Why I don't vote Lib Dem any more...

Once upon a time, in a polling booth far, far away, I voted Lib Dem. It seemed like a good idea at the time...!

Somehow the Lib Dems got to know that I had done so. The "Vote Lib Dem" poster in my kitchen window might have been a subtle clue I suppose, but my displaying that poster actually had more to do with my not wanting the well-fed, sharp-suited Tory candidate to win, than a firm belief in Lib Dem policies and principles. It was a tactical vote rather than a partisan belief.

So I was amused a few years ago, to see the Tory & Lib Dem tellers eagerly checking their lists when I gave them my electoral number on arrival at the polling station, as though I had given them the next set of numbers for Sun Bingo.

As I walked away, I heard the Lib Dem exclaim to the Tory "He's one of ours!", the Lib Dem clearly delighted to get one up on the Tory. What neither teller knew at the time was that I'd voted UKIP in that particular election, because I was now thoroughly disillusioned with all of the main parties and wanted to give somebody else a chance. The Lib Dems had been given their opportunity and had proven themselves to be no better than the big two.

Now I mention this tonight because I've had the latest edition of Standpoint drop through my letterbox today, which rather nicely demonstrates why I feel that way. The newsletter set my blood boiling actually, as it is thoroughly outrageous in places. Local politics, electioneering, at its worst.

If you are reading this, you will hopefully know that for much of last year, 2011, Eastleigh Borough Council spent a lot of time & money developing a new local plan. That plan covers the whole Borough and includes some major new housing developments at Woodhouse Lane in Hedge End and at Boorley Green, literally thousands of new homes locally. They are some very controversial proposals.

To service those new homes, some new roads are proposed locally, including a new bypass for Sundays Hill which will cut through some historic countryside, connecting Heath House Lane with Pylands Lane.

The draft local plan was put out to consultation last year and the many thousands of responses are currently being processed by Eastleigh Borough Council. More news is to follow later in the year. It is possible that the plan will be changed, but it might not. We've just got to wait patiently for the time being.

The process of creating the new local plan was firmly under the stewardship of the Lib Dems as it is the Lib Dems who currently have control of the Borough Council. They are not usually slow to remind us of that. Yes the Town Planners did all the work, but they were openly telling residents at the Consultation Roadshows that their preference was to build in Allington Lane, adding that the decsion to build in Hedge End and Boorley Green was a political decision, taken by the Lib Dems.

The only reason for taking such a decision that I can think of, and I don't just mean the Lib Dems as all parties would do likewise, is that it is the option of least electoral damage. In this case building in Hedge End is the option that is of least risk to the Lib Dems position because they have a huge majority in Hedge End.

If you follow local politics closely you'll also know that many of our Town Councillors are dual-hatters, i.e. also serving on the Borough Council. That includes the two Cllrs pictured in this edition of Standpoint, Cllr Jane Welsh and Cllr Rupert Kyrle. In practice, dual-hatting means that decisions taken in Eastleigh can easily be pushed through at Hedge End.

Which is exactly what happened with the local plan. Hedge End Town Council failed to oppose the draft local plan last year. The decision to build in Hedge End was taken at Borough level and because the Town Council is so "under the thumb" at the moment it put up virtually no opposition. The Town Council just rolled-over and thought of England, allowing Hedge End to be well & truly <answers on a postcard please!>.........  

So the Lib Dem's latest claim that they intend to save the countryside at Kings Copse is more than a bit rich. It is thoroughly outrageous. Standpoint is a campaign newsletter, nothing whatsoever to do with Hedge End Town Council. Standpoint is political and the Lib Dems are clearly trying to gain an electoral advantage, but how can they possibly have the cheek to say that they want to "Save our Countryside!" whilst doing something very different in other parts of the Town? Whilst planning to build on Woodhouse Lane, the only significant remaining chunk of Hedge End's countryside..?

There's another classic deception in the same issue of Standpoint, where the Lib Dem's refer to some new sports pitches that are to be built.

It sounds really great actually, but the Lib Dems omit to mention that these pitches are part of the development in Woodhouse Lane, which brings 1000 homes and all the consequential traffic movements into the area.

