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Local Government
Rochford District Council
Rochford District Council
Cllr Mrs G A Lucas-
14 Somerset Avenue
Rochford
Essex
SS4 1QA
01702 543 142
07990 526 422
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To see Jill’s previous interview in 2010 please CLICK HERE
To see Jill’s 2012 Planning interview please CLICK HERE
To see Jill’s previous interview in 2010 please CLICK HERE
To see Jill’s 2012 Planning interview please CLICK HERE
Interview with Councillor Gillian Lucas-Gill who is now portfolio holder for Services Development / Improvement and Performance Management on the District Council. - PART TWO
(23rd September 2011)
Uncertain Future of the Law
RL: Are you looking forward to the advent of the Localism bill, or are you dreading its coming?
Jill: Dreading it, but only because I think it will take years before it takes proper effect. As you know our core strategy has gone backwards and forwards to government because every time we finish it, they change their minds and decide something else has got to happen. It has really become such a headache for every councillor because it appears that through this and the new Planning Act, we have effectively lost most of the control about what will happen in our own district because the government are saying if a developer comes along and wants to build on a chunk of green belt, and he can prove that the ground and that development are sustainable we have to let him do it. That is part of a new planning bill that this government has come up with. It hasn’t gone through yet but there has been so much in the press that they are adamant that it will. The effects on the rural communities and small communities like Rochford is beyond belief. They appear to be saying in this bill that if a neighbouring authority needs to build a certain number of houses, and you have a piece of land that abuts on to their land, and they can come to you and you have to let them build on your land. If they can prove that is sustainable and prove they need it, it will happen.
RL: It seems to hang on the definition of sustainable?
Jill: Yes, and that will be up for interpretation. If we turn something down and it goes to appeal it is down to that inspector to decide. Planning is probably the biggest headache for any local authority.
Reading the Paperwork?
RL: Returning to your ‘Executive decision’ of June/July, I see there are lots of things where information is to be provided or tables or graphs provided. Do you have to check through each one of these?
Jill: Oh yes, there are massive amounts of reading to do. I’m not going to say that I read every piece of paper that comes through my door, but some things I skim read and some things I have to read well and then ask questions about. As a portfolio holder we meet on a regular basis with the Leader of the Council, the Chief Executive and various of the officers, and if you are not on top of your portfolio it will soon show and would not be acceptable. That’s all about accountability. And of course you have to bear in mind that over all this we have the Review Committee who can call in any of our things and we have to be able to prove to them that we have done the best job possible, and if we have spent money that they are not happy about then we have to prove to them why we have spent it etc., and they can overturn it.
RL: If you don’t mind me asking, may I clarify something? Looking at this long list, someone might ask the question, have you just become a mega-auditor? Do you make decisions or are you just making sure everyone else is producing their facts and figures and living up to them?
Jill: Of course I make decisions. You are partly right because they do all get these figures ready for me, as they are required to by the Law, and we discuss them and if there are anomalies I may ask questions – of them or perhaps of other portfolio holders. Yes, I do make decisions but not in isolation. I will make a decision on the basis of the information provided for me, say about a company providing a tender, which I then take to the Executive who discuss and hopefully ratify it and it is then confirmed (hopefully) by the full Council. So I make the initial decision and if I and my officer have done our jobs rightly, then the Executive and Council will simply approve or ratify that decision. That’s why everything in local government takes so long. It’s one thing I say on my blog (http://gillianlucas-gill.yourcllr.com ) that you have to learn, if you want to work in local government, to be really patient.
Shops in Rochford
RL: As a local councillor, what do you feel about the number of shops closing?
Jill: I think when you want to open a shop in a place like Rochford, the thing you need to remember about Rochford is that we have a very large elderly population. At the last count I think it was something like 65% of the population was over retirement age. A lot don’t drive and they don’t actually leave Rochford so therefore you want to give them something that they need within the town, but retailing nationally is hard anyway; you have to pitch it just right for the right sort of shop. Rochford goes through stages. I can remember a time when there were many empty shops, but then they filled up and now again we’re starting to see a number empty again. You also need to be aware of the demographic of the town. We do have a number of well off people but we also have quite large numbers of not-so-well off people, and therefore shops need to be aware of this and those with high prices of goods demanded by, say, not so well off families will simply not survive. The population of Rochford needs low-end price shops coming in.
RL: Well, Jill, I have a feeling we could keep on talking, but I’ve taken a lot of your time and we should perhaps not let the article get any longer, so thank you so much for sharing; it has been very helpful again.
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Return to first part of interview
(23rd September 2011)
Uncertain Future of the Law
RL: Are you looking forward to the advent of the Localism bill, or are you dreading its coming?
Jill: Dreading it, but only because I think it will take years before it takes proper effect. As you know our core strategy has gone backwards and forwards to government because every time we finish it, they change their minds and decide something else has got to happen. It has really become such a headache for every councillor because it appears that through this and the new Planning Act, we have effectively lost most of the control about what will happen in our own district because the government are saying if a developer comes along and wants to build on a chunk of green belt, and he can prove that the ground and that development are sustainable we have to let him do it. That is part of a new planning bill that this government has come up with. It hasn’t gone through yet but there has been so much in the press that they are adamant that it will. The effects on the rural communities and small communities like Rochford is beyond belief. They appear to be saying in this bill that if a neighbouring authority needs to build a certain number of houses, and you have a piece of land that abuts on to their land, and they can come to you and you have to let them build on your land. If they can prove that is sustainable and prove they need it, it will happen.
RL: It seems to hang on the definition of sustainable?
Jill: Yes, and that will be up for interpretation. If we turn something down and it goes to appeal it is down to that inspector to decide. Planning is probably the biggest headache for any local authority.
Reading the Paperwork?
RL: Returning to your ‘Executive decision’ of June/July, I see there are lots of things where information is to be provided or tables or graphs provided. Do you have to check through each one of these?
Jill: Oh yes, there are massive amounts of reading to do. I’m not going to say that I read every piece of paper that comes through my door, but some things I skim read and some things I have to read well and then ask questions about. As a portfolio holder we meet on a regular basis with the Leader of the Council, the Chief Executive and various of the officers, and if you are not on top of your portfolio it will soon show and would not be acceptable. That’s all about accountability. And of course you have to bear in mind that over all this we have the Review Committee who can call in any of our things and we have to be able to prove to them that we have done the best job possible, and if we have spent money that they are not happy about then we have to prove to them why we have spent it etc., and they can overturn it.
RL: If you don’t mind me asking, may I clarify something? Looking at this long list, someone might ask the question, have you just become a mega-
Shops in Rochford
RL: As a local councillor, what do you feel about the number of shops closing?
Jill: I think when you want to open a shop in a place like Rochford, the thing you need to remember about Rochford is that we have a very large elderly population. At the last count I think it was something like 65% of the population was over retirement age. A lot don’t drive and they don’t actually leave Rochford so therefore you want to give them something that they need within the town, but retailing nationally is hard anyway; you have to pitch it just right for the right sort of shop. Rochford goes through stages. I can remember a time when there were many empty shops, but then they filled up and now again we’re starting to see a number empty again. You also need to be aware of the demographic of the town. We do have a number of well off people but we also have quite large numbers of not-
RL: Well, Jill, I have a feeling we could keep on talking, but I’ve taken a lot of your time and we should perhaps not let the article get any longer, so thank you so much for sharing; it has been very helpful again.
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Return to first part of interview