onionbagblog

Local artist Andy Brooke has opened up a new studio down at the Wivenhoe Business Centre. The unlikely combination of photography and stained glass have come together at the appropriately named Railway Studio.

With trains regularly passing outside the lofty space, Andy’s studio retreat is offering up a place to learn this craft, as well as to hopefully collaborate on commissions.

Many folk around the town may already know Andy through his photography work and teaching. This has now stretched out to include the traditional craft of stained glass designs, with plenty of crossover from the photography side as well.

It is a dying skill that is being kept alive in the unlikely setting of a studio space adjacent to the Clacton line. Trains speed past, yet the patience required to produce this type of work balances out the pace outside.

Andy works with both the traditional leaded way producing stained glass, as well as being able to offer more contemporary techniques such as working with foil. Incorporating photographs into a piece of work is a skill that Andy specialises in, as well glass painting.

The plan is for a series of workshops to be staged at the Railway Gallery. The first of these has already taken place, with six local folk learning more about the techniques during a day session in October.

Future workshops are planned on 24th November and 1st December. Andy is also keen to take on commissions - a recent undertaking is a substantial piece of work with the Colchester Sixth Form College.

The Business Centre is becoming something of an exploration of new artistic techniques and ideas in Wivenhoe. The Wivenhoe Gallery is regularly holding exhibitions; Open Space covers holistic techniques. Hidden away behind the old boat is Radio Wivenhoe.

Plus Andy Brooke can now be added to this growing network, looking down on the Clacton line and constructing images out of stained glass.

Quite a skill.

To the Wyvern Room! …on Sunday morning, via St Mary’s and the main William Loveless Hall.

That kinda morning, Comrades.

The occasion was the Wivenhoe Town Council Civic Service at the church.

This was lovely. Suited and booted, clean shaven (sort of) and in fine singing voice.

And that was just our town’s MP.

More from Bernard later.

Then it was back to WLH, sausage rolls and some warm red wine.

Chin chin.

Conversations were flowing along with the bolly. Added to the usual car parking and dog pooh debate was the new 2012 topic of conversation: the Wivenhoe Health Centre change of plan.

With so many of the suited, booted (and frocked) folk in the WLH being in a position of political power / political ineffectiveness, it was too good an opportunity not to try and come up with some solutions for the Health Centre situation.

The main focus of the morning was rightly the Civic Service; it was half decent however for WTC to put aside the Wyvern Room for Health Centre conversations, and slightly more than half decent for Bernard Jenkin to make himself available to try and answer any questions from concerned residents.

There’s always the ethical dilemma here of asking to record the session and *possibly* diluting the responses, or just going ahead and recording anyway. Bernard was happy for the recording to be made and published, and urged any residents to contact him with any further questions.

The impression I left with is that this was an honest and transparent exercise, something that has sadly been missing so far from the whole Health Centre situation.

Not many new points emerged, although the key question still remains why the chuffers did the Fire Station deal fall through? Answer that and we may be able to get the original project back on schedule.

Bernard’s answer:

“I don’t know. I have my suspicions. It is well known that Mr Gooch feels that land at the top of the village is suitable for housing development. He sees the surgery as a pre-cursor for that. I don’t know to what extent Wivenhoe residents would consider trading the benefits of that site for the surgery for housing.

The advantage of that site is that it is white land. White land doesn’t have planning permission for anything and so it’s value is only agricultural. If the surgery could acquire white land, then the money can be invested in the building, rather than paying for the site.”

The point was made that if we can find out what is the asking price for the Cook’s land, then as a community we would be in a position to try and find a possible alternative:

“My suspicion in these negotiations for land is that they [Realise Health Ltd] may not even have made an offer yet. They want to find out what the planning situation is. They won’t want to discuss in public what the offer might be until it has been agreed. We don’t know what has been offered for the Fire Station site either.

In an ideal world all of this will be done transparently and openly and people will know what the parameters of this will be before the decision is even made.”

As for the Cedric’s site?

“It [the surgery] has looked at the Cedric’s garage, but it thinks that the price is much too expensive. The more you pay for the site, the less you have for the practice.”

What solution does the town’s MP see?

“The only acceptable solution is one that is acceptable to patient’s that use the practice. I don’t think that it is for me to say what is acceptable.”

Traffic issues tailing down to Cook’s was then talked about.

