After being actually taken by surprise in that the Tories are delivering leaflets beyond Bixley, Rushmere and St Margaret’s – I thought I would take a quick look to see what the Tories are actually saying.
In the South West the Tory candidate (who is still failing to remove inaccuracies from his own blog) is claiming that he helped Ben Gummer in his successful campaign to get Chantry High School (Suffolk New Academy) re-built – funny that when I drove past it today whilst campaigning it looked the same as iit did last year. When researching the claim that Mr Gummer and Algar have been successful in their campaign, all I can find is a claim that it will be re-built in the future, but no start date.
Mr Algar then continues with one of his favourite topics – in that candidate’s should live in the ward, hypocritically in his next post he is promoting Cllr Judy Terry – who does not only live outside the ward she represents but seems hell bent on upsetting Rushmere residents. Mr Algar claims that Judy Terry and her Tory colleagues saved the Suffolk Library service, but forgets to mention that the mobile library service in Ipswich has been decimated. In Rushmere we have lost mobile library rounds in Meadowvale Close, Sidegate Avenue and Sidegate Lane. We also lost the service in Inverness Road – home of the Ipswich prefabs – what has Judy Terry got against our senior citizens who live in the North East of our ward? First of all she wants to build a care home on top of their homes and also feels they do not need a library service. So maybe I should ask Judy Terry why she thinks we do not need a mobile library service serving the prefabs.
As she has not answered my five previous questions, I will post them again and add a question about the mobile library service. I am sure if Judy will not answer the questions her personnel spokesman Kevin Algar will – if he can take a break away from claiming that he influences Labour candidate selection!
Over to you Judy Terry (or Kevin Algar)
1. Why did she say Colin Noble had not visited the prefabs?
2. Why did she make an incorrect statements about the attendance of Tracy Grant without checking the facts?
3. Who are the two developers, did they approach her or did she approach them?
4. Are Care UK involved with the proposed care home?
5. Will the replacement 220 homes be council owned?
And the new one –
6. Why does she think Rushmere residents do not need a library service but Bixley ward still keeps a stop?
Kevin Algar has now added a footnote to his blog posts, a common practice once you are declared as a candidate- but what someone also should have told him is that you are not supposed to print inaccurate statements when you are a candidate - though his claim that Ipswich Labour have a special printer to make our leaflets look cheap - is comedy gold!
Sunday, 31 March 2013
Wednesday, 27 March 2013
Helping local traders in East Ipswich
This evening we had a very productive meeting at the 'Taste' café on Woodbridge Road, the meeting was to see if we can help local traders, shops and businesses set up an organisation. Most of the early work had been done by Swaraj Jeyasingh and he had managed to get along a number of local traders.
The North East Ipswich area Committee is looking to help promote local traders and one idea was a local shops map. Swaraj has spoken at a recent Area Committee, pupils from Copleston then took this idea away and 3 young girls from Year 8 presented their map and plan tonight. A great slogan of 'Live local, shop local'
Now the pupils will be helped by a local Rushmere business and produce a mock up map, and then this will be presented to a future North East Ipswich Area Committee and then we hope the map can then be distributed to local residents
s
.
Live local, shop local
The North East Ipswich area Committee is looking to help promote local traders and one idea was a local shops map. Swaraj has spoken at a recent Area Committee, pupils from Copleston then took this idea away and 3 young girls from Year 8 presented their map and plan tonight. A great slogan of 'Live local, shop local'
Now the pupils will be helped by a local Rushmere business and produce a mock up map, and then this will be presented to a future North East Ipswich Area Committee and then we hope the map can then be distributed to local residents
s
.Live local, shop local
Monday, 25 March 2013
Tory Judy Terry accused of hypocrisy - by another Tory
It seems Rushmere councillor and Tory candidate for this years County Council elections, Judy Terry is not even popular amongst her Ipswich Tory colleagues. I do not normally poach articles or comments from other blogs, but the comment from former Tory Front bench portfolio holder Steven Wells on Ipswich Spy this morning was too brilliant not to re publish. Thank you Spy and Mr Wells for this golden comment:
Steven Wells, on March 25, 2013 at 8:30 am said:
Some good candidates in there. Just such a shame that one of them betrays their own words for just to suit herself and for political expediency.
