The ‘ambitious’ Tory administration of North East Lincolnshire Council has reviewed and changed many of Labour’s ill-conceived policy judgements, and Labour’s ‘anything goes’ culture during their five years in power saw them run up a £100-million debt.
Councillor John Fenty, deputy leader and portfolio holder for regeneration, made the comment in response to a question posed by Labour leader Councillor Matthew Patrick – described as an own-goal – at tonight’s full meeting of the council.
He asked Councillor Fenty if his “original ambition to find a suitable site for the travelling community in the borough by the end of 2019 was an error of judgement.”
The issue of placing a Designated Stopover Site for travellers in the area – a government requirement – is a sensitive topic.
In response, Councillor Fenty said: “Thank you for the own goal of a question, Councillor Patrick. He uses the word ‘ambition’ and is right to do so as this administration is evidently ambitious. The outcomes of the last two years show real ambition.
“In contrast, Councillor Patrick and his administration ran up a £100-million debt with very little to show for it. And let us not to forget that Councillor Patrick sold the Fitties Chalet Park for a paltry sum, losing out on a rolling profit of £1-million per year.
“After five years of Labour residing over the delivery of a suitable site for the travelling community, Councillor Patrick failed on a spectacular level to deliver one – a policy for which Councillor Patrick was directly responsible for.
“Councillor Patrick then talks about judgment. This administration has reviewed and changed so many of his past ill-conceived policy judgments. It appears the policy Councillor Patrick peddled for a Designated Stopover Site for the traveling community is also flawed. You might ask why. It is because during Labour’s ‘anything goes’ culture, we saw illegal encampments staying for substantive periods, resulting in much publicised clear-ups costing this council and the private sector many thousands of pounds.
“That has not happened since this Conservative administration has controlled the council. That is because we have introduced strict enforcement backed by court orders, therefore illegal encampments have been moved on within a period of five working days maximum.
“This year there have been five illegal encampments in total, and over the last two years the average number of caravans has been between five and six.
“Contrast that with Councillor Patrick’s policy to provide for 30 caravans. It makes his policy look very wrong indeed. I am not ducking a difficult decision, but I am pausing the decision because we may not need to provide such a large site.
“There will follow a new needs assessment, which will take approximately three months. It will also feed into the Local Plan review, to form a new policy for a Designated Stopover Site which will go before scrutiny.
“So no, there has been no error of judgment on my part, and our ambition is delivering for the community.”
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