Government Bill
could be good for us

This month the government will announce its new Localism Bill. This bill could be a milestone on the way to a major reform of local democracy in the UK.
By The Newsroom
Published 19th Nov 2010, 13:22 BST

The bill intends to enable the transfer of power from Whitehall, County Hall and even District Council down to the level of Town Hall and Parish Hall. Central government will continue to provide the legal framework to protect the weak and ensure that “Natural Justice” prevails over our baser instincts.

The opportunity this bill represents for Rye is very exciting and I do not think it unreasonable to imagine a Town like Rye becoming a mini District Council again. The Town Councillors would oversee the work of a small Executive office of perhaps 3 or 4 officers. This executive would initiate and manage projects and draw in funding from other sources including the much heralded “delegated budgets”. The executive for example could commission a traffic scheme for local roads like Deadman’s Lane or a solution the Landgate Arch problem.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

It could help us decide how many supermarkets or affordable homes Rye really needs and where they should be built. It could take care of the maintenance and repair of our historic town - from the crumbling battlements on the Landgate to the poorly laid cobbles. It could ensure we had proper flood protection and adequate infrastructure for any new developments, all of this work carried out under the supervision and ultimate control of our Town Council.

The Town Council will have to change - it is not used to working together in order to supervise an executive office and in the past politics has created factions. The current situation in Rye is not helped by the continuing existence of the Rye Partnership. This old-fashioned “Quango” could become the executive office accountable to the Town Council but currently acts more as an executive arm of the County Council.

If this bill lives up to its promise there could be a very much more significant role for our Town Council in the future – There is an opportunity for anyone wanting to contribute to this future by standing as a candidate in the Council Election next March.

Christopher Strangeways

Old Turks, Iden.

Related topics:RyeGovernmentDistrict CouncilTown HallCounty Hall