Bernard added:

“The figure I have seen is that there will be 350 cars a day going down to the Cook’s Shipyard site. That’s a questionable number. If you think about it, there are four GP’s, and if they are all attending consultations all day, it is quite difficult to get up to 350.

The practice I understand monitored their patients for three weeks. Half their patients arrived by foot and half arrived by car. Only three patients over three weeks arrived by bus. If that’s the problem then it might just be easier to see them in their own homes.”

Add in Alresford and Elmstead:

“I think that this is the biggest question - it is driving people through the town.”

Concern then came about the current legal status of the project and the lack of consultation:

“I’m being assured that it is a decision for the GP’s to make. They aren’t going to make a decision until there has been a consultation about it. There is this new idea that has suddenly been introduced. Everybody is very surprised.”

Not half as surprised as the residents.

But when did Bernard first know about the change of plan?

“I was told about the possibility of Cook’s Shipyard in late August. I said: you’re telling me now - presumably you’re about to make an announcement. I was told that contracts were being negotiated and there would be an announcement soon after Friday. He we are two months later and there’s not been an announcement. It leaked out.

It was bound to come out some time. I am mystified by this. I don’t think that there is any malice behind it. It’s just a very difficult problem. It’s now out in the open, there’s going to be a discussion about it. If it’s not satisfactory to Wivenhoe residents, we’ll have to find another solution.”

On the matter of planning:

“I’ve checked with the Borough Council. Preliminary enquiries have been made. No application has gone in. The Practice would not want to make a firm offer for the site until it knows what the planning situation is. The planning permission will come first. Highways will take the view if this is a good decision in Highways terms.”

As for the take it or leave it speculation, Bernard confirmed that the £1.5m funding from the PCT will continue to exist, even when the organisation itself ceases to be a body sometime during the spring of 2013:

“I have been assured that this commitment to build a new surgery in Wivenhoe will be transferred to the new national commissioning board.”

Secrecy continued to a concern. Bernard was quizzed again about how this situation has been allowed to happen:

“I don’t think that anything has happened - it is what has not happened. For some reason there is no agreement between the Wivenhoe Surgery and the landowner behind the Fire Station about the terms in which this land is going to be transferred to the Health Centre.

I think he [Mr Gooch] wants to attach conditions or terms that he wants, or assurances that he wants, or configurations of the site that he wants. It has been very difficult for the surgery to bring this to a conclusion.”

Cllr Steve Ford, the Colchester Borough Council representative for Wivenhoe Quay ward stated:

“Many people that have spoken to me have suggested that they haven’t been kept in the loop.”

Bernard replied:

“You’re talking to another one. I don’t think that I was kept in the loop. We got this deal through with the health authority and I breathed a sigh of relief. I thought that we were home and dry. I hadn’t realised that they had made this commitment without securing the land. Then it went very quiet.

I chased and chased and chased. Eventually at the end of August I got this telephone call telling me what was now in the offering. I was asked not to say anything about it. I think that the Town Council was put in the same awkward position.

I don’t like being told stuff that I feel people have got a right to know, and then be told please don’t talk about it. The Town Council was put in the same difficult position. If it went public you could be disrupting negotiations.

We have been kept in the dark, but I don’t think that we have been kept in the dark so that a decision could be made behind our backs.”

If you knew, why didn’t you go public with it, asked another resident.

“That’s a very fair question. You’re sometimes in a situation when you think what is the best thing to do. How am I best going to achieve a new surgery in Wivenhoe. I thought that the announcement was going to be made very quickly and so that I wouldn’t be holding that bit of information for very long. As it dragged on I got more and more uncomfortable about it. When it came out I was quite relieved.”

Solutions were suggested, something which would greatly help at the next public meeting on 30th October. One idea raised was the issue regarding two possible surgeries for Wivenhoe:

“That is an interesting question, but it is a logistical question that I am not capable of answering. Maybe the nurses could be on a different site, although there is a great advantage of having everybody on the same site.”

The Philip Road Centre and the old Police Houses were also put forward:

“They are all perfectly legitimate ideas and people will have views about them. My preferred location is the Fire Station. I don’t think that is has gone past the point of no return. I was a bit surprised that the health authority made the announcement [back in February] without having secured the site.”

And so much like the WTC monthly meeting last Monday evening, the Q & A with Bernard Jenkin left many questions unanswered. This is no criticism, just an observation that this is a man who also appears to be seeking answers and solutions.

