immediate issue is the proposal by the minority East Sussex Conservative administration to cancel the county council elections in May. This will give councillors elected 4 years ago possibly another 2 years before facing the electorate. This undemocratic proposal is opposed by the 50% of councillors from the Labour, Liberal and Green Parties and Independents. The elections are already scheduled and built into the budgets of the district councils, who actually pay for running elections.

Whether or not you voted for me in May 2023, I hope you will agree that cancelling an election should only be done in the most drastic of situations. It is not required to be part of the plans to reorganise things and will put into question their legitimacy.

As important, is the cost in time and money of these changes. At a time when we need to solve the crisis in adult and children’s social care, deliver road improvements etc., time and effort will inevitably focus on internal change. Over the next two years this will also impact on the focus of local district councillors and all the district council staff.

We will know whether the government accepts the proposals from East Sussex in the next few weeks, and whether or not the May elections will proceed

Council Tax Direct Debit error

I wrote to you on 30^th December about the error which resulted in council tax payments for some residents being taken early. As a result, a system for residents to make a claim, should they have been put into overdraft, was set up and an investigation was started. The key points so far include:

Due to a human error the instructions to the banks to change the date as to when a DD was to be taken (as it was the Christmas period) was done incorrectly, So, 17,594 residents whose DD normally goes out on the 1^st of the month, had it taken on the 27^th December instead. Internal changes have been enacted to ensure this can’t happen again.

Between 2^nd and 14^hJanuary the Customer Service team received 127 calls about the DD issue – 8% of all the calls normally received about other issues.

346 pieces of correspondence were received asking about what had happened, confirmation that a second payment would not be taken or about cancelled DD payments.

To date 3 requests for reimbursement of any overdraft fees had been made and these people have been asked to provide evidence.

The situation continues to be monitored and anyone who subsequently finds they have incurred charges should contact Wealden’s Customer Service Team.

Despite some misinformation circulating from people who should know better, it was confirmed last Friday that no-one had had a second payment taken.

This mistake should not have happened, and I know all councillors and staff are sorry that it did. But I hope the details above help reassure you that it has been taken very seriously, and we continue to monitor its impact, as well as put any changes in place. Further investigation is taking place to help improve communications with residents.

Clearing vegetation around the village

Many thanks to the group of volunteers who have been clearing vegetation from some of the footpaths around the station and the primary school.

And the “lengthsman” employed by the Parish Council is also having an impact on tidying up several parts of the village, including one of our bus shelters.

Local business wins rural business grant

The Rural Business Grants Programme (RBGP) was available to small and medium sized businesses in Wealden, businesses were able to apply for a grant of up to 50% of the cost of capital projects. Grants were available from £2,500 up to £35,000 with the business needing to match the grant awarded.

The total funding of £567,054 has supported 31 businesses, which has supported overall project costs of over £1.2 million in the District. One of those businesses is the Poundgate Park Holiday Cottages. They applied successfully for a grant of £11,333 for a solar panel system and heating system upgrade. This will work contribute to achieving net-zero, increase business growth and productivity. The project is now being delivered.

NEXT COMMUNITY FORUM

WEDNESDAY 26^th FEBRUARY 2025

6.30 – 8.15

ST. MARYS CHURCH HALL, CHURCH ROAD, BUXTED

Please don‘t hesitate me to discuss these or any other issues important to you.

Contact me on cllr.graham.shaw@wealden.gov.uk Tel. 07770 571828

Wealden’s website is www.wealden.gov.uk