Once again they're only telling you part of the story, spinning the local news for electoral advantage in exactly the same way that Labour and the Conservatives have done previously.

If the Lib Dems had said "As part of the Woodhouse lane development, which will bring 1000 new homes to the area, the Lib Dems have secured a commitment from the developers to build some much needed sports pitches", I would have less of an argument with them.

But why can't they be honest and tell us that we're getting 1000 new homes as well as the sports pitches...?

And then, as if those deceptions weren't bad enough already, the Lib Dems have the cheek to try to shift responsibility for local development onto the Conservatives...

Frankly I've had enough of that party political nonsense, the relentless spin, the relentless deceit.

That is partly why I'm standing in the Shamblehurst by-election on 1st March, as an independent.

The other reason I'm standing is that the Lib Dems currently have an 18 to 1 majority on the Town Council. That is most unhealthy and needs to be changed. Urgently.

In my opinion, we need more people on the Town Council who are prepared to probe/challenge and question, raise the counter arguments whenever possible and who are determined to not let the Lib Dems get away with too much. At the very least, Hedge End Town Council should be forced to discuss the really big issues, like the draft local plan and new Town-twinning arrangements, but whilst there is only person (Cllr Keith Day) in opposition it often isn't possible to get a discussion onto the agenda. It needs a seconder as well as a proposer...!

I suggest that opposition is an essential part of democracy at all levels of Government, but it is not currently happening in Hedge End because the Lib Dems have been allowed to accumulate too large a majority.

Your vote for me on 1st March, whatever your usual allegiance or antipathy, really will help to make a difference.

Thank you for reading

Ray Turner
http://www.facebook.com/hedgeendindependents

Hedge End should not be twinned with Mockmuhl...!

Perhaps one of the biggest issues facing Hedge End Town Council at the moment, is the question of whether Hedge End should be twinned with the town of  Möckmühl  in Southern Germany.

But have you seen that raised as an issue on any of the election leaflets that the Lib Dems have stuffed through your letterbox...?

Why aren't the Lib Dems raising this as an issue in the election campaign? It is clearly a local issue, but they seem very reluctant to discuss it. I can only assume that is because it is a controversial thing for them to be doing, in 2012 austerity Britain...

Part of the problem is that Möckmühl  is actually very different to Hedge End. It is hard to see what, if anything, we have in common. Twinning with Möckmühl is a crazy idea really, reminiscent of the film that paired Arnold Schwarzenegger and Danny Devito as "Twins"...

Some of our Town Councillors were invited to visit Möckmühl last December, which I must say (to be fair to them), that they did at their own expense. They subsequently reported on the Hedge End Town Council website to have been overwhelmed by the German hospitality.

Town twinning is a very big deal on the continent and in Germany in particular. Clearly less so in the UK and in Hedge End in particular. The Germans have a budget for Town twinning and seem to regard their "jollies" as a perk of the job. We don't have a budget for Town twinning, mainly I think because it is politically unacceptable to do so. We don't like our elected representatives having fun at the Taxpayers expense. That is usually regarded as scandalous...!

Furthermore, our existing link with Comines-Warneton in Belgium has fizzled out. There is no cultural exchange nor any trade link between the two Towns at the moment. Our link with Comines-Warneton is now little more than a name on the road signs as you enter Hedge End. The citizens of Hedge End are clearly not interested in Town twinning.

When I asked about the twinning process at the February Town Council meeting, I was told that the Council were keen to give local schools the chance to arrange cultural exchanges with Möckmühl.

Which would be great, but surely we don't need to formally twin Hedge End with Möckmühl in order to do that? Schools are quite capable of making their own twinning arrangements if they want to, without it being necessary for the Towns to be formally twinned. They've been doing so for decades...!

So I think Hedge Enders need to be very careful that we don't give our Town Councillors the opportunity to go on "jolly's" to Southern Germany at our expense, and lumber us with the unwanted additional cost of reciprocal hospitality for their German chums.

