On May 3rd, the residents of the parishes of Beaudesert and Henley will be given the opportunity to vote for a new Joint Parish Council (JPC). This is an important opportunity for the residents of Henley-in-Arden to have their voices heard, and it’s been a long time coming - the last time there were contested elections was on 4th May 2000 for Beaudesert and 2nd May 1996 for Henley-in-Arden. On May 3rd, there are 5 seats in Beaudesert and 7 seats in Henley to be contested.
Residents of Henley and Beaudesert who keep up to date with local news will be aware already of the back-biting and undemocratic processes that have tarnished the current JPC. These include the unpleasant slurs over the ‘Purple Shop’ (which eventually led to its proprietor closing and moving elsewhere) and the continued bitter and petty in-fighting with one of its own councillors which eventually led to Stratford District Council branding the JPC as dysfunctional, as well as costing taxpayers over £10,000 in various legal fees and associated costs. There are also numerous examples of supposedly public meetings and decisions being made behind closed doors.
The JPC has been undemocratic, unsavoury and has sullied the reputation of Henley. For example, at the Stratford District Council Planning meeting on 9th March 2011, when the development of the cattle market was on the agenda, the then Chairman of the JPC, Cllr Les Goodman, told the planning committee that “The Parish Council, in principle, supports the application”. However, the Parish Council had not endorsed the scheme nor expressed any approval of the plans. Furthermore, 83% of the residents, in a properly conducted survey, had declared that they were against the planning application.
There have been other serious problems with the current JPC, which need to be highlighted, so that voters have the full facts. The most important thing the parish councillors do is to control the Precept. This is the element of your council tax, which is given to the JPC to spend on the parish. The Beaudesert and Henley JPC Precept is by far the largest of any mid-sized parish council in the Stratford area. The average is only £31,262. Tanworth in Arden, which has a larger population of 3,017 compared to Henley’s 2,930, has a precept of only £45,500 compared to Henley’s massive £78,000.
During the last few years, the amount of the budget that the JPC has spent on salaries and administration has rocketed to over 42%, which has left less to run the town and fund various good causes. The simple fact is that the JPC spends more money on salaries and administration than any other medium-sized parish council in the Stratford area. To camouflage this, the current JPC has been drawing money from its reserves. The Precept increased last year by 5%, at time when most Parish Councils aimed to keep their Precepts the same or in some cases reduced them.
Then there is the question of where the Precept is spent. It does appear unfortunately that some groups have been favoured over others.
Last year, the Youth Club requested a grant of £2,000 to help run the Hub but received NOTHING. Whereas, the Christmas Tree Lights, a group run by the previous chairman of the JPC, was given £3,000 and was the ONLY group applying for more than £300 to receive 100% of its request.
Maybe it’s because the average age of the current JPC is well over 70 that the youth club had its grant application turned down!
Now, we can moan all we like about the current JPC – there is only one way to make a change and that is to vote in a new, younger and more representative team on May 3rd. So, fellow residents of Henley, you now have all the facts and you can now make a choice. Either vote for the Current JPC or vote for the 12 residents who are standing against them. Many will be voting for the Henley Independents and we urge you to do the same.
Residents of Henley and Beaudesert who keep up to date with local news will be aware already of the back-biting and undemocratic processes that have tarnished the current JPC. These include the unpleasant slurs over the ‘Purple Shop’ (which eventually led to its proprietor closing and moving elsewhere) and the continued bitter and petty in-fighting with one of its own councillors which eventually led to Stratford District Council branding the JPC as dysfunctional, as well as costing taxpayers over £10,000 in various legal fees and associated costs. There are also numerous examples of supposedly public meetings and decisions being made behind closed doors.
The JPC has been undemocratic, unsavoury and has sullied the reputation of Henley. For example, at the Stratford District Council Planning meeting on 9th March 2011, when the development of the cattle market was on the agenda, the then Chairman of the JPC, Cllr Les Goodman, told the planning committee that “The Parish Council, in principle, supports the application”. However, the Parish Council had not endorsed the scheme nor expressed any approval of the plans. Furthermore, 83% of the residents, in a properly conducted survey, had declared that they were against the planning application.
There have been other serious problems with the current JPC, which need to be highlighted, so that voters have the full facts. The most important thing the parish councillors do is to control the Precept. This is the element of your council tax, which is given to the JPC to spend on the parish. The Beaudesert and Henley JPC Precept is by far the largest of any mid-sized parish council in the Stratford area. The average is only £31,262. Tanworth in Arden, which has a larger population of 3,017 compared to Henley’s 2,930, has a precept of only £45,500 compared to Henley’s massive £78,000.
During the last few years, the amount of the budget that the JPC has spent on salaries and administration has rocketed to over 42%, which has left less to run the town and fund various good causes. The simple fact is that the JPC spends more money on salaries and administration than any other medium-sized parish council in the Stratford area. To camouflage this, the current JPC has been drawing money from its reserves. The Precept increased last year by 5%, at time when most Parish Councils aimed to keep their Precepts the same or in some cases reduced them.
Then there is the question of where the Precept is spent. It does appear unfortunately that some groups have been favoured over others.
Last year, the Youth Club requested a grant of £2,000 to help run the Hub but received NOTHING. Whereas, the Christmas Tree Lights, a group run by the previous chairman of the JPC, was given £3,000 and was the ONLY group applying for more than £300 to receive 100% of its request.
Maybe it’s because the average age of the current JPC is well over 70 that the youth club had its grant application turned down!
Now, we can moan all we like about the current JPC – there is only one way to make a change and that is to vote in a new, younger and more representative team on May 3rd. So, fellow residents of Henley, you now have all the facts and you can now make a choice. Either vote for the Current JPC or vote for the 12 residents who are standing against them. Many will be voting for the Henley Independents and we urge you to do the same.
Despite the good intentions and commitment of the existing councillors,
if you Vote in the old parish councillors, you will get:-
- MORE OF THE SAME WASTE AND BEAURACRACY.
- MISINFORMATION ON IMPORTANT ISSUES SUCH AS GRANTS AND CROFT CAR PARK.
- A COUNCIL THAT FAILS TO SUPPORT LOCAL VOLUNTARY SERVICES LIKE THE HUB.
- A COUNCIL THAT HAS BEEN STYLED AS "DYSFUNCTIONAL" BY STRATFORD DISTRICT.
- A COUNCIL THAT IS INWARD LOOKING AND DEAF.
CURRENT JPC is:-
Wasteful, Bureaucratic, Unrepresentative, Inward Looking, Dysfunctional
if you Vote in the Henley Independents, you will get:-
- A COUNCIL THAT BELIEVES IN SIMPLICITY AND COST CONTROL.
- A COUNCIL THAT WILL SPEND MONEY WISELY ON LOCAL ISSUES.
- A COUNCIL THAT CAN BE MORE RESPONSIVE AND REPRESENTATIVE.
- A COUNCIL THAT WILL LISTEN, DISCUSS AND COMMUNICATE.
HENLEY INDEPENDENT are:-
Streamlined, Prudent, Transparent, Open, Responsive, Younger
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