This website is here to keep you up to date with news and comments about what is happening in Stonefield and Christchurch ward and in our beautiful town of Stone.  And  I may also indulge in a little gossip!

Please call me if you have any issues or problems. 

 Best wishes,  Richard Stevens

I am often accused of being anti Stafford Borough. I am not - honestly. But there are times when I get very angry about the way the Borough sometimes treats the town.

Let me explain the latest example. Over Christmas I went with friends for a drink at the Brushmakers Arms in Oulton. On the bar was a small booklet I hadn’t seen before. Entitled “Eat out, Stay in… STONE” and carrying the Borough Council’s Regeneration Services logo, I grabbed hold of it in the hope that, at long last, Stone’s rightful claim of being the Food and Drink captital of Staffordshire was being celebrated by the Borough.

On opening up the pages my blood began to boil.  30 pages, in glossy full colour,  advertising restaurants and pubs in Derbyshire, Staffordshire Moorlands, East Staffordshire, South Staffordshire - but not one in Stone! The only restarant in the vicinity was The Boar pub in Moddershall.

What on earth is the Borough Council doing promoting restaurants outside the Borough boundary? What is the point of the Borough promoting a booklet encouraging people to eat in Stone when there isn’t a single Stone restaurant listed in it? And how much has this all cost?

And people wonder why I get angry!

I always log on to the Into Stone website to keep up to date with the gossip and to see what’s happening around town. So, imagine my surprise when I came across a story on the home page announcing that Stafford Borough Council are extending the national bus pass scheme to all buses on all routes at all times (not just 9.30 am to 11.30 pm) with effect from April 2008. Surprise? Because, as a Borough Councillor, I seem to have missed this item amongst the mountains of paperwork I receive each week from Stafford.

Perhaps this proposal has been on an agenda or in some report or minute somewhere - but I certainly haven’t seen it. Or perhaps this is yet another example of the press being given details before councillors? I don’t know but intend to find out.

Whatever, I am delighted to hear the good news. As a bus pass holder myself, it always seemed that the proposed national scheme was particularly mean. At least in Stafford Borough bus pass holders will be able to have unlimited travel. For full details of the Borough Council’s announcement click here.

It’s here again! As always I thought I had plenty of time but ended up in a flat panic yesterday and today delivering cards, buying Jan’s present and doing a host of litle jobs which, added together, took ages! I’ll be much better organised next year! But I said that last year - and the years before that!

Anyway here we are. It’s Christmas Eve and, for the first time in decades, I shall be sleeping in our own bed tonight! Yes, we’re at home for Christmas and I am really looking forward to it. So I’m sure we’re going to have a super Christmas and I sincerely hope everyone else will as well.

Happy Christmas to you all!

I’ve just been told by the designers of this website that they have ’switched on’ the comments feature. This will enable readers to comment on any of the stories posted by me to the site. So if you wish to reply to or comment upon any of the issues I talk about, please respond by clicking on the ‘comments?’ button under the heading. Obviously, I retain the right to edit the comments to ensure that nothing libellous or illegal is published but, subject to those restrictions, I am happy to hear your views.

Whilst talking about the site I have added a link to my old blog whih I started after I was elected in May 2007. Unfortunately, there is a gap of a few months between the old blog and the start of this site but I thought the postings on the blog might still be of interest to some of you!

And finally I’ve just taken a look at the ‘hit’ counter and over 1000 hits have been recorded already this month!

The following applications relate to properties within Stonefield and Christchurch ward. For further details contact the Planning Officer at Stafford Borough Council, 3rd Floor, Civic Centre, Riverside, Stafford ST16 3AQ or telephone 01785 619337 quoting the application number.

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Application Number: 07/09451/FUL                Type of Application: Full

Date registered: 17 December 2007                 Applicant: Ms Karen Murphy

Location:  2A Edward Street, Stone

Proposal: Change of use from Oddfellows lodge/meeting room to one residential unit.

Case Officer: Ms S Empsall 

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Application Number: 07/09459/FUL            Type of Application: Full  

Date registered: 19 December 2007                 Applicant: Follwells Ltd.