The one things voters hate Ms Terry is when you say one thing in your manifesto, then argue against it, then when it comes to being elected again start to sing the same tune you did previously. It sums up everything that is wrong with modern politics and you are the perfect example of that!
Try to wriggle out of why your manifesto said effectively in 2006 ‘no to the Northern Fringe’ then you vote for the LDF which condemns it whilst viciously criticising the 6 Whitton and CastleHill Conservative Councillors who refused to cave in, only then to recently be spouting about protecting the Northern Fringe, Agricultural land and that there is no need to build on it.
Summary: If the voters see you for what you have really done – Political doom and Hypocrisy!
I could not have put it better myself!
Steven Wells, on March 25, 2013 at 8:30 am said:
Some good candidates in there. Just such a shame that one of them betrays their own words for just to suit herself and for political expediency.
The one things voters hate Ms Terry is when you say one thing in your manifesto, then argue against it, then when it comes to being elected again start to sing the same tune you did previously. It sums up everything that is wrong with modern politics and you are the perfect example of that!
Try to wriggle out of why your manifesto said effectively in 2006 ‘no to the Northern Fringe’ then you vote for the LDF which condemns it whilst viciously criticising the 6 Whitton and CastleHill Conservative Councillors who refused to cave in, only then to recently be spouting about protecting the Northern Fringe, Agricultural land and that there is no need to build on it.
Summary: If the voters see you for what you have really done – Political doom and Hypocrisy!
I could not have put it better myself!
Sunday, 24 March 2013
Ipswich Prefabs and Judy Terry - 'Looking for Colin Noble'
On Thursday we held our latest North East Area Committee meeting and though we have had a healthy attendance at most of our meetings at this one we had over 70 residents attend, our best attendance so far.
Many attended for the first time and they came along to question Tory Councillor for Rushmere, Judy Terry about her statements in the local press about their homes – the much loved prefabs
These bungalow type houses were built just after the war and were at first were expected only to last 25 years but over 60 years later they are still going strong. Other prefabs in the town have been knocked down, but the proximity of the Rushmere prefabs tom the Suffolk countryside and the long gardens have made these dwellings much demanded.
The reason for the sudden interest in the prefabs is that Cllr Judy Terry mentioned her plan for their demolition and replacement with new houses and a care home at a Suffolk County Council meeting – now this is quite strange as the prefabs are the responsibility of Ipswich Borough Council and Richard Pope is the Tory spokesman for housing and he also seems to have been caught unaware by the plans of Judy Terry. She indicated that she already had been in discussion with two developers and a local architect and had even take her County colleague Colin Noble along to ask him advice on the site for a care home. ( a point of information it is worth reminding everyone that the prefabs sit 400 metres from two existing care homes that the County has handed over to Care UK and that Judy Terry sat on the planning committee that approved a care home to be built 200metres further up Humber Doucy Lane.)
Within hours of the Judy Terry making her proclamation of this new development in Rushmere (the announcement of this proposed development did seem to be another excuse to be used to back up the Tory view that the Northern Fringe development is no longer needed) residents were up in arms, and quite quickly Judy Terry had issued a press release to say all she was calling for was a debate about the future of the prefabs and was not calling for their demolition.
The press release was used by Ipswich Spy and even received a comment from her Tory colleague Colin Noble – who tweeted: “Cllr. Terry recently took me for a walk around the estate and shared her vision, I could not agree more with this campaign, clearly residents do what they can to make the best of the situation but Ipswich Borough Council should be ashamed to have these pre-fabs in their stock. Time to rebuilt, residents deserve better than the pathetic sticky plaster proposed by the Labour Leadership. “
Now what followed was number of letters from residents and ex residents of the prefabs, all unhappy with Judy Terry’s plan – many of the residents are some of our senior citizens (not all) and they were very concerned that were suddenly to lose their homes.
