Dear Sir,
The number of areas where the grass is being driven over, or parked on, is beyond a joke. It’s time we found a solution to this problem and I think I have it.
Great Aycliffe Town Council has over £1 million in reserves. County councillors get £20,000 a year in neighbourhood budget, there is an AAP budget of over £100,000 and an extra £300,000 will be sitting there in April.
With some of this money I’m sure we could get a programme of new parking bays installed.
A councillor in another part of County Durham commented to me recently that he’d asked for a quote some years ago for some parking bays.
One firm, approved by the council, quoted just over £13,000 another £16,000 and the county council quote was over £24,000.
The work was done for less than £24,000 after the councillor played merry hell, but councillors are forced to use the county council when it’s county council funding. Crazy Labour policies, wasting our money!
So here’s the solution: Our Town Council reviews the areas in our town where we have the worst parking problems.
Then we do a procurement exercise, getting the required number of quotes for a big block of the most essential work, including offering local firms the chance to bid.
In one year we can fix loads of problems and improve road safety too.
Whatever the most appropriate and, importantly, most cost-effective solution, that’s what we do.
In some areas this could be block paving, in some areas it could be tarmac, in others it could be verge hardening.
Whatever the solution, what is absolutely clear is that this is not going to happen with Labour county councillors because they just don’t have the imagination, pay inflated County Council prices, and, after decades, haven’t done it.
The second solution is that we repair and replace rotting fencing.
A minority of antisocial residents, who couldn’t care less, are ruining our local estates. If extra low level fencing is needed, to stop cars damaging grass, we put it in, again after getting proper quotes, so more can be done.
If anyone persists in damaging the grass and parking on it, we repair it and send the culprits a bill.
Lib Dem councillors at County Hall tried to get a proper policy to address parking on grass a few years ago but Labour councillors refused to act.
If you elect Tony Armstrong and I, we will do everything we can so that our local estates start to look as nice as they should do.
Take care and stay safe.
Nev Jones
Lib Dem candidate for Aycliffe East County Council Division and GATC Neville Ward
