September 9: Childrens centres under review
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THERE is always something unsettling about the word
'review'. And I suspect there may be something unsettling about
Kent County Council’s review of its children’s centres programme,
which you can read about here.
The review has raised opposition suspicions
that the county council might be looking to rein back the plans for
more than 100 centres dotted across the county to save a bit of
money.
In a letter explaining the review, the politician in charge -
Cllr Sarah Hohler - insists it is not about diminishing the
programme in any way.
Well, up to a point. The letter – which even puts the word
review in inverted commas – talks opaguely about ensuring that
resources are “appropriately levelled” and that the centres are
“sustainable” – heaven forfend that we have centres that
aren’t.
The review is already underway it seems and
looks like it will be completed quite rapidly – rather leading to
greater suspicions that KCC probably has a fair idea of what it
wants to do already.
There’s no doubt, to be fair, whether there
are parts of Kent that are as in need of these centres as others
and maybe that will be a feature of the review.
One aspect of this which is rather concerning
is that the review clearly represents a departure from previously
agreed policies and under the terms of the Local Government Act,
there really ought to be some report or papers about it for public
consumption. I haven’t seen any – other, of course, than the letter
that has been sent out by Cllr Hohler.
Read the letter
here>>>
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The tribulations of Ashford’s controversial shared space
road scheme have been well-documented and the various artistic
features of the scheme have aroused much comment – as have the
costs of installing various cutting-edge bits and pieces such as
the £1,500 rubbish bins and the £3,500 benches.
How Ashford's shared
space is stained>>>
But it seems no-one really thought about how,
after it was built, the designer-led scheme that cost close to
£17million would be kept clean. It beggars belief that no-one
thought to ask the question: “Well, that’s alright but will it all
scrub up well when hundreds of people are walking on it every
day?”
Now the roads and pavements (and bins) as well
as the much publicised flume are badly stained and marked barely a
year after it officially opened. Traders are rightly indignant. You
might have had better luck keeping it clean if you’d covered the
road in shag pile carpet.
We have heard so much of the so-called
“transformational” nature of this project for the town.
But why didn’t those in charge ask the most
basic of questions before signing off the contracts?
Ashford doesn’t deserve it and it is time the
politicians in charge cleared up the mess – literally, perhaps.
Friday, October 09 2009
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