If the town’s MP is confused, then RHL really have done a decent job in keeping this change of plan away from public scrutiny.

Bernard added that he is unlikely to be able to make the meeting on the 30th, but will certainly send representation. Email questions are encouraged via [email protected].

The buzzing in the background in the Wyvern Room fridge, and not the start of construction for a new health centre for Wivenhoe.

To the KGV Car Park! …on Saturday afternoon. Which is something of a blog first for the Boy with the Bicycle.

Watching Wivenhoe Wildlife (or is it Wivenhoe Watching Wildlife, or even Wildlife Watching Wivenhoe) was on the agenda, and in particular a fungi forage deep into Wivenhoe Wood.

Dark, moist and undisturbed conditions are required. Which sounded kinda SEXY, and so I signed up and joined the other thirty or so Fun Guys [boom] and Girls for a poke around the undergrowth.

Having watched birds and had the most amazing Nottage talk all about moths, the depth of knowledge that Chris, Greg, Glynn and Richard from WWW are able to share and pass on is incredibly impressive.

The group is a very loosely formed organisation that is held together more or less as long as the Wivenhoe Forum isn’t throwing another wobbler and deciding to take itself offline for another week.

There are no memberships or club rules etc, just an informal network of hyperlocal folk that rather enjoy watching wildlife.

Ahh - but are fungi technically wildlife?

The pre-forage catch up in the KGV car park heard how fungi are neither plant or animal, but a fifth dimension of kingdom life. Fungi are biochemically unique and they can KILL.

ACE.

A strict no eating instruction was the only ground rule for the afternoon. And then it was pretty much hunting around along the ground, looking out for the fungi and allowing Chris to share his comprehensive knowledge of the fifth dimension.

We heard how:

“Picking up fungi is like blackberry picking. 99% of the plant is underground and so you are not harming the fungi.”

No fungi died during this forage.

But where to look in Wivenhoe when trying to uncover the fungi world? The veg section at the Co-op is of course a good start, but the chase is always better then the kill.

Which brings us to the KGV.

Damp summers and around the base of trees are perfect. Fungi thrive upon death and decay. They are the driving engine for the natural cycle of nutrients.

You can tell that I was tapping away on my iPad whilst on the look out for a cheapo meal for the evening.

A fungi fairy ring of grass was one of our first finds towards the foot of the KGV. A dark green circle with a radius of around two metres was clearly visible. It was the crop circle equivalent of the fifth dimension world, but this was no hoax.

Neither was the Shaggy Parasol that we soon found once we entered the dark, moist terrain of Wivenhoe Wood. Some fungus on fungus action was also visible, as well as the sighting of a phallic specimen that soon becomes turgid and is infested with files before coming flaccid.

Just another Friday night out in Wivenhoe, Comrades.

It all gets slightly sinister deep into the woods when in the form of the White Death Cap and the Destroying Angel. One of these little buggers can kill four adults with extreme vomiting and liver decay.

Which left something of a sour taste in the mouth when we then found a Beef Steak fungus and a Chicken in the Wood just off the Trail - edible, young and fresh, a delicacy in Germany apparently.

High water was calling along the muddy banks of the Colne, and soon the Watching Wivenhoe Wildlife fungi hunt had to break for the bruising skies. A flock of geese flew across to Rowhedge in formation; a couple of cormorants did the quirky cormorant arms-a-stretch dance.

Wivenhoe Wildlife had been Watched.

I headed back up town and towards the Co-op for the missing ingredient for the evening meal.

Mushrooms were sourced, but nothing too magical.

Fun guy, blah blah blah.

A real buzz to the monthly Wivenhoe Farmer’s Market for October. Working closely with Transition Town Wivenhoe, there has been a push over the summer months to try and make the Congregational Hall gathering more… sustainable.

Which may sound like some twaddle of a pitch for funding out of QUANGO, but here in Wivenhoe it more or less means making the Farmer’s Market more of a social occasion. The range of produce on sale has never been in any doubt; the opportunities for a good old gossip haven’t always been conducive.

What you need from an ethical organisation such as TTW is bacon.

Blimey.

Who can resist the call of the Congregational Hall at 9am on Saturday morning with an outdoor grill giving off the bacon buttie calling card? Some folk may not have even gone to bed at this early hour following a tired and emotional Friday night.

