HEAR YOUR POLICE COMMISSIONER CANDIDATES DEBATE RURAL CRIME

Next month we, the people of Warwickshire, will be voting to elect a Police and Crime Commissioner. The person elected will control local police funding, have the power to employ our Chief Constable and set the objectives for policing in Warwickshire. An important role I am sure you will agree.

Many of the you have raised with me concerns that looming police budget cuts could see rural officer     numbers fall, meaning that crime in our villages increases. The new Police Commissioners will have a great influence on whether our villages remain safe places to live.

With the election to decide who will be Warwickshire’s first Police and Crime Commissioner taking place on 15th November I have arranged a debate between the three candidates. The debate will focus on the subject of rural crime. I hope it will give anyone interested the chance to hear the candidates debate issues relevant to our villages at first hand. There will be an open floor for questions.

The debate is free and open to all who wish to attend. Please just turn up on the night. The details are given below. I very much hope you will be able to attend—I look forward to meeting you there.

Rural Policing: The Views of the Police and Crime Commissioner Candidates

Date: Wednesday 31st October

Time: 7pm

Location: Dunchurch Village Hall

Duration: 1 hour

SPEAKING OUT AGAINST MASSIVE DEVELOPMENT IN RURAL WARWICKSHIRE

As you will recall, at the recent election I warned about the threat of major development in our villages. During a recent full council meeting I asked the council leader about projections for house building in the borough; it was revealed that villages will be used by the council in order to meet their target for new homes.

Following on from this revelation was the Government’s announcement that it is to consult on allowing the greenbelt to be built upon and house extensions of up to eight metres deep be acceptable without planning consent.

Nearby Wolston is the first village to be targeted by developers. I successfully persuaded the planning committee in February to throw out a plan to build 92 houses on green fields in Wolston. However, now the  developers are back with a plan for 80 houses. In building a case against the plans, Wolston Parish Council have asked me for advice and guidance.

Whilst Wolston is not in my ward, I have been happy to help their Parish Council because if they lose their fight to save green fields near them it sets a precedent that could see villages in this ward being under threat.

I am not against all development, but there are a number of brownfield sites in the town that are being ignored, some already have planning permission.  The developers know that clean rural sites are cheaper to build on and command higher prices. Nationally there are 400,000 prospective homes that have planning permission but are not being constructed.

I am pushing for our local planning officers to meet their targets by forcing builders to focus on urban sites that really need regeneration. The urban brownfield sites can offer affordable housing to help address the shortfall. It should not be the case that companies automatically seek planning permission for properties that will impact upon our beautiful rural areas—that should be a last resort.

Tidying up Stretton's railings

In early summer Stretton-On-Dunsmore Parish Council (a really well run Parish Council) requested that Rugby Borough Council repainted the railings along Brookside in the centre of the village. I visited the site and agreed that there was a serious problem.

After speaking to the Environment department at the Borough Council I was pleased to see that the railings were painted shortly afterwards: 

The rusting railings before action was taken

The gleaming railings after action was taken

Backing The NFU Campaign for a Fair Milk Price

At AJ Welton Dairy farm. Picture taken from the Rugby Advertiser

Dairy farmer, who work their fingers to bone to produce the milk we use, have been once again told they will be paid less for the milk they sell to retailers.

In the last two weeks Robert Wiseman Dairies, owned by Müller Dairies, Arla Foods UK, the UK subsidiary of Arla Foods Amba, as well as Dairy Crest, announced cuts to their milk prices paid to farmers as of August 1 of 1.7ppl, 2.0ppl and 1.65ppl respectively, following further significant cuts in recent months. 

Dairy farmers lose on average 11p for every litre of milk they produce. This is not sustainable especially since retailers make on average a profit of 34p per litre of milk they sell. I am backing the NFU as they call on the retailers to ditch their plan to cut 2p per litre from the price paid to milk producers.

Dairy farmers rise at 4am everyday, 365 days a year to milk the cows that provide the milk we use in our tea, baking and cereals. All we are asking is that the retailers pay them a fair and sustainable price.

The NFU (National Farmers Union) have declared that a failure to stop the rise will result in targeted demonstrations outside processors and retailers. They are also threatening to mobilise the public with a concerted consumer campaign to help them understand the crisis facing the dairy industry.

All of this co-ordinated action would be designed to put pressure and bring shame on the retailers and processors who have caused this crisis in the British dairy industry.”

I am calling on Rugby’s MPs (Mark Pawsey and Jeremy Wright) to raise the issue with Government and push for a voluntary code of best practice in contracts, to bring some balance to the relationship between farmers and processors.

My thoughts on High Speed Rail

By omitting it from the recent Queen’s speech, the Government has quietly kicked their flagship transport policy, High Speed 2 (HS2), into the long grass. I’m reluctant to call the ditching of this policy a U-turn, as trains find that particular manoeuvre impossible.

HS2 was always destined to fail. Per mile, the £29bn cost equates to five times that spent by the French on the Paris-Strasbourg line in 2007. Money would be better used for electrification of the Midlands main line and improving our creaking road network. For Rugby, HS2 means reduced frequency of existing trains while it bypasses our town completely.

The arguments over transport speed and service are of course secondary to the massive destruction of the Warwickshire countryside HS2 would bring. Ripping asunder historic landscapes and obliterating communities as it goes, areas of outstanding natural beauty and historic woodland would be lost forever.

The imminent death of the HS2 project shows the power of democracy. Although the nation shows no enthusiasm for this vanity project of the metropolitan elite, the building of HS2 is still official policy for all three main political parties. Fortunately the power of strong, reasoned arguments seems to be winning out and HS2 is hitting the buffers.

A Big Thank You

Dear All,

I would like to take the opportunity to thank you for re-electing me as your Borough Councillor on Thursday, 3rd May. I am naturally honoured and delighted to have been given the chance to act as your voice at the Town Hall for the next four years.

The election was tough and competitive. Despite this, the contest was fought amicably, never once descending into personal attacks or mudslinging. I thank all of my fellow candidates for fighting fair campaigns. I believe the last few weeks have been a good example of democracy in action.

Election campaigns are never fought alone. I was fortunate enough to have help at this election from generous members of our community. There are too many of them to list here, but they know who they are, and they should also know just how grateful I am for their contribution. I also must thank my wife, Deepah, who has been unwavering in her support as I have spent the last few weeks working around the clock on my campaign.

The benefit of an election campaign is that I get to meet more of you than I would do normally. Many of you raised important local problems and I will now be using my re-election to address your concerns. I will report back on my progress with my regular UPDATE newsletters.     

Remember, I am your Councillor, elected to represent your interests. If you have any issues that you would like to discuss then please feel free to email or telephone me on the contact details given below.

Yours sincerely,

Cllr. Howard Roberts

Independent Councillor for Dunsmore Ward

Election Result - Dunsmore Ward

Dunsmore Ward - Declared

• COX Doreen - Labour Party Candidate - 460
• DAVIES Suzanne Louise - Liberal Democrats - 324
• FRANCIS Graham Lawrence - The Conservative Party Candidate - 1058 - ELECTED
• LOWE Ian Stanley - The Conservative Party Candidate - 1033 - ELECTED
• O`DWYER Beatrice Josephine - Liberal Democrats - 304
• ROBERTS Howard David - Independent - 1281 - ELECTED
• SPIERS Ian - The Conservative Party Candidate - 868

Turnout - 39.48%