Cllr Jamie Elsmore "Its time to speak out and its time to act"
Dear Forest residents ,
Over the last 15 months since the change in our council administration that came about as a consequence of the last local election results, the Green Party-led alliance with the Forest Labour Party has had a dramatic impact on the progress and objectives set out by the previous administration and of the Council.
Ambitious projects to attract multi-million-pound investments to attract businesses and employment have ground to a halt, even though the finances and commitments from businesses and government-funded initiatives had been finalised and secured.
Motions to engage with the Welsh Governing Body to improve the traffic congestion between the Forest District and Chepstow were denied by the Greens supported by Labour.
Regeneration initiatives to attract multi-million investment for Lydney Docks are being denied , a Green Cabinet member declaring that he would be lobbying his colleagues on the planning committee to refuse the application .
A massive number of planning applications from residents who have been fully engaged with and adhered to the advice and guidance of our planning officers are still being refused with people investing heavily thousands of pounds of their hard-earned savings in the hope and belief of getting their planning applications passed.
Building and Construction Contractors are experiencing huge delays to developments jumping through unforeseen hoops as a consequence of unplanned seasonal bat and mice surveys which only contribute to the escalating increases in house prices due to inflation and material costs.
All this contributes to making it more difficult for the next generation to climb onto the housing ladder due to increased house prices.
In the last 15 months, I have witnessed a total disregard for the best public interest and the concerns of residents.
Our Green and Labour-led council ( because that is what they are ) have now reintroduced motions and proposals that failed in the previous council because the majority of the council at that time was in support of addressing public concern and their objections rather than ideological rhetoric
Today we see a Council where projects and initiatives are being declined, refused and blocked because it doesn't align with the Green and Labour Party's ideology of how we should live and lead our lives.
Many current Cabinet members have strong links or associations with groups such as Extinction Rebellion and the Just Stop Oil campaign ( see photos below ).
This is why many of our enquiries and questions are falling on deaf ears, simply ignored or put to one side with no intention to act upon.
Our role and commitment as councillors should be to embrace and represent these concerns, which serve the best public interest. Today we face a new challenge, under this Green leadership with attacks on our local farming Community to turn their backs on meat and dairy farmers and replace it with plant-based produce, even though our soils within the District are unsustainable for Arable farming. Farcical when you consider that nearly 50 per cent of plant-based products are imported internationally which leaves a significant carbon footprint in itself.
Our tourism industry is faced with the threat of restricted access to the Forest due to the Green Party's determined drive toward biosphere reserve status, our town centre shops and trades saddled with increased parking charges and our general public services to be "biodiversified " which includes allowing our grass verges to grow uncontrollably ( due to pressure from The Green Party ) to the extent that it puts the lives of our love ones at risk because of the significant reduction in visibility on our road junctions or our residents who use our pavements and walkways that are seriously overgrown preventing access.
All in the name of biodiversity, of climate emergency, in the name of the Green Party.
This only underlines the Green's strategy to make the Forest of Dean a less attractive place to visit let alone live in, because they view those people who travel by road as the main contributors to increased carbon emissions and leaving behind a bigger carbon footprint.
Residents who live here now? Well, their needs and concerns are irrelevant. Unimportant in comparison with the Green agenda supported by the local Labour Group
The same goes for our shop owners, Restaurants and other tourist attractions like Symonds Yat, Cannop Ponds and Pedalabikeaway which tourists visit from far and wide.
These are all deemed potential threats to the environment and as a consequence, and we are now paying a very heavy price to our health and well-being as we are being denied services and facilities that would improve our quality of life.
Working together we can evolve as a community and protect our environment also, but sadly for us their narrow-minded views and political ideology deny this opportunity.
Any of you who have had the unfortunate experience of tuning in to our live video link of the full council meetings will have experienced how inept our council leadership has become.
Cabinet Question Time is a joke leaving me both ashamed and embarrassed because we all deserve so much more.
Question time often results in one-word answers because the cabinet has no idea or interest in how to answer it.
This responsibility is regularly referred to or passed onto the acting council officers who I often sympathise with and feel sorry for because they are being forced to represent a cabinet and ideology whose direction I don't believe any of them believe in.
Allow me to share the direction this Council intends to take us in.
Approximately 2 years ago the Greens were pushing for a new settlement or should I say a "New Town "near Churcham.
This New Town would they told us be an exemplar for Biodiversity, and a Green Party development haven despite the development costs involved in creating this Green Town meaning any affordable housing or infrastructure improvements would be non-existent.
You may recall this proposal was rejected completely , emphatically and very loudly by both the public and the then-council.
Now however, with the Greens holding the leadership of the Council (with the support of the Labour Group), they not only want to reintroduce the plans to build a New Settlement (Town) at Churcham but want to create another second New Settlement (Town) near Redmarley.
My group and I strongly believe that any kind of future investment must go into the current infrastructure of Towns Villages and District that are already established which is long overdue.
Our Towns need investment without investing elsewhere.
Finally and a project close to my heart.
Like so many of you, my Berry Hill Colleague Cllr Tim Gwilliam and I share serious concerns about the lack of activity around the development of Five Acres Leisure Centre.
It is a matter of public knowledge that the project, just 18 months ago, was not only fully approved, but it was also fully planned and had a significant contingency fund made available with the Council agreeing to a further £5 million investment to add to the £9.2 million levelling up funding to accommodate any potential rise in material costs and inflation.
It has however become evident that the Green Party and the Labour Group have not been supportive of the project or the levelling up funding initiative which was introduced by the Conservative government .
It is also very clear that the lack of progress clearly suggests a Cabinet that is doing all it possibly can for the project to fail.
For those of you who have shared the 12-year journey to deliver Leisure Services back to Five Acres, I once again call upon your support.
We need to put pressure on those Parties and Individuals who are in a position to influence and finally deliver this project and honour the commitments and promises this council made over the last several years.
The reason there are not 400 houses on the site already is down to the pressure the public applied to the Council at the time.
I therefore would ask you to send an email to Council Leader Adrian Birch (adrian.birch@fdean.gov.uk) and Five Acres Project Leader Johnathan Lane (johnathan.lane@fdean.gov.uk). Demand to know why the project has not started, what the Leader of the Council has done personally to get the biggest project the council has been involved in for decades back on course, and why has a project that 18months ago was fully costed at £9.2m been allowed to escalate to a revised cost of £17m
£7.8m over original budget.
£2.8m over budget including contingency.
Actions to be Taken
In the coming days and weeks, I will be engaging with not only Tim and my Progressive Independent Colleagues but also FANS members to arrange a public meeting with invited Green Cabinet and Council representatives to answer your questions and concerns directly.
In addition, I will also be engaging with our local farmers to address their concerns alongside the many local residents who feel that the decisions concluded by this council regarding their planning applications in the last 15 months that they find have been both unfair and unjust as a consequence to the Green ideology the prevents our community from evolving.
It is time to speak out and it is time to act,
Kindest regards
Jamie (BerryHill Ward Councillor)