Andover’s Lib Dem councillors are continuing to question the running costs of the Guildhall and Rendezvous.

The borough’s Overview and Scrutiny Committee were told on 6 November that the net cost of running the Guildhall was £74,000 and that income had dropped from over £44,000 in 2006/2007 to just £25,000 in 2007/2008. Future revenues from letting the Upper Guildhall are expected to be only £16,000 but officers admitted this was difficult to predict. Income from the Rendezvous so far is a mere £4,500.

St. Mary’s councillor Mike McGarry raised this at the full council meeting quizzing cabinet members about the figures. He was told running costs were over £100,000 for the past year and that income to-date was just £12,600. No figures are available for the costs of splitting services in the building to isolate the soon to be let lower Guildhall. A small profit of about £5,000 could be expected once the lower Guildhall is let. It was denied that a further loss of income to the council is expected when market traders are moved from the cobbles in front of the Guildhall

I find it hard to believe the council cannot give us more accurate figures. When the letting of the lower Guildhall was first proposed we were told running costs were around £75,000 per year and that most of that was administration charges connected with letting the building. We were also told there would be a profit to subsidise the Rendezvous. Now we appear to be spending even more money on a building that has effectively been closed for a year and financing an under-used and unsuitable alternative facility in the Rendezvous. I will be seeking a full review of the costs of both buildings at the end of the financial year.

At Thursday’s meeting of Test Valley’s Overview and Scrutiny Committee Hampshire’s Cabinet member for Children’s Services, Cllr David Kirk, reported back on Education in Test Valley.The report was specifically requested because of borough councillor’s concerns about low standards in Andover’s schools.

 Cllr Kirk was able to report that exam results in Hampshire and in Test Valley were better than the national average. He also reported very improved results for Winton School. Winton was one of six schools in Hampshire designated national challenge schools by the secretary of state in June 2008. National challenge schools are those where less than 30% of pupils achieved five or more GCSE A to C grades (including both English and maths). In 2007 Winton achieved only 17%. In 2008 this increased to 31%,

 I joined Cllr Kirk in applauding the improvement and in congratulating the staff especially the head of Winton on the improved results. However we must take the results in context. Winton’s 2008 results are the same as 2003 and the average over the six years (2003 – 2008) is just under 30%. Averages for Harroway over the same period are just 27% and for John Hanson 45%. Meanwhile across the county the average was 53% and has been 50% - 60% for the past five years. GCSE results for Andover’s schools have not improved over the past five years.

I would expect some effort to be made to bring them up towards the county average. When quizzed neither Cllr Kirk nor his education officer could give any assurances that targets had been set for local schools to raise their results. This I believe is essential. While a great deal of good work is being done to improve attainment in Andover it is wasted unless realistic targets are set.

 The ensuing debate centred on standards and aspirations in Andover with claims that low unemployment levels in Andover contributed to low academic expectations and Cllr Kirk stating that parents who send their children out of town to school were not making a “well informed choice.” He also implied part of the problem in Andover’s secondary schools is the poor standards in our primary schools.

It is time we stopped looking for excuses for Andover’s poor academic records and looking for culprits for the low results. Local schools are working to raise standards. I hope to see the county education department investing time and money into working with them and setting targets and deadlines to achieve higher standards.

I received today the following letter from the office of Sharon Bowles MEP. Sharon has joined local Lib Dems and other campaigners in calling for Test Valley Borough Council to reconsider their short sighted decision to let the lower Guildhall to a pizza restaurant.

“It is often a problem to balance commercial interests, and associated jobs, with cultural and other community concerns. As a member of the European Parliament’s Economic Committee I often have to adopt a ‘hard headed’ approach. However, as a member of that committee wrestling with the current financial crisis, it does seem that local communities and community resources will be a high priority to see us through the threatened recession.”

“Andover’s Guildhall is an important community resource. For years charities, community groups and local traders have utilised the facilities of this impressive building.”

“It may be true that some jobs will be created if the Guildhall becomes a Pizza restaurant, but at what cost to local trade and support? At a time like this community resources are needed more than ever. The council should put effort into preserving existing jobs and small businesses and make use of the many empty shop units. This outweighs the creation of a few new jobs which may themselves become questionable as budgets tighten.”

“It also seems that by accepting the plan, the Council are breaking their own policy. Policy ESN 19 of the Test Valley Local Plan provides for the retention of local community facilities and the rejection of development proposals which result in their loss. Is this not the case here, even without the current economic argument?”

“I hope that Test Valley Council listen to their local community, think again and retain Andover Guildhall as a community resource.”

Sharon Bowles MEP          

After the Tory controlled council’s vote to let out the lower Guildhall to a pizza restaurant it was agreed that the council would supply suitable alternative premises for the local groups who used the lower Guildhall. This alternative is the Rendezvous in Union Street.

Up till now the Rendezvous has been plagued with problems. Considerably more money was spent on converting the premises for use than had been planned. Usage is poor with only two of the organisations previously using the Guiildhall now using the Rendezvous. Attendance at events held there is much less than in the Guildhall with both PHAB and Mencap reporting considerably reduced takings since being forced to move there.

 All these points were raised at the recent planning meeting when the application  to convert the Guildhall was discussed and no clear response given. I have therefore asked that the council’s Scrutiny Committee look, as a matter of urgency,  at all aspects of the funding and usage of the Rendezvous.

The committee will at its next November meeting be getting a report on usage over the past year, costs incurred, revenue received and plans to improve the usage and facilities at the Rendezvous. We will then be in a position to decide whether a more detailed investigation is appropriate. My own view is that this will be necessary because the venue as it stands is totally inadequate and a drain on council resources.