If the bacon doesn’t get you then the bicycles will. TTW walks it like it talks it - or even pedals, with Dr Bike again being incredibly popular. It felt a little frivolous in asking the good Doctor on how the chuffers to fix a new mudguard to the latest bicycle in the fleet.

Next month, maybe…

And so once the bacon and bicycles have acted as the eye candy for the Farmer’s Market, what grabs your attention once you are inside the Congregational Hall?

Anyone for chocoholics?

I’m not selling this ethical yoghurt knitting lifestyle very well, am I?

Add in the juices from the lovely Caribbean drinks stall, pork from Great Bentley and soap from the muddy banks of the Colne [sort of] and you can soon see how the Wivenhoe Farmer’s Market is anything but meat and two veg.

I did buy some sausages though.

But the buzz was all about the TTW Cafe. This has now become… sustainable, with the volunteer led service offering a real space in which to socialise and gossip after your bacon and bicycle experience.

The cafe keeps it hyperlocal; the customers keep on coming back.

The Wivenhoe Farmer’s Market has now become something of a Saturday morning activity club. Buying the weekly fruit and veg and chocoholics isn’t the main reason for your return. The Farmer’s Market is more about the conversation.

Long may it sustain.

Have you walked from Colchester out towards the Hythe of late? Or how about continuing your journey, either along the Wivenhoe Trail, or on the other side of the muddy banks of the Colne and with Rowhedge on your radar?

Notice any art?

Thought not.

That could soon be about to change.

A Town to Port project has just started up with the aim of encouraging residents of Sunny Colch to go and explore the forgotten side of town either on foot or by bicycle. The immediate aim is for an art trail to help gain interest in the Hythe. The wider picture is one of regeneration and identity.

It’s a theme that is incredibly close to my heart, not to mention with plenty of crossover and collaboration with what the Hythe Forward group is striving to achieve over the coming weeks.

I had no hesitation in heading out towards the Hythe - via bicycle - to meet up with Juliet Quintero, one of the partners of the dp-q architectural practice, the organsiation that is planning to work with the community on the Town to Port project.

Juliet explained:

“This is a project that has received European funding from Transcoast. Colchester Borough Council is administering the management of the money, and we were approached to pitch for ideas. We are a group of architects that work within the public realm. We aren’t so much focussed on buildings, but we have more of an interest in the changing the environment through democratic architecture.”

It is incredibly early days for the Town to Port project, but already an informal drop in session is planned for 27th October. Any residents of the Hythe are encouraged to have a chat with Juliet and her colleagues at the Hythe Community Centre between 10am - 4pm. Proposals will be able to be pitched, and hopefully feedback will come from the community.

And so what can locals expect to gain from Town to Port?

“Our brief is to connect Colchester with the Hythe, but also to think about the other direction as well with Wivenhoe and Rowhedge. We want to help to make the Hythe a destination place where people go for a walk or a bike ride. This will hopefully help to strengthen the identity of the Hythe, attract new people into the area and ultimately be the first step towards regeneration.”

The medium for all of this will be an art trail. dp-q is looking to collaborate with local groups on setting a series of outdoor art installations that will lead a trail from Sunny Colch out east.

Juliet added:

“The theme that we want to promote is one of discovery. Once you come across one item of art, you are then prompted to seek out another. This is all about maximising under-used spaces in the community.”

Mapping is an important part of this project. An online collaborative map has already been published. Physical copies are available from the Hythe Community Centre and have been distributed through local schools. The idea is for residents to pinpoint on the map some of the areas that they would like to see appear on the Town to Port trail.

Juliet said:

“The consultation with the community is incredibly important. We want to help to connect people and places from around the Hythe. We are hoping to end the project with a Hythe Festival sometime in 2013. We are very open to ideas at the moment and would welcome any suggestions.”

There shouldn’t be any shortage of takers. You only have to look down towards the waterfront and the creative output that is the Buffalo Tank down by the muddy banks. Add in the interest in the Moors area from the likes of @WalkColchester, plus the growing artistic community actually living on the river out towards Haven Road, and you can soon see how a Hythe art trail should take off.

Connections have already been made with the Hythe Forward group, as well as plans to contact may others around the area that are optimistic about a community led regeneration of the Hythe.