It quickly became quite obvious that her ‘vision’ for Inverness Rd was not one shared by the residents and this led to a number attending the area committee, two had also sent in formal requests for a detailed answer on the future of the prefabs from the council.
At the start of the meeting, one Tory councillor asked me why so many people were at the meeting showing that the Tory Group were oblivious to the uproar Judy Terry’s statements had caused.
As chairman of the committee, I read out the two questions and also the prepared answer I then allowed Judy Terry to comment. Her only line of defence was that she wanted to start a debate- not sure you start a debate by talking to two developers and getting plans drawn up before you speak to either the landlords (Ipswich Borough Council) or the residents.
Her excuses did not seem to please the residents and a number then asked Judy Terry a number of questions, one asked why she had taken Mr Noble round the area- Judy Terry said she did not know anyone called Noble, I then indicated that they meant her Tory County colleague, Colin Noble. She still seemed to deny that she had taken Cllr Noble round the area of the prefabs.
Two 24 year old sisters then stated that they were unhappy with Cllr Terry’s claim that the majority of the residents were aged or disabled. A number of the prefabs have been purchased from the council by the tenants and one lady who had purchased hers was almost in tears as she informed Judy Terry that her irresponsible comments had now made it impossible to sell her own home.
After 15 minutes of questions we had to move onto other agenda items but I allowed Judy Terry to make a closing statement, she then blamed a Labour councillor for saying that the homes need to be demolished. I then added the closing remarks to the debate, stating that we know the prefabs will not last forever but when we do make a plan for their future it will be the residents who will be the first to hear and they will be consulted. I then asked Judy Terry two direct questions in front of the audience, did she invite Colin Noble to visit the area and if she did not why did he say he had visited the area of the prefabs? She stated for the third time that evening she had not taken Cllr Colin Noble round the prefabs and did not know why he had said he had visited!
At the end of the meeting Judy Terry spent a number of minutes discussing the prefabs with residents as her two Tory colleagues seemed in a hurry to leave. I and my Labour colleagues also spoke to some very angry and upset residents who informed us that they would call for the resignation of Cllr Judy Terry at the next are committee.
An eventful meeting that left many of us shocked and rather unsure what Judy Terry had planned. We did not have to wait long – under 10 hours to be even more confuses! The next morning Ipswich Spy spoke to Judy Terry and reported her view of ‘prefab gate’. She now informed us that she had invited Colin Noble round the area of the prefabs (she had denied this in a direct question from me only hours earlier) she still stated that she only wanted to start a debate (no mention of developers and plans already drawn up). She also indicated that by myself saying the ‘prefabs will not last forever’ that we do have a plan and we were hiding it from the residents. Only a week earner she said she had only raised the matter because we did not have a plan!
She then accused Labour of inviting residents to the meeting (not that would be wrong) in a leaflet we had delivered on the estate – the leaflet we did issue to allay residents’ fears does not mention the area committee. (The false accusation about the Labour leaflet was then repeated by another Tory blogger here). But most upsetting was her comments on why Labour councillor Tracy Grant was not at the meeting, implying that Cllr Grant was scared to attend in case she was asked about her views on the prefabs. Again Cllr Judy Terry is wrong Cllr Grant had given her apologies over two weeks before the meeting and before Cllr Terry had raised the prefab issue. Tracy works for Suffolk Police and they are so short staffed she was not allowed to have time off for the meeting. I hope Judy Terry has the decency to apologise to Tracy Grant (this inaccuracy about the attendance of Cllr Grant was again repeated on an Ipswich Tory blog)
So it seems Colin Noble did visit the area of the prefabs and thinks we should be ashamed of these much loved houses – people’s homes!
