Rosemellin
By its very nature, politics can be about the art of coping with frustration. But there is an upside and being a part of things that happen in local communities is really energising and can make being a councillor feel very rewarding.
The residents of Rosemellin in Camborne have certainly made me feel this way. Rosemellin is an area of Camborne North that seems to have gone under the radar when maintenance work was being timetabled. Footpaths are patchworked and pitted, grassed areas are churned up by 4x4s, cars speed along Boilerworks Road and park illegally and dangerously by the school. There were so many issues that I thought it would be a good idea to call a meeting of residents and get their views on what the priorities were.
Thanks to the generosity of Rosemellin School and the forbearance of the cleaning staff, I fixed a time and place, sent out leaflets and turned up, hoping a few hardy souls might come along too. From the off, there has been a fantastic response. And what is brilliant also, is being able to act on some of these issues.
There has been some discussion about the ways in which councillors’ community grants are used – though I would warn anyone not to use the term ‘Big Society’ to my face on this one. Another pot of money that councillors can allocate is £24,000 for highways. It is quite a substantial amount and there has even been some talk at Cornwall Council of clawing it back from councillors that haven’t used it yet. It was suggested to me that the reason was that next year might be too close to an election year and some may be hoping to take advantage, so anyone (not in my ward) who has a burning desire for a crossing or speed humps, should contact their local councillor quickly and find out if he or she has any of this budget left.
Mine is now earmarked for Rosemellin. There are restrictions on how it can be used (not for maintenance) and there is still quite a bit of work to do on consultation and plans but with such a great team of motivated people, I’m confident that it will be spent well on improving an area that needs it. No complaints or frustration, I hope!
Wish you were my councillor, mine still hasn’t returned my many many calls and emails from the last year plus… Well done you for being so provactive, you are giving Labour a good name in Camborne.