What are Councillor's?
Councillors are...
Councillors are people that have been elected by Residents to represent their local community in the running of their local council. They have an important role in the many major decisions, which need to be made, including the provision for the funding and the provision of services.
Councillors say...
Ken explains his method of working: "I like to keep a resident informed once they have brought a difficulty to my attention. There is nothing worse than feeling as if you are being ignored when you have a problem which needs sorting. If the problem is really involved, or obtaining a solution is likely to be a lengthy process, I like to keep people updated on developments, so they are reassured that I am working on the matter on their behalf. Updates on an issue may be a phone call, an email, letter or a personal visit. Certain situations demand more of a Councillors time. It's time I am happy to dedicate."
Ken explains: "At first glance to some residents it seems pretty straight forward. Stop vehicles parking up there and make good the land so it's no longer an eyesore. But to other residents they are not bothered by the parking so much as WHY the parking is taking place and WHY there is no enforcement of Highway rules."
Councillors do...
Councillors are...
Councillors are people that have been elected by Residents to represent their local community in the running of their local council. They have an important role in the many major decisions, which need to be made, including the provision for the funding and the provision of services.
Residents can raise their specific issues to their council or direct to their local councillor. Issues range from the small to the complex and complicated. It is then the role and responsibility of that Councillor to ensure that the issue is passed on to the relevant body or department within the council for a solution or action and to ensure that the matter is satisfactorily concluded where ever possible.
Bob says: "You can't please all of the people all of the time of course, but you can at least make them aware that you are asking the right people to help them with their difficulty. We are often the first point of contact between a resident and the council."
Councillors say...
Ideally Councillors should manage an issue for a resident, a local area or an entire village, depending on the issue. The councilor should provide the resident or residents with either an update on the situation as it develops or a resolution to the difficulty. Not all issues can be easily sorted out. Many are complex and involve a range of issues which frequently cross over each other and from council to council.
Ken explains his method of working: "I like to keep a resident informed once they have brought a difficulty to my attention. There is nothing worse than feeling as if you are being ignored when you have a problem which needs sorting. If the problem is really involved, or obtaining a solution is likely to be a lengthy process, I like to keep people updated on developments, so they are reassured that I am working on the matter on their behalf. Updates on an issue may be a phone call, an email, letter or a personal visit. Certain situations demand more of a Councillors time. It's time I am happy to dedicate."
One issue which Ken and Bob have been looking into is the problem of verge parking in Hawkesden Road.
Ken explains: "At first glance to some residents it seems pretty straight forward. Stop vehicles parking up there and make good the land so it's no longer an eyesore. But to other residents they are not bothered by the parking so much as WHY the parking is taking place and WHY there is no enforcement of Highway rules."
First off is to find out who is responsible for the land - that in itself is a tricky issue! Network rail lease the land up to the boundary with Hawkesden Road, their jurisdiction does not include the 'parking strip', although some residents were under a different impression. Huntingdon District Council claim they have no jurisdiction over the land either, they believe the matter should be dealt with by Cambridgeshire County Council. Having discovered who is 'responsible' for it's management, we then discover the matter is perceived as a highways difficulty.
Bob explains: "This is a situation where there are different departments in the different councils operating from different perspectives, each believe the other is responsible - none of which helps the residents."
Ken continues: "A number of suggestions about what can be done with the land have been made. Each one of the suggestions could be feasible with the right injection of finance and achieving that will take further negotiations and time, which is fine IF we can work together with the necessary areas of council, the different council's and achieve something which will be affordable and acceptable to all."
Before reaching for utopia however there remains the issue of the notable lack of enforcement. Ken and Bob are happy to take this issue to the relevant authority and will be providing an update on this blog as we have any information to share...
All images and text © cg-photography
Promoted by Carol Gamby on behalf of Ken Churchill and Bob Farrer all of 83 Huntingdon Street, St Neots, Cambridgeshire, PE19 1DU
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