This still leaves a number of questions for Judy Terry to answer;
1. Why did she say Colin Noble had not visited the prefabs?
2. Why did she make an incorrect statements about the attendance of Tracy Grant without checking the facts?
3. Who are the two developers, did they approach her or did she approach them?
4. Are Care UK involved with the proposed care home?
5. Will the replacement 220 homes be council owned?
Alasdair Ross and Sandra Gage looking for Colin Noble in Inverness Road
More worrying is that Judy Terry seems to have difficulty in remembering what she has written or what she has done. At the last Full Council we had #Flyergate where Judy seemed to forget what she had written only weeks earlier in her Flyer column (her excuse then was she must have written it last year and had forgotten what she said) and now we have even more worryingly her inability to remember inviting a fellow cabinet member round the Inverness Rd area. She also seems to have none or little support from her Ipswich Tory colleagues, the Tory housing spokesman, Richard Pope did not even know of her plans for the prefabs. Maybe the pressure is getting too much for her.
I hope she will use the comment section on this blog to answer the 5 questions I have asked, and also that she has the decency to apologise to Tracy Grant.
But I think that this episode shows that many residents no longer have confidence in her ability to look after their best interests- and that many of them will use their vote on May 2nd to say that she is no longer wanted as their elected representative.
Footnote: Cllr Tracy Grant could not attend the Area Committee because of her work for Suffolk Police but on the same night the Police and Crime Commissioner attended the South East Area Committee – but he also seemed to lack the support of his Tory colleagues as all 3 Tory Borough councillors in the South east failed to turn up!
Many attended for the first time and they came along to question Tory Councillor for Rushmere, Judy Terry about her statements in the local press about their homes – the much loved prefabs
These bungalow type houses were built just after the war and were at first were expected only to last 25 years but over 60 years later they are still going strong. Other prefabs in the town have been knocked down, but the proximity of the Rushmere prefabs tom the Suffolk countryside and the long gardens have made these dwellings much demanded.
The reason for the sudden interest in the prefabs is that Cllr Judy Terry mentioned her plan for their demolition and replacement with new houses and a care home at a Suffolk County Council meeting – now this is quite strange as the prefabs are the responsibility of Ipswich Borough Council and Richard Pope is the Tory spokesman for housing and he also seems to have been caught unaware by the plans of Judy Terry. She indicated that she already had been in discussion with two developers and a local architect and had even take her County colleague Colin Noble along to ask him advice on the site for a care home. ( a point of information it is worth reminding everyone that the prefabs sit 400 metres from two existing care homes that the County has handed over to Care UK and that Judy Terry sat on the planning committee that approved a care home to be built 200metres further up Humber Doucy Lane.)
Within hours of the Judy Terry making her proclamation of this new development in Rushmere (the announcement of this proposed development did seem to be another excuse to be used to back up the Tory view that the Northern Fringe development is no longer needed) residents were up in arms, and quite quickly Judy Terry had issued a press release to say all she was calling for was a debate about the future of the prefabs and was not calling for their demolition.
The press release was used by Ipswich Spy and even received a comment from her Tory colleague Colin Noble – who tweeted: “Cllr. Terry recently took me for a walk around the estate and shared her vision, I could not agree more with this campaign, clearly residents do what they can to make the best of the situation but Ipswich Borough Council should be ashamed to have these pre-fabs in their stock. Time to rebuilt, residents deserve better than the pathetic sticky plaster proposed by the Labour Leadership. “
Now what followed was number of letters from residents and ex residents of the prefabs, all unhappy with Judy Terry’s plan – many of the residents are some of our senior citizens (not all) and they were very concerned that were suddenly to lose their homes.
It quickly became quite obvious that her ‘vision’ for Inverness Rd was not one shared by the residents and this led to a number attending the area committee, two had also sent in formal requests for a detailed answer on the future of the prefabs from the council.
At the start of the meeting, one Tory councillor asked me why so many people were at the meeting showing that the Tory Group were oblivious to the uproar Judy Terry’s statements had caused.
As chairman of the committee, I read out the two questions and also the prepared answer I then allowed Judy Terry to comment. Her only line of defence was that she wanted to start a debate- not sure you start a debate by talking to two developers and getting plans drawn up before you speak to either the landlords (Ipswich Borough Council) or the residents.