I have noticed that our Town Councillors have been at pains to explain that any future trips would also be at their own expense, but there are two big problems with that claim.

• They have recently voted, item 8 in the January meeting,  to pay themselves Travel & Subsistence expenses for all Town Council business that is conducted outside of the boundaries of Hedge End. That could of course include Town Council business in Southern Germany...!

• Even if the existing Councillors did fund such trips at their own expense, is it right for them to impose such a burden on future Councillors? There is no "allowance" for serving on the Town Council, i.e. no remuneration. It is a voluntary post. If elected, I would struggle to fund my own trips to Southern Germany on van drivers wages, so I would refuse the invitation. Other Councillors might be in the same position. Sooner or later, Town twinning with  Möckmühl will fizzle-out, because nobody can afford to subsidise those activities out of their own pocket...

So given all of the above, I propose that it would be best for Hedge End if our Town Council bite the bullet and tell the Mayor of  Möckmühl that "Cultural exchanges between schools are always welcome, but due to the economic and political situation that exists at the moment, formal twinning between the two Towns is not possible."

What do you think...?

Thank you for reading

Ray Turner
http://www.facebook.com/hedgeendindependents

The best man for the job, or Derby winner...?

I have just been looking at one of the Lib Dems recent election leaflets, for the Shamblehurst by-election in Hedge End.

In it they list "three good reasons" to vote for their candidate, amid which is the assertion that the Independents come last here in Hedge End.

Actually, in the 2011 Town Council elections, the two Independents that stood did rather better than the Lib Dems are prepared to admit.

Cllr Keith Day was successfully returned to the Town Council, representing the Wildern ward and is doing a grand job, as you can see from his blog. Jenny Schwausch only just missed out in Grange Park East, by 16 votes.

So that was one obvious flaw with the Lib Dems argument, but I also noticed that the Lib Dems "three good reasons" for voting for their candidate told me nothing whatsoever about the personality, character, philosophy, experience or attitude of their candidate. Read it yourself if you still have that leaflet, and I think you'll see what I mean.

It is a problem that occurs regularly in the Lib Dems leafleting. I've noticed over the last few years that we are usually told very little about their candidate. There's a lot of negative campaigning, a lot of Tory-bashing, a lot of yellow flag-waving, but precious little of the information upon which we should really be basing our decision in the polling booth.

Further evidence for this is that the Lib Dems wouldn't even let their candidate participate in the interviews that have recently been posted on Cllr Day's blog. Please note that Richard Effany has not been omitted deliberately by Cllr Day. He was prevented from participating by the Lib Dem campaign team in Eastleigh...

For the record, the Lib Dems "three good reasons" for voting for Richard Effany were;

1. Only the Liberal Democrats can beat the Tories in our area. Labour have no candidate. Independents and UKIP come last here.
2. The Conservatives have axed vital services at Hampshire - but are stashing YOUR tax in the County bank - they don't deserve to win!
3. Only the Liberal Democrats represent our area on the Borough and County Councils. EVERY local councillor here in Shamblehurst ward is backing Richard in this election.

Which translates to;
"You really don't want the Tories to be elected. No, really you don't. We're the only party that can stop them and have a great track record of doing so. Our two remaining Councillors in Shamblehurst ward think Richard is a jolly nice chap"

Now I don't think that is anything like a good enough reason to vote for the Lib Dem candidate. I would want to know a lot more about Richard before casting my vote. I personally think we should be trying to select the best person to fill the vacancy on the Town Council, not back the horse that it is most likely to win the Derby...

But that's political parties for you. They are obsessed with winning and with gaining & retaining power.

Do you remember Labour's flag-waving in their quest for that "historic" fourth-term, which never actually happened in 2010, because we were all so fed up with them and their leader...?

I personally think we are on the verge of the same thing happening in Eastleigh and Hedge End. The local Lib Dems seem to have developed the same sort of arrogance that led to the downfall of Labour in 2010.

Perhaps we will see more Independents returned in future. If not me on this occasion, there will certainly be other Independents in future local elections.