Location: 13 Station Road, Stone

Proposal: Change of usage from A1 to A2 for use as chartered surveyors and residential estate agents

Case Officer: Ms T Brown

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Application Number: 07/09476/COU            Type of Application: Change of Use 

Date registered: 17 December 2007                 Applicant: Datel Electronics Ltd.

Location: 42 Radford Street, Stone

Proposal: Change of usage from A3 restaurant to A2 Professional and Financial Services use -ground floor basement

Case Officer: Ms S Brown

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Application Number: 07/09498/LBC            Type of Application: Listed Buildings Consent  - Alts & Extn

Date registered: 20 December 2007                 Applicant: Groundworks, Stoke-on-Trent.

Location: Workhouse Bridge, Workhouse Lane/Trent Close, Stone

Proposal: Replace missing coping bricks, installation of handrail and brick steps,  pointing of bridge brickwork, resurfacing of bridge.

Case Officer: Ms S Brown

In the same envelope as the Christmas refuse collection details was a leaflet announcing that the new Blue Bin scheme will commence on the 4th February 2008. The new blue bins will be used to collect all dry recyclables in one bin. There will be a caddy for paper and all other items will be placed in the bin. This includes plastic food containers and plastic bottles, glass bottles and jars and steel and aluminium tins.

The introduction of the blue bins will also herald in the ‘alternate week collection’ arrangements for the green household waste bins. For ‘alternate week collection’ read fortnightly! I am personally in favour of the new scheme. There is no doubt that in areas where such schemes exist, recycling rates are considerably higher. And I have yet to see any hard evidence of problems with vermin or smells.

Obviously I shall be monitoring the introduction of the new scheme. I’m sure lots of people are going to be baffled by the three different coloured bins -  blue for recyclables, brown for garden waste and cardboard and green for household waste - and different collection dates. The Borough Council still has a lot of work to do to educate and inform residents.

All residents in the Borough will have received details through the post this week about the revised arrangements for the collection of refuse over the Christmas period.

Just in case you have mislaid the letter amongst the cards and wrapping paper, I am copying the arrangements here for you. Further details are on the Borough Council’s website.

A two hour meeting yesterday confirmed just how far advanced are the plans for next year’s cycle race.  Promoted by Stone Town Council, the race - officially a ‘Criterion’ sanctioned by the British Cycling Federation - will take place around  a closed road circuit around the town next June.

With a start and finish in the High Street, the race will take place during the evening and will last for about an hour and a half. It is hoped that thousands of people will line the route and that all local pubs and restaurants will put on a special effort to create a continental feel to the town.

We shall be seeing the leading cyclists in Europe and, although I know nothing about cycling, I am getting very excited about this event.

So put the date in your diary now! June 18th 2008

I’ve just watched Sky News reporting that Nick Clegg has been elected leader of the Liberal Democrat party. As a party member I cast my vote a couple of weeks ago for Chris Huhne and was pleased to hear that he was catching up on Nick, the bookies’ favourite. But I never expected the result to be so close! 20998 votes for Nick and 20477 for Chris. And suggestions that there was a recount!

I’m in no doubt that Nick Clegg will make a superb leader. I would have preferred Chris but I am sure that he will play a very major role in Nick’s team. Indeed the party will have benefited significantly from the exposure the two of them have gained over the last few months and Nick does, I am sure, realise that Chris is a tremendous asset to the party.

Now that the leadership of the party has been settled once and for all, let’s hope that we can now get on and deal with the many issues that are crying out for Liberal solutions.

Congratulations to Nick!

Stone’s Youth Cafe came a step nearer reality last week when the Charity Commissioners granted charitable status to the Youth Cafe Committee . This is fantastic news for the project. The group have some very exciting plans for fundraising and being a registered charity will certainly open some doors so far as grant applications are concerned.

And the funds received a boost on Saturday morning when a total sum of £515 was received - a £350 donation from the Stone Lions and the rest from the proceeds of a car wash morning held at the Fire Station. Well done to all the car washers and to Jill Hood who stood in the High Street selling vouchers!