Her excuses did not seem to please the residents and a number then asked Judy Terry a number of questions, one asked why she had taken Mr Noble round the area- Judy Terry said she did not know anyone called Noble, I then indicated that they meant her Tory County colleague, Colin Noble. She still seemed to deny that she had taken Cllr Noble round the area of the prefabs.
Two 24 year old sisters then stated that they were unhappy with Cllr Terry’s claim that the majority of the residents were aged or disabled. A number of the prefabs have been purchased from the council by the tenants and one lady who had purchased hers was almost in tears as she informed Judy Terry that her irresponsible comments had now made it impossible to sell her own home.
After 15 minutes of questions we had to move onto other agenda items but I allowed Judy Terry to make a closing statement, she then blamed a Labour councillor for saying that the homes need to be demolished. I then added the closing remarks to the debate, stating that we know the prefabs will not last forever but when we do make a plan for their future it will be the residents who will be the first to hear and they will be consulted. I then asked Judy Terry two direct questions in front of the audience, did she invite Colin Noble to visit the area and if she did not why did he say he had visited the area of the prefabs? She stated for the third time that evening she had not taken Cllr Colin Noble round the prefabs and did not know why he had said he had visited!
At the end of the meeting Judy Terry spent a number of minutes discussing the prefabs with residents as her two Tory colleagues seemed in a hurry to leave. I and my Labour colleagues also spoke to some very angry and upset residents who informed us that they would call for the resignation of Cllr Judy Terry at the next are committee.
An eventful meeting that left many of us shocked and rather unsure what Judy Terry had planned. We did not have to wait long – under 10 hours to be even more confuses! The next morning Ipswich Spy spoke to Judy Terry and reported her view of ‘prefab gate’. She now informed us that she had invited Colin Noble round the area of the prefabs (she had denied this in a direct question from me only hours earlier) she still stated that she only wanted to start a debate (no mention of developers and plans already drawn up). She also indicated that by myself saying the ‘prefabs will not last forever’ that we do have a plan and we were hiding it from the residents. Only a week earner she said she had only raised the matter because we did not have a plan!
She then accused Labour of inviting residents to the meeting (not that would be wrong) in a leaflet we had delivered on the estate – the leaflet we did issue to allay residents’ fears does not mention the area committee. (The false accusation about the Labour leaflet was then repeated by another Tory blogger here). But most upsetting was her comments on why Labour councillor Tracy Grant was not at the meeting, implying that Cllr Grant was scared to attend in case she was asked about her views on the prefabs. Again Cllr Judy Terry is wrong Cllr Grant had given her apologies over two weeks before the meeting and before Cllr Terry had raised the prefab issue. Tracy works for Suffolk Police and they are so short staffed she was not allowed to have time off for the meeting. I hope Judy Terry has the decency to apologise to Tracy Grant (this inaccuracy about the attendance of Cllr Grant was again repeated on an Ipswich Tory blog)
So it seems Colin Noble did visit the area of the prefabs and thinks we should be ashamed of these much loved houses – people’s homes!
This still leaves a number of questions for Judy Terry to answer;
1. Why did she say Colin Noble had not visited the prefabs?
2. Why did she make an incorrect statements about the attendance of Tracy Grant without checking the facts?
3. Who are the two developers, did they approach her or did she approach them?
4. Are Care UK involved with the proposed care home?
5. Will the replacement 220 homes be council owned?
Alasdair Ross and Sandra Gage looking for Colin Noble in Inverness Road
More worrying is that Judy Terry seems to have difficulty in remembering what she has written or what she has done. At the last Full Council we had #Flyergate where Judy seemed to forget what she had written only weeks earlier in her Flyer column (her excuse then was she must have written it last year and had forgotten what she said) and now we have even more worryingly her inability to remember inviting a fellow cabinet member round the Inverness Rd area. She also seems to have none or little support from her Ipswich Tory colleagues, the Tory housing spokesman, Richard Pope did not even know of her plans for the prefabs. Maybe the pressure is getting too much for her.