From where I am sitting, the difficulty with being an Independent candidate is that we simply don't have the resources that the main parties have. Not just money. We miss the office space and equipment, the teams of people prepared to trudge around streets in February stuffing leaflets through letterboxes, the telephone canvassers and so on. Those resources make a big difference and give the main parties a huge advantage over the Independent candidate. It is why there are so few of us at the moment.

On the other hand, the best thing about being an Independent candidate is that I do not have a party line to follow.

I do not have a party leader or party hierarchy telling me how I should think, what I should say and how I should vote.

I do not have to defend the indefensible. If I'm not happy about something I can say so.

I am completely free to represent the people of Hedge End.

That's all I want to do.


Thank you for reading

Ray Turner
http://www.facebook.com/hedgeendindependents

Council Tax

One of the problems I've noticed recently, is increasing pressure on the Town Council component of our Council Tax.

This is happening because the Town Council has been keen to continue services that are being cut by Hampshire County Council.

Youth Services are the prime example, where the newly formed Hedge End, West End and Botley Youth Partnership takes on a role that was previously provided by the County Council with Hedge End Town Council now funding a significant portion of the additional costs of providing that service locally. For instance the Town Council is currently in the process of recruiting a Youth Team Leader, for which the cost of advertising the position has already cost us an additional £960.48. That persons salary will in future be coming out the Hedge End component of your Council tax, rather than the County Councils.

But will you be seeing a reduction in Hampshire component of your Council Tax...?

No. There's extra cost at Town level which we will eventually have to pay for, but taxpayers will not see a reduction in the charges levied by Hampshire County Council. Service provision is being localised, which might prove to be better, but in a way that creates inflationary pressure on the Hedge End component your Council Tax bill.

Town Councillors have also voted recently, to pay themselves expenses for any Town Council business that is conducted outside of the boundaries of Hedge End. It was argued that it was right to pay the Councillors bus-fare to attend meetings in the Civic Offices, which is fair enough, but now that the Town Council has got such an arrangement in place it could in theory be used to fund expenses paid trips to Mockmuhl in Southern Germany, to discuss twinning arrangements.

The Councillors claim that those foreign trips will be self-funded, but they have clearly left themselves the room to argue that these twinning trips are "Town Council business". What do you think will happen, if we take our eye off the ball and fail to scrutinise the activities of our Town Council...?

Our Councillors have also been very generous with our money recently, funding new signs for the St Johns Ambulance building (shouldn't St Johns Ambulance HQ fund that?), donating £300 to the Hedge End new Music Makers so that they can hire a hall and professional pianist to hold a concert (but what about revenue from Ticket sales?) and donating £500 to the Asian Welfare and Cultural Association to help fund the Mela in Eastleigh this Summer (but you've already contributed towards that event via the Borough component of your Council Tax).
   
Now I currently have to work for a whole month every year, just to pay my Council Tax. I'm sure I'm not the only person locally in that situation. For me, that crosses the line in the sand where the level of local taxation is too high.

So I think that Hedge End Town Council needs to be a little tougher on what it agrees to take-on and support, and we need more people who are prepared to question such expenditure on the committees that take these decisions.

Thank you for reading

Ray Turner
http://www.facebook.com/hedgeendindependents

Apathy or disillusionment...?

I've just returned from the 15th February meeting of the full Hedge End Town Council. I have to say it was perhaps the most tedious of all the Hedge End Town Council meetings that I've been to so far, lasting nearly 2 hours and achieving virtually nothing. No decisions were taken. There was a Police report, a report from the Borough Council and a report from the County Council all of which involved a great deal of talking and surreptitious clock-watching, but absolutely no decision making whatsoever.

I did try to get the full Council to discuss whether it is appropriate for Hedge End to be thinking about twinning our town with Mockmuhl in Germany, taking the opportunity provided by item 1 on the Agenda, which was "Public Questions not on the Agenda".

Bizarrely, because the subject of twinning was not on the Agenda for this evenings meeting, the Town Council  wouldn't discuss it. I kid you not. They were hiding behind procedures. What is the point of having "Public Questions not on the Agenda" if the Council won't actually discuss issues that are not on the Agenda...?

