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Posted at 10:10am Thursday 3rd September 2009
Confused?
The self proclaimed “Easy Council” tag will no doubt come back time and time and time again to haunt Barnet. I note the Tory cabinet has decided to cut grants to some voluntary groups. In the scheme of things (think Icelandic Banks), the amounts are small. But to the groups deprived of the income it can mean the difference between survival and going under.
Posted at 12:59pm Friday 28th August 2009
I'm The Leader Fly Me
I was intending to write something about Wednesday’s Planning and Environment Committee. It was cancelled, because of lack of business. So I thought I would comment on a couple of newspaper items that caught my eye.
Posted at 4:53pm Wednesday 19th August 2009
Thank The Almighty
The Barnet planning equivalent of the case of Jarndyce and Jarndyce has taken a new twist. Jarndyce and Jarndyce is the fictitious case in Charles Dickens “Bleak House”, a case which had ground its way through the courts for generations.
Posted at 8:16pm Wednesday 5th August 2009
Common Sense ?
Who said politicians go on holiday in August? I’ve been pretty busy this last week. It is also a reminder that a Councillors job does not revolve simply around committee meetings.
Posted at 5:45pm Tuesday 28th July 2009
Ten Years Ago
Avenue House and its grounds provided a pleasant backdrop to Monday night’s Finchley and Golders Green Resident’s Forum. Lots of local people had turned up to air their grievances. For once residents outnumbered Councillors.
Posted at 4:12pm Wednesday 22nd July 2009
getting over jet lag
Still suffering from Jet lag I attended the July meeting of the Finchley and Golders Green planning sub committee last night. During my holiday on the west coast of the USA the Town Hall had reopened following refurbishment.
Posted at 12:21pm Saturday 20th June 2009
Warning this may upset you
Anyone wanting to know what is wrong with Politics needs only to have been at Barnet House on Thursday. I attended as a member of the spanking new committee named Business Management Overview and Scrutiny Sub Committee. Nothing else was new. The membership of the committee had changed slightly.
Posted at 12:14pm Tuesday 16th June 2009
A Tale of Two Cities?
On Sunday morning together with my Lib Dem Ward Councillors we carried out our regular visits to meet our residents. This time we were on the Westcroft Estate in Cricklewood. The Westcroft Estate is owned by Camden Council but as it is in Barnet the residents pay their Council tax to Barnet and therefore also elect Councillors to Barnet.
Posted at 11:55am Friday 12th June 2009
Breathe Easy
As usual on election days I did a spot of telling at the local polling station in Childs Hill. Telling is the job of collecting polling numbers from the voters .The number of people voting slowed to trickle during my stint. Unusually many of the voters stopped for a chat. Perhaps because this time the other two main parties did not have tellers on duty.
Posted at 3:04pm Tuesday 2nd June 2009
The Phantom Door
The numbers of planning applications being determined by the Finchley and Golders Green Planning sub committee are fewer and fewer. Whether this is down to the recession or whether it is because of the tighter rules on what can now come to committee is unclear.
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