I hope she will use the comment section on this blog to answer the 5 questions I have asked, and also that she has the decency to apologise to Tracy Grant.
But I think that this episode shows that many residents no longer have confidence in her ability to look after their best interests- and that many of them will use their vote on May 2nd to say that she is no longer wanted as their elected representative.
Footnote: Cllr Tracy Grant could not attend the Area Committee because of her work for Suffolk Police but on the same night the Police and Crime Commissioner attended the South East Area Committee – but he also seemed to lack the support of his Tory colleagues as all 3 Tory Borough councillors in the South east failed to turn up!
My Month ahead - now till May 2nd, 2013
Allegedly we are now in Spring! Which means in Ipswich we start the final push towards another set of elections- this time for the Suffolk County Council.
Now as we approach April, it may even mean you bump into an Ipswich Tory activist, but that may depend on where you live in the town and you might even get to see one of their leaflets - but do not hold your breath if living in Gainsborough or Priory Heath. There might even be a rarer sight on the streets of Ipswich, a Lib Dem activist! But unless your walking on a street within sight of Christchurch Park you are unlikely to see the lesser spotted Lib Dem.
Ipswich Labour have continued to campaign since May last year and our results in Ipswich during the PCC elections indicates that the Ipswich public would rather be represented by a party that works all year round on behalf of the town rather than just appear during the month of April.
So last week we moved from campaigning two days a week to every day of the week- we will also be campaigning in EVERY WARD in the town, there are not any 'no-go' areas for Ipswich Labour.
Normal council work and meetings do continue and campaigning has to be fitted round these plus work- and also some downtime is needed to last through till May.
This week I have two meetings at Sidegate School plus later in the month I am taking a group of teenagers on their Duke of Edinburgh Gold expedition to Mid Wales. So until Mid May, I am suspending my weekly blog post - 'My Week ahead' now the blog post was heavily criticised by one Ipswich tory activist- but guess what? He has now copied the idea and posts his own 'week ahead' post each week.
But as from now till the 2nd May - it will have campaigning down on almost every day - I think you know what I will be doing each day without looking at a post and of course I hope to speak to many of you as I spend most evenings knocking on doors.
I will be working as hard as I can to help Ipswich Labour win every County Council seat in the town (and the wider county) in particular I will be fighting hard in Rushmere Ward to get our superb candidate Sandra Gage elected - a local resident who understand the concerns of her Rushmere neighbours - a skill (understanding residents concerns)that it has become obvious that our the current Tory incumbent Judy Terry does not possess - with the her latest statements about the Rushmere Prefabs yet another example of how out of touch she has become.
So on the 2nd May - Vote Labour - where ever you are in Suffolk but in particular in Rushmere Ward, Vote for Sandra Gage, local resident, community champion and Labour activist.
So on May 2nd - where ever you are in Suffolk- Vote Labour and in Rushmere Vote Sandra Gage - local resident, community champion and Labour activist.
Now as we approach April, it may even mean you bump into an Ipswich Tory activist, but that may depend on where you live in the town and you might even get to see one of their leaflets - but do not hold your breath if living in Gainsborough or Priory Heath. There might even be a rarer sight on the streets of Ipswich, a Lib Dem activist! But unless your walking on a street within sight of Christchurch Park you are unlikely to see the lesser spotted Lib Dem.
Ipswich Labour have continued to campaign since May last year and our results in Ipswich during the PCC elections indicates that the Ipswich public would rather be represented by a party that works all year round on behalf of the town rather than just appear during the month of April.
So last week we moved from campaigning two days a week to every day of the week- we will also be campaigning in EVERY WARD in the town, there are not any 'no-go' areas for Ipswich Labour.
Normal council work and meetings do continue and campaigning has to be fitted round these plus work- and also some downtime is needed to last through till May.
This week I have two meetings at Sidegate School plus later in the month I am taking a group of teenagers on their Duke of Edinburgh Gold expedition to Mid Wales. So until Mid May, I am suspending my weekly blog post - 'My Week ahead' now the blog post was heavily criticised by one Ipswich tory activist- but guess what? He has now copied the idea and posts his own 'week ahead' post each week.