I was told that the way the Council works is to delegate such decisions to its sub-committees, which I already knew of course, but the twinning issue seems to be such a big decision affecting the whole town that I think it is far too important to be taken by just a handful of people, literally just a handful of people.

At yesterdays meeting of the Community & Culture sub-committee, where twinning was discussed, only 5 of our Town Councillors were present. From where I was sitting, they all seemed luke-warm about the idea of twinning, clearly very aware of the many problems and issues, but nobody seemed willing to say "Hang-on a minute, we shouldn't be thinking about twinning in the current political and economic climate".

Which is why I attempted to raise the issue this evening. In my opinion, all 21 of the Town Councillors need to be involved in the huge decision about town twinning. It should really be discussed in full Council.

So despite what is in theory a great opportunity for a member of the public to raise questions with the Town Council, it proved impossible to get the twinning issue discussed this evening. Nerves and tiredness didn't help me tonight, if I'm honest. For some reason, I don't find that public questions forum an easy thing to do, I struggle with it. If it puts me off, I bet that others will find it difficult too...

Anyway, all I achieved this evening was to obtain a brief summary of the current situation from Cllr Welsh, the leader of the Town Council. No discussion, no decision. Not what I wanted. It was pointless asking the question really...

Which brings me to the main point behind this blog posting.

Public attendance at these Town Council meetings is routinely poor. Four people were in attendance this evening, and two of those (Paul Redding & myself) are candidates in the Shamblehurst by-election. There was no sign of the Lib Dem candidate.

I have sat in several Town Council meetings recently where I've literally been the only member of public in attendance, it is a very lonely place to be. I understand from the Town Councillors that having five members of the public in attendance is actually considered a good turnout these days. It is a problem that our Town Councillors generally refer to as "apathy".

But I'm more inclined to think that it is disillusionment, i.e. "what's the point of attending?" rather than "I can't be bothered to attend?"

Perhaps the format and the structure of these Town Council meetings needs to be reviewed and modernised, if the Town Council wants more members of the public to get involved...?


Thank you for reading

Ray Turner
http://www.facebook.com/hedgeendindependents

Divide and rule...?

I was very disappointed today, to see a comment on one of the Lib Dem election leaflets, which said that the other candidates are all from the "other side" of Hedge End.

It is perfectly true of course, only the Lib Dem candidate currently resides in the Shamblehurst ward. I have no problem with the Lib Dems making that observation in their campaign, but I feel that they've done it in the wrong way. They've chosen their words unwisely.

Portraying the older part of Hedge End as the "other side", isn't really going to help to build a sense of community in Hedge End, is it...?

It is more evidence, if it were needed, that the people who are currently in control of Hedge End, the Lib Dems, have the wrong mindset and are no longer the best people for the job.

Thank you for reading

Ray Turner
http://www.facebook.com/hedgeendindependents

Leafleting in Shamblehurst

Lib Dems claim the Recycling Centre
will be moved, but when...?

I have just spent a chilly but thoroughly enjoyable morning walking round part of the Shamblehurst ward, delivering campaign leaflets. Thanks to everybody who spared a little time to talk to me, even if it was just to exchange a quick "Good morning". Thanks also to the chap who declined a leaflet and said "You Politicians are all the same": it was a very polite refusal and a point of view that I know many people hold. I have said the same thing myself, before now. It is funny how things turn around sometimes...!

Now I must admit that I've not had cause to walk round the mobile home park previously. It isn't one of those things that there's ordinarily a valid reason to do, unless delivering or visiting. It is not a through route, it is not a dog-walking area, it is not a play area, it is a quiet residential area.

I found that getting round the mobile home park efficiently, without missing anybody, is quite a challenge when delivering leaflets, but I hope I managed to visit every letterbox. I do have a few spares if I did accidentally miss you out. Let me know and I will get one to you.

Whilst walking around the mobile home park, I noticed how homely and well-loved many of the plots were, with some fabulous water features and well tended gardens. I was also surprised at the cost of the mobile homes and the rentals that are charged. It is not as cheap a way of living as I had thought. Having walked round the whole park, I feel that I understand your little corner of Hedge End a little better now.