Which brings us back to the Hythe Community Centre on the 27th October and the chance to participate and shape the Town to Port project. If you can walk it or cycle it to Ventura Drive a week on Saturday then the spirit of Town to Port is halfway there.

Take a look around you and make the connections - both personal and geographical. Joining up the journey is what helps to make a strong community.

To the Town Council Office! …on Monday evening, along with half of Wivenhoe it seems.

Hurrah!

Y’see the thing about all of this online engagement is that it is incredibly optimistic for offline democracy. Which sounds like some sort of Third Way twaddle that you would expect from Mr Tony.

Put simply: Get folk talking about what is happening around you and they will show an interest. Which led us to the Town Council Office on a miserable Monday evening, and standing (or was it sitting on the carpet?) room only?

I clocked seventeen members of the public in the chamber before Madam Mayor declared that there is no more room at the Inn.

[Edit: 16th October, 10:30am. Cllr Kraft has asked for the following to be inserted:

"You could say Madam Mayor stopped the meeting, got out of her chair and looked for more seating for the visitors and made sure they were seated before the meeting restarted (I missed the person on the floor, very small)"]

Plus Cllr Jon Manning and Smiling Cllr Steve Ford of Colchester Borough Council, @essexwill of The Gazette and PCSO Louise Neville - there to update on police matters, and *not* to keep law and order inside.

Phew.

Glad we cleared that one up.

And so shortly after 7:30pm and it was evening all from Madam Mayor.

Not *quite* all - Cllr’s Bob Needham and Ian Endean sent their apologies, along with Cllr Julie Young of Essex County Council and Cllr’s Cyril Liddy and Mark Cory of CBC.

We wouldn’t have fitted you in anyway, Comrades.

No Written Notice from Members of the Public were submitted. Which meant that we could all bugger off back to base and catch the closing credits of Eastenders.

Not quite.

Madam Mayor stated:

“Under the circumstances I propose to change the agenda.”

Ahh, and what circumstances might they be, Madam Mayor?

POTHOLES had been temporarily replaced by the small matter of a new Health Centre. Have you seen the size of the proposed site down at Cook’s?

Boom boom.

An email was received earlier in the afternoon from residents asking questions of WTC. Madam Mayor agreed for these to be read out and answered where possible.

But adding a little extra information to the Realise Health U-turn was the written report from Cllr Young:

“The decision to switch sites for the Health Centre came as a huge shock. Unfortunately despite Realise Health being asked to contact Borough and County Councillors by CBC planning officers I am still waiting. This has not been handled well and something as important as this needs much better community consultation. Since hearing of the shift in site I have been in communication with Mr Gooch [land owner] who has indicated his surprise about the turn of events and that his site is still available.”

Gosh.

Which more or less is what the Gazette reported last Friday.

“Finally there is the issue of the pharmacy, unless things have changed there has to be a minimum distance between premises so if a pharmacy goes to Cooks shipyard the existing pharmacy would have to close. This will impact on the other business units as shoppers generally use the other shops when visiting the pharmacy. It will also take a very valuable facility away from Wivenhoe Cross ward.”

Good point, well made (via letter…)

Madam Mayor (or the Lady Mayoress as the Nu Hyperlocal Lovely Meeja Tart put it…) then kindly read out the questions put forward by residents, and then attempted to answer:

Q. Why and when did the fire station scheme fall through, what was the nature of the difficulties and who pulled the plug?

A. “We don’t know.”

Q. When did RHL first identify the new location, and what legal stage is the Cook’s deal at? For example, have any plans and / or architect’s drawings for Cook’s Yard been submitted to any planning authority? If so on what date?

A. “We have no input. We have not seen any plans.”

Q. What other sites have been discounted by RHL, and why?

A. “WTC suggested other sites. Realise Health discounted these. We don’t know why.”

Q. What proposals do RHL have for traffic management? For example, has the impact of additional pedestrian and vehicular traffic to and from Cook’s been researched and will free parking be available for vehicular traffic? Can a bus route be created to the proposed site?

A. “We don’t know.”

Q. Has a survey ever been done into the demographic make-up of Wivenhoe / Alresford / Elmstead Market so that the location of most frequent users of the Health Centre (e.g. the elderly) can be identified?

A. “This is down to Realise Health.”

Q. There are concerns that if a decision is not made the Centre could be lost. If this view is held by the WTC, please could they explain who told them and what reasons were given.