And a little birdie tells me that there may be some progress soon with regard to locating suitable premises!

As if Thursday wasn’t cold enough, yesterday was even colder. I spent the whole day from 7.30 a.m. to five o’clock in town and by the time I got back home I was frozen through. I went down to town at the Town Clerk’s request “to keep an eye on things” whilst Stone Traders Action Group (STAG) organised their traditional Christmas Saturday.

The Town Council had agreed to provide a tent and stage for the various choirs and groups and also provided marquees for the charity stalls. I was there just to make sure that all went smoothly from that point of view and also to ensure that no difficulties arose over the street closure orders in the High Street and Mill Street.

Just as well I was there! Brewers drays, charity shop deliverers, tent in the wrong place, marquees too close together, charity stallholders not knowing where to pitch (not my problem - we were not organising the event!), sorting out an electrical problem and acting as ‘policeman’ in Mill Street were just a few of the issues that needed sorting out. And sadly, the weather was so cold that the town was not as full as the organisers had hoped. This was a great shame. STAG have spent months organising the event. So much hard work and effort.

But those hardy souls who braved the cold obviously enjoyed the Combined Church choir, St. Michael’s First School choir, the Revelation choir, the Town Band and two Irish bands - the Blarney Stone and Murphy’s Marbles. A good day despite the temperature. Well done, everyone!

The following applications relate to properties within Stonefield and Christchurch ward. For further details contact the Planning Officer at Stafford Borough Council, 3rd Floor, Civic Centre, Riverside, Stafford ST16 3AQ or telephone 01785 619337 quoting the application number.

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No applications were submitted this week

Gosh - was I cold! John Moss had asked Jill Hood and me to meet him on the canal towpath yesterday morning so that we could meet a couple of people from Groundwork, the firm carrying out the canal improvement scheme, and Phil Hardaker who has been commissioned by Groundwork to produce a piece of ‘community artwork’. So, for the best part of an hour and a half, we walked the towpath and shivered!

Phil has  produced various examples of similar work and was looking to us to provide some ideas about the town’s history and heritage. He plans to involve local groups, businesses and schools in producing ceramic tiles depicting various aspects of Stone’s past and future which he will then use to produce a suitable piece of public art. I think we were able to give him a few of our thoughts and ideas. It sounds an interesting project.

Whilst we were on the canal-side, Jill and I went to see how Groundwork were getting on in Westbridge Park. They only started work this week but already they have excavated for the new path down to the towpath from the path beside the tennis courts. This will provide pedestrian and disabled access from Westbridge Park to the towpath.

Four years ago I was asked by Stephen Gay to propose that the Town Council investigate the possibility of building an identical path and put down a member’s item for debate. The then controlling Tory party, led by Cllr. Mike Carey, voted my suggestion down. Today I pondered how much more the path was costing due to a four year delay!

The whole canal project will cost £340,000 - two thirds funded by Advantage West Midlands through the Stone Market Town Initiative and the rest by Stafford Borough Council, British Waterways and the European Social Fund- and will involve the creation of additional moorings by Westbridge Park, a turning point south of Star Lock, new linking footpaths in Westbridge Park and to the anglers car park, towpath resurfacing and lighting under Star Lock Bridge. Hopefully all work will be completed by the beginning of the season in March 2008.

I have to say that I actually enjoyed last night’s Town Council meeting! And I haven’t said that for a long time. The fact that we all knew that there was wine and a buffet awaiting us at the end of the proceedings may have been a factor in everyone adopting a more friendly and business like approach to the serious business!

Amongst the important issues that were discussed were the following:

• A local resident raised the question of the new car park off Christchurch Way. We agreed to write to Stafford Borough Council to complain at the destruction of the hedge alongside the footpath; to demand it’s reinstatement and to complain about the soil and mud being washed down the footpath at the bottom end of the car park.
• The Town Clerk reported that the Council had been granted an unqualified audit for the year ending 31 March 2007
• Cllr. Mark Green reported that he had undertaken a survey and recorded over 160 vehicles in an hour and a half ‘rat running’ along Stafford Road. It was resolved that the Highways Department be informed that the Town Council fully supports their suggestion of possibly blocking off the end of Stafford Road.
• It was agreed that a specialist consultant be instructed to provide a report on suitable wild flower planting on Crown Meadow.
• We agreed to arrange a meeting with St. Michaels’s Church, Stafford Borough and the County Council with a view to repairing or replacing the floodlighting in the churchyard. Sadly there have been several acts of vandalism recently and thieves were interrupted whilst attempting to steal lead from the roof. It was agreed that floodlighting would act as a deterrent.