One problem I noticed in Shamblehurst Lane was the perennial problem of youngsters cycling around residents car parks, clearly causing some annoyance to one particular resident. It is the noise and the risk of damage to expensive and cherished vehicles that creates the concern. It seems trivial, but can actually be very stressful for the residents concerned. If you happen to read this and you know the young people who might be causing the problem, and you know them well enough to do so, please ask them to stick to the public highway. The Council might be able to erect some signs about cycling, if we campaigned hard enough, but can only do so much. Friendly education by parents, elders and peers, is likely to be a more effective solution.

I was pleased to be given one of the Lib Dem Standpoint leaflets whilst walking around the area, the one where the top story is "Recyling Centre to Move?". I agree that it is a problem in Shamblehurst Lane, causing long queues and congestion sometimes, not to mention the huge lorries that have to travel up and down the lane. I wholeheartedly support the idea of the Recycling Centre being moved, but noted that the Lib Dems were unable to say when that would happen. It is just a grand idea at the moment.

Please remember that I'm campaigning against the Lib Dems, but I would also like say that I was appalled that the Lib Dems leaflet seemed to have been written by the Borough Councillors with little or no input (so far as I could see) from the Lib Dem candidate himself. I urge you to read it again if you still have it. Even the email addresses were for the Borough Councillors, rather than the candidate in this Town Council Election.

And that I am afraid, is the problem that has finally brought me to the ballot box.

Hedge End Town Council is dominated by the Borough Councillors, who essentially do what they are told to do by the Lib Dem leader, Cllr Keith House. We thus have a subservient and compliant Town Council, currently comprised of 18 Lib Dems with only 1 independent Councillor (no Conservatives) to oppose them.

Hedge End desperately needs more Councillors who will stand up to the Borough and fight for the best interests of Hedge End, not the best interests of Cllr House's Lib Dem empire...

Your vote for me on the 1st March will help to reduce that problem. The Lib Dems will still have a huge majority on the Town Council after this election, but a second independent Councillor would greatly improve the dynamics of Town Council meetings. We'd be much better placed to get some of the important counter-arguments discussed and minuted. Those discussions could not be managed out of Town Council meetings by the cunning Lib Dems. If you would like to understand the problem more fully, this report by Eastleigh News might help.

Thank you for reading

Ray Turner
http://www.facebook.com/hedgeendindependents

Black Hole at Town Council Offices...?

Something I've noticed that a number of Hedge End residents have said recently, is that they haven't received a reply from the Town Council Offices after writing to them.

It is not just once that it has been said. Different people have volunteered that thought of their own accord, completely independently of each other and in different circumstances. There is a clear hint that something is wrong, buzzing around the Town.

I have to say now, that my experience of communicating with the Town Council is generally very positive. But they know me of course and they know that I write a lot, including for Eastleigh News. There are however a couple of little exceptions to that general rule, which support what I've heard other residents say.

I've emailed the Town Council on a number of occasions recently and have generally received a full and prompt reply. I've been very pleased overall, but there was one notable exception. I offered to help with adding some new material to the Hedge End Town Council website, but am still waiting for a reply to that particular message. I haven't noticed that particular item of correspondence being raised in Council meetings either, but perhaps I missed it.

I did see some of my other correspondence being summarised at a recent Town Council meeting. I can see why summarising might be necessary, but I felt that one of the key points that I made had been completely lost in the summary. What was reported back to the Councillors was only part of what I had written. My message hadn't been passed to the Councillors in its entirety. If I hadn't attended the meeting I wouldn't have known. I would have assumed that my correspondence had been passed-on in full.

It isn't a huge problem as I'll raise the point again, in another way on another day, but I would have preferred that my correspondence was summarised a little more completely.

So what can be done...?

Well having tested the system and noted a problem, I would like the chance to address it.

