Winter 2006 issue

Why? - to give residents a cutting edge on local issues...

When talking to newcomers to Thames Ditton and Weston Green I am often asked "What are Residents' Association councillors and how do they differ from those in the political parties?" People moving here from the outside, and particularly from London with its strongly party political councils, find it strange that Residents' Associations should put up candidates for the local council and, moreover, get them regularly elected! When I tell them that of the 60 Elmbridge councillors 26 are from the Residents' Group, with 26 Conservatives and 8 Liberal Democrats they realise that they are not just a fringe group. In fact, for 14 years from 1992 until May 2006 the Residents' councillors, supported for most of this period by the Liberal Democrats, ran the Council very successfully. It is sad that after the elections this year the Liberal Democrats chose to allow the Conservatives, although a minority in the Council, to take over the Administration, rather than work with the Residents' Group.

The Residents-led Council was awarded "Excellent" status, putting it in the top 10% of all councils in England. In 14 years Elmbridge's share of the Council Tax rose by less than inflation, just 21%, compared with Conservative Surrey County Council's 195% increase. Unlike most neighbouring councils Elmbridge did not make cuts but increased services, such as improved waste recycling, built the splendid new Xcel Leisure Centre - on time and within budget -, developed the new Heart Centre at Walton and the Brooklands country park and improved children's play areas.

What makes us different? Our approach is based on our local community and its needs and not on the wishes of a party political organisation looking over its shoulder to Westminster. Local councillors should represent local interests and not have to vote according to a party "whip". Newcomers will notice that the Vera Fletcher Hall is a thriving community centre and theatre with a flourishing Ember Centre for Retired People but I remember that when Elmbridge Council came to vote a grant towards rebuilding the old Village Hall the local Conservative councillor was told to vote against the grant! The Residents' Association actively supported the Hall Appeal, including making interest free loans. It was RA councillors who ensured the survival of the Dittons Skiff and Punting Club when Conservative councillors proposed to sell the entire Albany Works site to developers, and of Ajax Sea Scouts when RA councillors negotiated the re-siting and rebuilding of its headquarters when their old site was sold for development. RA councillors led the successful campaign to save the Youth and Community Centre and Car Park at Giggs Hill Green from Surrey County Council, who planned to sell the site to developers. There was no help from the local Conservative or Liberal Democrat Associations.

The lesson from this is that, without councillors on the Council committees where the decisions are made, a Residents' Association is toothless. This is why from its formation in 1934 our Residents' Association has put up candidates for the Council.

Another area in which we are distinctive is in our consistent support for the Green Belt and our open spaces. It is unfortunate that for all the protestations of support from the political parties, when it comes to the crunch they have all too often found excuses for voting for developments which would irretrievably change the character of our borough. Defending our environment means constant vigilance. The Residents' Association, through its planning committee, vets every planning application, makes representations to the Council's Planning Department and gives evidence at appeals. Planning is one of the most vital aspects of council work and it was RA councillors who led the successful battle against the proposed Tesco development at Giggs Hill Green, the housing development on the Tennis Club site and backland development between Station Road and Ashley Road.

We do not work in a vacuum. As well as our Thames Ditton Today magazine and our new website, we hold regular open meetings where everyone can air their views on current planning proposals and other matters of concern to residents from major traffic proposals and the local children's playground to dog dirt and litter on the riverbank. Where there are particularly important problems we hold special meetings, such as the ones on parking, flooding and sewerage problems and the threat to our local health services, particularly at the Thames Ditton Hospital at Emberbrook. The political parties hold no open meetings and so their councillors are not so well informed on local needs.

The Residents Association has a very effective committee structure. Working on these committees are seasoned volunteers who care about the community but who would not want to work within a party political framework. This means that the varied experience of RA committee members such as surveyors, architects, lawyers, business people, provide a backing for RA councillors not found in the political parties so that RA councillors are the best briefed in the Council.

I often meet the argument that "consultation is fine but don't you need party politics to get things actually done?" My own experience is that the opposite is true. Party politics are largely irrelevant for the issues we face at the local level. Unfortunately, because the national political parties want to control local government, voting by party whip overrides voting on the merits of each individual case. I am reminded of W.S Gilbert's lines:

"I always voted at my party's callAnd never thought of thinking for myself at all"

At a time when trust in the national political parties has reached a new low, we firmly believe that the way forward is through community policies not national politics, and through local solutions to local problems. RA councillors are not a "front" for any other group but have always stood on their own merits and policies, believing that at the local level councillors should be accountable first and foremost to their electorate and not to a party political grouping. RA councillors exist to give expression to this belief.

Councillor Ruth Lyon