A. “Realise Health told us this. No reason was given.”

Cllr Andrea Vaughan added:

“An application needs to be submitted by Realise Health in October.”

Which is a timeframe that suggests high blood pressure all around.

Resident Tim thanked Madam Mayor for answers, and then observed:

“We have heard a lot of don’t knows. Will we be able to get answers at the public meeting on 30th October?”

Madam Mayor replied:

“I hope so. Only Realise Health can answer. All of the points that you have raised are our fears too. Realise Health told us on 15th August that they would organise a public meeting. They didn’t. People don’t realise [ha, ha] how little influence we have. We could be against the Cook’s site and they can still push ahead. We don’t know why they have pulled out of the Fire Station site. We were amazed when we read The Gazette article.”

But for every problem there is hopefully a solution. Step forward Cllr Kevin Read of WTC, putting forward the motion:

“I would like to suggest a site: 81 - 83 High Street [old police houses] could be a successful site. WTC purchased these because we have the vision to give a civic centre to the town. They are a similar size to the proposed Cook’s site and they are on a public transport route. I propose that we look at the site.”

All those in favour?

A bit of a blink and you’ll miss it moment to be honest, but definitely NOT a unanimous decision. I clocked Cllr Neil Lodge not raising his hand. Against and abstentions were not called upon.

Minutes next month, Comrades.

Further questions from the sitting / standing / crouching residents of Wivenhoe followed:

Q. Were you led to believe that it was Cook’s or nothing?

Madam Mayor: “Yes we were.”

Q. Have you considered the Cedric’s site?

Cllr Brian Sinclair: “I ‘heard’ that the Co-op is interested in purchasing Cedric’s. I found out that they are. I went to see the Practice Manager at the surgery and asked about a partnership with the Co-op. I was told that it wouldn’t work.”

Q from the Smiling Cllr Steve Ford: “Can we ask Bernard Jenkin about this at the Civic Service on Sunday?”

Madam Mayor answered: “Councillors can ask him.”

And invited guests one would hope - especially so after a couple of glasses of bolly back at the Willy Loveless Hall.

Chin chin, Bernie.

Q. Have the residents of Alresford and Elmstead been told about the public meeting?

Madam Mayor: “We will look into this.”

A final thought (sort of) came from Cllr Lodge:

“I believe that we should be doing what we are doing. We are putting questions to Realise Health. I spoke with Mr Gooch and the surgery. A lot of things are being put around. It is now out in the open. I am pleased that it is now in the open. Maybe Mr Gooch will turn up at the meeting - he has been invited.”

And that was yer lot when it comes to the Wivenhoe Health Centre U-turn. A feeling of guarded optimism ended this session, with residents and councillors more or less united on a stand against Realise Health.

Fighting talk, and to be fair, a well-handled meeting by WTC, albeit a little bit of a tight squeeze. Nice meeting you btw, Madam…

But a Wivenhoe Town Council meeting is not a Wivenhoe Town Council meeting unless POTHOLES, dog pooh and car parking gets a mention.

Racing down the rest of the agenda in something of an After the Madam Mayoress’ [OUCH] Show…

Smiling Cllr Steve Ford of CBC offered his monthly update:

“The Wivenhoe Local List has now been formally adopted by CBC. Any planning applications on the buildings must now consider the List.”

Cllr Jon Manning of Wivenhoe Cross ward was next to update:

“I have been busy as Chair of the local Governors up at Broomgrove School. We now have a new Deputy Head. I have also been dealing with the usual dog mess [*not* related.] My main focus this month has been on the University and the cycle path. There is a deafening silence from Highways.”

And the prospect of possibly hearing that pin drop is about to increase, what with the U-turn on the Health Centre.

Time we had a toilet joke?

Cllr Cyril Liddy sent in a bog standard written report:

“I was honoured to attend the opening of the new toilet block.”

Where the big knobs hang out, etc.

But back to Planning and back to Cook’s.

Cllr Read added:

“We are getting towards the end of the development [residential, not health.] We went on a tour of the Fisherman’s Store and the toilets. The cost to decorate the toilets will fall upon WTC.”

PEBBLE DASH.

“The Dingy Park is over-subscribed. I’d like to invite Madam Mayor to draw sixteen names out of the hat.”

Cllr Asa Aldis commented on the Cook’s car park:

“This is complicated. Essex County Council takes any income from fines from Colchester Borough Council. We are looking at buying second hand parking meters.”