IF I am returned as an Independent Town Councillor on 1st March, do feel at liberty to keep me informed of any correspondence that you are having with the Town Council. That offer applies whichever part of Hedge End you come from: it is not exclusive to Shamblehurst ward. If I know what you are saying to the Town Council Offices, I can monitor whether it is being dealt with properly. I can particularly monitor whether it is being summarised correctly in Council meetings. I would have the opportunity to stop some of the important points that you raise from being lost.

You could do this with any of the Town Councillors actually, liaising with whoever you feel most comfortable with, but if writing to an Independent Town Councillor you can be sure that matters will not be dropped into that black hole because they are inconvenient, at odds with the party line.

Independent Town Councillors do not represent any political party.

Independent Town Councillors represent the people of Hedge End. 


Thank you for reading.

Ray Turner
http://www.facebook.com/hedgeendindependents

How do you solve a problem like, Speeding...?

At the Hedge End, West End and Botley (HEWEB) Local Area Committee meeting on 30th January, our Borough Councillors agreed to reserve a sum of £3250 to underwrite the procurement costs for a Community Speedwatch team, which Hampshire Constabulary are working to establish in the Hedge End area.

The idea behind Community Speedwatch is that residents will apply to become Police Support Volunteers, and will be tasked with monitoring speed in known problem areas locally, reporting speeding motorists to the Police who will then issue a warning letter. Persistent offenders will get a knock on their door, from the Police, and could be prosecuted.

Now there is one obvious problem with Community Speedwatch. If you drive past the Community Speedwatch team doing 35mph and you see your neighbour in that party, how are you going to feel towards your neighbour when a warning letter drops through your door...? Not very favourably I suspect.

Would I volunteer to do it...?
No. I will not be jumping on the Community Speedwatch bandwagon.

There are some other problems too. For instance, how can we be sure that the volunteers won't discretely put their "enemies" details on to the list of speeders? It may not happen very often, most volunteers will be responsible citizens, but I'm quite sure it will happen one day...

So my question is this. Is Community Speedwatch really the best way of tackling the problem of speeding in Hedge End...?

Superficially, Community Speedwatch is an attractive idea. I can see why our Borough Councillors are enthusiastic about it, but when I think about the potential impact on our local community I'm not so sure that it is wise to go down that route.


As it happens, I cover more than 50,000 miles every year in my job as a van driver so I know from experience that those pesky mobile camera vans are the biggest deterrent against speeding.

Those vans, from the Hampshire Safer Roads Partnership can appear literally anywhere and I know that they'll most likely have measured my speed before I see them. The only sure way of staying out of trouble is to stick religiously to the speed limit. It is easier said than done sometimes, little distractions (such as election campaigns) can sometimes cause my mind to wander, but I do try very hard to stick to the limit. I know that if I routinely ignore the speed limits, the law of averages is such that a camera van is guaranteed to get me one day.


So those random speed traps really do work, they are much more effective than static cameras.

Community Speedwatch would also seem to have that principle of randomness working in its favour, but the people on those teams will be in full public view and potentially identifiable. They do not have the advantage of being able to hide in the back of a van, operating the detection equipment. Overall, I think that the risk of the volunteers becoming targets for hate/abuse far outweighs the other obvious advantages of the scheme. We should not be encouraging residents to expose themselves to this sort of risk, doing a job that is best left to Officers of the Law...

So what is the alternative...?

Well the other technology that I've noticed is very effective whilst I'm out and about in my van, is the speed-indicator sign. The signs that tell you how fast you are going and which encourage you to adjust your speed and comply with the law without any punitive measures being taken.

That's often all the responsible motorist needs, a little more information.

And unlike Community Speedwatch, those signs work 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

There are a couple of these signs installed on Woodmill Lane, in Midanbury, Southampton. They've been there for a few years now, so clearly must be having a beneficial effect. If they'd made the problem worse, they would have been removed. Look out for those signs the next time you are passing and see what you think. Does the knowledge that you've been measured doing more than 30mph encourage you to slow down...? It does me.

Perhaps HEWEB would have been better advised to invest in some of those speed-indicator signs, rather than on Community Speedwatch...?

What do you think...?

Thank you for reading

Ray Turner
http://www.facebook.com/hedgeendindependents