But as from now till the 2nd May - it will have campaigning down on almost every day - I think you know what I will be doing each day without looking at a post and of course I hope to speak to many of you as I spend most evenings knocking on doors.
I will be working as hard as I can to help Ipswich Labour win every County Council seat in the town (and the wider county) in particular I will be fighting hard in Rushmere Ward to get our superb candidate Sandra Gage elected - a local resident who understand the concerns of her Rushmere neighbours - a skill (understanding residents concerns)that it has become obvious that our the current Tory incumbent Judy Terry does not possess - with the her latest statements about the Rushmere Prefabs yet another example of how out of touch she has become.
So on the 2nd May - Vote Labour - where ever you are in Suffolk but in particular in Rushmere Ward, Vote for Sandra Gage, local resident, community champion and Labour activist.
So on May 2nd - where ever you are in Suffolk- Vote Labour and in Rushmere Vote Sandra Gage - local resident, community champion and Labour activist.
Saturday, 23 March 2013
Ipswich Prefabs - No cause for concern
Myself outside the prefabs in Inverness Road with local campaigner, Sandra Gage.
At the North East Ipswich Area Committee this week, a number of residents from the prefabs in Rushmere Ward attended, many to inform Tory Cllr, Judy Terry that they were not happy with her comments about their homes. Certain Ipswich Tories have since accused me of delivering a leaflet to the area of Inverness Road to invite residents to the committee meeting. Below is a copy of the leaflet and you can see there is no mention of the Area Committee - another Tory statement made without any evidence to back it up!
Dear Residents,
The highly-publicised call by Tory Councillor Judy Terry for the prefabs to be demolished, calling them ‘not fit for purpose’ has caused unnecessary alarm and anxiety among residents.
We want you to know that there is no cause for concern.
We agree with the statement made by Councillor John Mowles, the borough council’s Housing spokesman, on learning of Cllr Terry’s outburst:
“The prefabs are some of the council’s most challenging properties to maintain and as a responsible landlord we are constantly reviewing how best to keep them up to modern standards.
However, we know that the vast majority of our tenants living in these houses love them. Whatever we do in future will be done with their best interests in mind and in full consultation with them.
It is deeply irresponsible of Councillor Terry to start waving her ill-thought out plans around in public without any thought about the effect it would have on residents. It has caused a lot of distress for many elderly and vulnerable residents.”
What Cllr Terry got wrong:
• Her condemnation of the prefabs was made at a meeting of Suffolk County Council, who have no responsibility for housing
• She said the homes were unfit and even got her Tory colleague, Colin Noble, the county council’s Health and Adult Care cabinet member, to say that Ipswich Borough Council ‘should be ashamed to have these prefabs in their stock’
• She has obtained from architects a plan for redevelopment of the site
• Her insults have smeared the community and worried elderly residents.
What we say:
• The prefabs are fit for purpose
• They are very popular with residents
• Cllr Terry should know that when she comes out with her unconsidered thoughts about these houses she is talking about your homes.
Sunday, 17 March 2013
Save our Post! Save Ipswich Sorting Office
The Ipswich sorting Office is under threat, with a likely plan of moving operations to either Chelmsford or Norwich. This could see the potential loss of 500 jobs and will also mean a much reduced service for Ipswich residents - where will you go to collect parcels? Ipswich residents lose the ability to post a letter as late as 7.30pm. When will our first post now arrive?
Plus we may lose the Ipswich postmark!
Now when campaigning to get elected as our MP, Ben Gummer was all for campaigning to save post offices, collecting signatures and then delivering them to Number 10 (for a photo opportunity) but he seems to have now opted out of this campaign to save our Ipswich Sorting Office - why?
Ipswich Labour has joined the CWU - The Communications Union in distributing 'Save our Post!' leaflets throughout the town - now you can do your bit - sign the petition to save our Sorting Office here
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