Business was concluded and we all then enjoyed a particularly good buffet and glasses of wine provided by the Mayor. So the year ended on a much more conciliatory tone.

Last night’s Borough Council meeting was a pantomime - and that’s being kind. What a disgraceful spectacle it was. It even made Prime Minister’s Question-time on the television look tame. Grown men and women shouting across the chamber at each other - yaa-boo politics at it’s worse. Have I really been campaigning for years so that I could join this menagerie?

And to make matters worse, we witnessed the best example possible of party politics taking precedence over local issues. One item on the agenda involved approval of the proposed  increases in car parking charges. Philip Leason and I asked that the charges for Stone’s car parks be reconsidered. We argued that increases of 100% and 200% were totally unacceptable and that the increases would have a detrimental effect upon the town’s economy. When the matter was put to the vote, we were supported by the Labour group but - surprise, surprise - the controlling Tory group voted against us. This was hardly surprising but what was a surprise was to see two Stone Tory members, Cllrs. Joyce Farnham and Philip Jones, voting the party line in favour of the increases. We now know where their loyalties lie!

During the debate, Cllr. Doug Davies who is the Tory cabinet member responsible for the car parks, said he would not reconsider the charges because ” it is the policy of this council to maximise income from our car parks.” So there it is in black and white! Forget providing a service or helping to regenerate our town centre. Forget encouraging tourism. It’s just about screwing the motorist - plain and simple.

One of the most satisfying jobs I do is to chair the meetings of the Town Fireworks and Bonfire Committee. I was asked to take over from John Ferrie last year and, to be honest, felt more than honoured. John had chaired the committee for about eighteen years and had overseen an amazing team of volunteers who put on this annual spectacular.

The entire event is organised by local groups and charities and any profits are distributed between these groups. Obviously the input varies from group to group so a formula has been devised to bring fairness to the division.

This year’s bonfire and fireworks attracted the largest ever audience and the gate takings were therefore  a record. So at last night’s meeting of the committee, after setting aside a reserve fund to cover the costs of next year’s event (we can’t afford bad weather insurance each year!) we agreed to distribute the sum of £7000 between the various groups. So two Guide groups, three Scout groups, a PTA, the Army Cadets, the Stroke Club, Red Cross and St. John’s were amongst the recipients of the share out.

Some years ago a couple of Town Mayors organised a Town Council Carol Service but, sadly, the tradition was not maintained and no such services have been held for years - until yesterday! Our current Town Mayor, Cllr. Philip Leason, has revived the occasion and yesterday afternoon St. Michael’s church was full to the doors - every pew full - for a wonderfully joyous hour and a half of Christmas celebration.

 Nine carols interspersed with readings and local choirs and soloists - and mulled wine and mince pies afterwards. Quite delightful.

For me the highlights were the first school children from St. Michaels who showed such enthusiasm and the folk from the Clifford Project who provided a ’signed’ rendition of Cliff Richard’s version of the Lord’s Prayer. And Cllr. Kate Moss revealed a herself as a superb soloist - what a voice!

A lovely afternoon which I am sure will become a fixture in years to come.

The following applications relate to properties within Stonefield and Christchurch ward. For further details contact the Planning Officer at Stafford Borough Council, 3rd Floor, Civic Centre, Riverside, Stafford ST16 3AQ or telephone 01785 619337 quoting the application number.

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Application Number: 07/09386/FUL                Type of Application: Full

Date registered: 3 December 2007                 Applicant: Robert G Jones

Location:  29 Granville Terrace, Stone

Proposal: Reinstate cast iron railing to front and side of house.