At last night’s Northern Area Planning Committee the application to convert Andover’s lower Guildhall into a Pizza restaurant was approved. The plans now have to be referred to the Secretary of State before the changeover can go ahead.

I am disappointed with this decision. The objectors from STAG raised real questions about the validity of the application. The council’s response was muddled and unconvincing. It failed to prove it had followed its own guidelines by seeking to maintain the Guildhall for community use. It could not explain the so-called financial losses cited to justify the decision and it relied on the provision of a substandard alternative as a reason for a clear breach in policy.

I was particularly annoyed to hear some councillors calling for a vote without even waiting to listen to the end of the debate. Andover deserves better than this.

Also of some concern was the claim by some members of the committee that another restaurant in Andover would bring in more business and enliven the town’s economy. My own discussions with local restauranteurs suggest that in the current economic climate there is insufficient business for exisiting restraurants. Any new one would only take clients away from them and could lead to one or more of them folding. I hope this is not the case the council should be protecting local businesses not undermining them.

The measure of a civilised society is how well it cares for its heritage, its local businesses and its minorities. The ruling group on Test Valley borough council have ignored this in the pursuit of short term financial gain. Andover Lib Dems will continue to oppose this short sightedness and work for a fair deal for Andover.

Local residents have been asking for an update on works at East Anton. Today a letter from me and county councillor Robin Hughes will be delivered to all homes in the area. The text of the letter is as follows

“As part of our commitment to keep you informed we will be issuing regular newsletters on the progress of the development and how it affects you. At present the developers have outline planning permission only which means they cannot yet start building houses but can start on the infrastructure of the area. House building on the southern end of the site will start when Test Valley approves the detailed plans later this year.

Southern Water contractors have now finished water main work to serve the MDA at the Smannell Road open space. We have contacted council officers about the poor quality of the re-instatement of the field and this will be repaired by council staff.

 Contractors are currently working on the roads within the site and work on the first roundabout access opposite Venice Court will start on 13th October. All local residents will be notified and signs will be erected along Icknield Way advising of the works. Once building does start landscaping and tree planting to screen the site will also start.

If you have any queries regarding these works please contact us.

Following on from the success of the Amazing Alamein litter pick your local environmental group has now arranged a swap shop. This is an ideal opportunity to bring along things you no longer want and swap them for something you do want. Recycle and reuse rather than dumping things.

 Also on offer is face painting, cookery demonstrations and a treasure hunt. The event takes place on Saturday 11th October from 12:00 noon at the Smannell Road church centre.

Full details are given on the attached poster swap-shop-poster.pdf

Readers will be aware that Cllr Alan Dowden and I proposed a motion to council on fluridation of Test Valley’s tap water (see http://lengates.mycouncillor.org.uk/2008/08/14/council-to-debate-fluoridation/). The motion was referred without debate to the council’s Overview and Scrutiny Committee. The date and agenda for that meeting has now been set.

The meeting will take place on Wednsday 8th October at 6:00pm at the council’s Duttons Road, Romsey council chamber. The decision to hold the meeting in Romsey was taken because residents in the southern part of the borough, particularly the outskirts of Southampton are most affected by the current proposals.

I have discussed the matter with the chair of the committee and he has decided the whole meeting should be devoted to this issue. There will be presentations from the South Central Strategic Health Authority, a representative of Hampshire Against Fluoridation and a local dentist. Councillors will then be free to quiz all the speakers on the issues.

The meeting like all council meetings is open to the public.  If anyone would like further information please let me know.

Residents will by now know that the funfair planned for this weekend has been cancelled again. The main reason for the cancellation was the weather making the site too water logged for the fair to open. However, only a small fair could have moved on to the site because of ongoing works by Southern Water. This work also contributed to the condition of the grounds. It is hoped that the fair can be re-scheduled for October.

I raised local concerns about Southern Water’s access to the Smannell Road open space at Wednesday’s council meeting. They have the power under government legislation to go on to the land and lay pipes but should advise Test Valley before doing so. On this occasion they did not do so. The current work is to rectify problems with the previous work carried out in April.

Once completed all work must be checked by Test Valley to ensure the land has been re-instated to the previous standard. The previous work was not completed to an acceptable standard and this has been communicated to Southern Water. Council officers will now check the site weekly to ensure the work is done properly. The council will also be seeking compensation for officer time related to the work, costs to rectify substandard work and any potential loss of income for the funfair.

I have also been given assurances that the East Anton developers and their sub-contractors will not access the Smannell Road open space without full consultation with the council and your local councillors to ensure disruption and inconvenience to local residents is minimised.

In July I reported a damaged street name sign in Swallowfields to discover that the lead time for repairs is six weeks and that because of staff shortages work was often taking even longer. I raised this with the Cabinet member responsible at yesterday’s council meeting and got the following response.

 A six week lead time is typical because signs are ordered in bulk on a six week cycle. Approximately 35 signs are repaired and 80 replaced every year at a cost of £3000 pa (£85 per sign) for repairs and £10,000 pa (£125 per sign) for replacement.

Council officers are required to survey damaged signs before further damage is done and pro-actively repair signs where possible. Doing so saves the council £40 a time and prevents the area looking run down. Because of staff shortages this service has not been provided for several months. Now that extra staff have been recruited it is hoped the service will return to normal once the backlog of work is cleared.

For the future I would advise residents to report all damaged signs as soon as possible so that repairs can be undertaken before the signs  are damaged beyond repair.

Damage should be reported to Test Valley Borough Council on 01264 368000 or direct to me.