To match the second hand cars…

Boom boom.

But it was back to the Health Centre with Cllr Brian Sinclair adding:

“I asked our grounds men to measure the size of the proposed new site down at Cook’s and the size of the old police station plot. The police station land is slightly bigger.”

Is that a truncheon in your pocket Mr Realise Health?

It all comes at a cost of course. Cllr Lodge updated over Finance matters:

“CBC has taken away all of our grant. We need to either readjust or put up the precept. CBC has written to confirm that there is £2,000 per Borough councillor available to spend.”

Cllr Read suggested that CBC was “alluding” that the Jubilee ward purse is used to make up the shortfall. You break our legs and we say thank you when you offer us crutches [CBC, *not* WTC...]

Back to the Willy Loveless Hall and confirmation that the new Gents toilets will be open for the Civic Service this Sunday. Here’s hoping that Bernard Jenkin will be around to do the honours.

WHERE THE BIG KNOBS HANG OUT blah, blah, blah.

A slightly complex matter over the rent agreement at the Montessori. It seems that a fire survey was carried by a CBC Officer who has now left, leading to WTC having to wait to carry out a similar survey.

Like I said - slightly complex, and slightly late in the evening.

The good PCSO Louise Neville updated over Community and Police matters:

“A resident has asked me to look into the vandalism at Meredith Close. This road has yet to be adopted. I referred the matter to Bovis Homes. It is up to them if they want to file a report.

My Inspector and Chief Inspector have been briefed over recent disturbances at Gothic House. We are going to have the Safer Colchester team back in Wivenhoe. They will liase with residents and the neighbours and be a very visible presence. Two men were taken into custody last night.”

And finally Bernard Jenkin has written to WTC asking for an update.

Over what, I hear you ask?

H-h-health…?

Nope, the 20mph speed restrictions for Lower Wivenhoe.

You try speeding down there with an ambulance, Bernie Boy.

See you all next month.

Hopefully.

The following post was first published as part of the collaborative Help Me Investigate project. The aim is to crowd source hyperlocal experiences in order to understand any themes or similarities on a national level.

This month it emerged that Wivenhoe Town Council had held a secret meeting with Realise Health Ltd (RHL) to discuss a change in location for a proposed new surgery.

Wivenhoe is a North Essex town with a population of just over 10,000. The current surgery is based in a converted bungalow. It also serves the nearby village of Alresford, which has a population of over 2,000 residents. A new health centre has been needed for over fifteen years.

In February Wivenhoe Town Council announced that NHS North Essex had finally signed off a £1.5m funding bid from the surgery.

A site that was relatively central in the town was stated as the location, subject to the successful purchase from the private landowner.

No further news emerged during the monthly Town Council meetings.

Realise Health Ltd (RHL) is a Public Private Partnership (PPP) with the aim of securing contracts to build health facilities in North Essex. The company falls under the wider structure of Mill Asset Management, a Private Finance Initiative (PFI) that provides financial management for PFI and PPP projects.

The new location, Cook’s Shipyard, that was discussed behind closed doors has raised concerns from local residents. Cook’s Shipyard is inaccessible by public transport. Access is limited via a narrow stretch of old Victorian properties. Parking is at a premium.

Although Wivenhoe Town Council has offered no minutes on the meeting with RHL, it has emerged that lawyers have already been instructed on the new land acquisition.

A pre-planning meeting has taken place with the local authority and the District Valuer has opened his file.

All of this activity has been taking place without the residents of Wivenhoe being informed. No information has been offered as to why the previous site is now unsuitable; it is unclear as to who owns the new preferred site and what the conditions of sale are that make it preferable.

The concern is that this new location is being pushed through ahead of the introduction of the new Clinical Commissioning Group. Residents fear that the hushed up deal will be offered as a Hobson’s Choice: accept the second best option now before the CCG takes control, or lose the new health centre altogether.

I am interested in working with others using Help Me Investigate and the hyperlocal Wivenhoe Forum to find out why residents weren’t informed of this new deal, and why there is such an urgency to make it happen ahead of the phasing out of the Primary Care Trust.

If you want to help or have some expertise that might be useful, please get in touch via [email protected], this form, or the contact details below:

Jason Cobb
Twitter: Jason_Cobb
http://about.me/jasoncobb