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Welcome to the Chase Conservatives blog. A chance to give your views on the issues of the day and how they are affecting you, whether you live in Cannock, Rugeley, Hednesford, Norton, or any of the other communities that make up our District.
Wednesday, 07 November, 2007
| Poplars Not Out Of The Woods (sorry!) |
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Word is reaching us that the Poplars Landfill has had a partial reprieve, with the new incinerator being planned almost certain to be located at the Four Ashes site.
Things had looked bleak earlier in the year, and locals smelled a rat when the Waste Authority held the Cannock consultation… in Rugeley. Not surprisingly, attendance was sparse (well actually non-existent).
However, campaigning by Pat Corfield and Ann Bernard, supported by many local residents, seems to have convinced the Authority to seek a less controversial choice.
So that’s OK, then. Er, not quite. The Waste Authority’s latest brainwave is rumoured to be that Poplars should to receive all of the ash that results from the incineration.
All of that ash will need to be transported from Four Ashes to Cannock. And what happens to the remains when it gets there? What steps will be taken to ensure that the ash cannot blow over the area? Even more importantly, how will the Authority ensure that any toxins cannot leach into the water table and pollute the surrounding neighbourhood?
We will listen with interest to the actual announcement when it comes. But unless the health and the safety of the people in Bridgtown, Rumer Hill, Hawks Green and Norton Canes can be guaranteed, the fight will go on!
Sunday, 23 September, 2007
| We Need Fewer Police Community Support Officers On The Street |
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Last week began with a Panorama programme that told the story of a whistleblower from Staffordshire police. He explained how the police were being bogged down under reams of paperwork. As a result of this he had, on occasions, been the only officer available to patrol the streets for the whole of Burton-on-Trent.
The week ended with the inquest into a young boy who had drowned saving his sister from a lake. The inquest was told that two Police Community Support Officers (the so-called Blunkett’s Bobbies) were present, but were prevented from acting due to Health and Safety restrictions. There was some dispute over their presence at the scene, but not over their inability to act.
Anyone who criticises health and safety is shot down with the mantra that they want to see a more dangerous world. I am not going there – at least not today.
My point is this. On the one hand we have police officers, who are used to putting their lives on the line to help others, pushing paper around in offices. On the other hand we have CPSOs, who are not allowed to arrest anyone, do no carry handcuffs, and now (it transpires) cannot help save a life because it might be dangerous, patrolling the streets.
Has anyone thought that they might swap roles?
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