Town Council Elections

[SloopJohnB]

I would support everything that's been said above. I have worked with three (I think, or four) administrations since 2001 and all of the members do care; even it must be said some who have been much maligned on these boards. I have also done some very serious head banging against brick walls with some of the staff over decisions that have been handed down to them; and at least once both members and officers have been left completely speechless ( literally until a few expletives deleted arose) by a ruling from above.

Over the years the Town Council has been isolated. When we were organising Fun Days from 2000 the committee was truly representative of the town from Council to all the other organisations such as Chamber of Commerce, Rotary, Civic Society etc. Then EHDC decided that Town Centre Management Boards and Town Centre Managers were not a good idea so their grants were withdrawn in all of the five towns. This left Hertford Town Council to run events as well as their other duties.

This is what has been alluded to above but the point I wished to make was that politically the HTC is also isolated. There is a separate thread about Il Vino and the growth in restaurants. Say HTC said enough is enough; no more licensed premises, hairdressers, betting shops or massage parlours and objected to planning permissions. Any decision can be overruled by District. I remember the fuss over the skateboard park when plans were thrown out by a committee based in Stortford. What do they know or want?

So, what I would like to see is a Town Council with real power to influence what happens in their own town. Who knows best; the people who live here or the administration that doesn't?