Case Officer: Ms S Empsall 

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Application Number: 07/09420/FUL            Type of Application: Full  

Date registered: 30 November 2007                 Applicant: R & S Tonks Ltd.

Location: 39 Oulton Road and 9 Cross Street, Stone

Proposal: Alterations to existing dwelling and business premises to form 3 apartments with on site parking

Case Officer: Ms S Brown

Last night I went to the Frank Jordan Centre for a meeting of the Trustees of the Common Plott. We dealt with various isssues e.g. the resurfacing of some of the paths; our tree planting schedule; the funding for a new tractor shed and the application for the next payment of the our grant.

However, the most interesting news came under Any Other Business when our Chairman Peter Hamilton announced that the Plott Keeper, Adrian, had found some Plott records in an old tin box in one of the outhouses. On closer inspection these include Minute Books from 1855 and some books of account. Peter had brought them to the meeting and it was fascinating to thumb through the copper plate written minutes. It was agreed that all of the documents should be donated to the Records Office in Stafford for safe keeping. There’s so much so history contained within the hide bound covers of these books - they can’t be allowed to go missing again!

What a week it’s been. I won’t bore you with all the details but since Monday I’ve had meetings every day.

On Monday evening it was our usual monthly meeting of Stone’s Independent Voice, the group of independent councillors who control Stone Council.

Tuesday was a busy day. At midday Jill Hood and I, wearing our Food and Drink hats,  met an officer from the Borough Council to discuss Festival related issues. Then the whole afternoon was spent in a Food and Drink Working Group meeting - putting together the framework for next year’s Festival. And in the evening it was off to the Council Chamber for two Town Council Committee meetings - Environment and Estates. By the time I got home I was whacked!

On Wednesday it was down to Stafford. I am on the Appointments Panel that will select David Rawlins’ successor. So ,for obvious reasons, I can’t disclose any details.

And today Jill and I went over to Uttoxeter for a day of seminars organised by Staffordshire DMP. That stands for Staffordshire Destination Management Partnership. Or just think of it as Staffordshire Tourist Board! Actually it was well worthwhile. Stone’s Food and Drink Festival is now obviously on everyone’s radar. We made several very important contacts and have arranged to meet a major player in Staffordshire tourism in early January.

Perhaps I can take it easy over the weekend!

I seem to be inundated with car parking issues at the moment. It’s not Christchurch Way car park problems this time - it’s Somerfield’s car park off Crown Street that’s the cause of a complaint.

For several years Somerfield’s car park has been a pay and display park with the store redeeming the car parking charge against purchases in the store. That system seemed to work well, so it was interesting to note that a couple of months ago the ticket machines were covered up and everyone was allowed two hours free parking. Anyone overstaying was issued with a fixed penalty ticket (£70 or £50 if paid within 14 days) by the store’s private car park attendant. No real problem - except a couple of weeks ago they changed the 2 hour period to one hour . And quite a few people who’d got used to two hours free parking didn’t read the amended notices and were issued with tickets.

By now most drivers have accepted the one hour limit - so what is the store about to do? Yep! They’re changing it back to two hours within the next day or so! Now even I’m getting confused! The moral of the story? Read the notice carefully next time you park at Somerfield.

As I drove into town this morning, I thought I would just drive into the new car park to see whether it was being used by many motorists - only to be greeted by a group of residents from Bromfield Court and a huddle of Council officers and employees.

The officers were there to decide what was needed by way of shrub and hedge planting now that the contractors were off site. This was good news in view of the fact that I am very concerned at the loss of the main hedgerow. I was told that there would be interplanting with new hedge species and that the Bromfield Court boundary would also be planted with native species to fill in the gaps. I just hope the available budget will allow a full and proper planting scheme to be carried out.

Whist this news was welcomed by the residents, they were very concerned at anti-social behaviour which had taken place over the weekend. Obviously the young folk of the town have latched onto the fact that the new car park is an ideal area for skate boarding. Large, smooth,  downhill pieces of tarmac are perfect for the skaters but, sadly, they bring other problems with them. Damage to the borders and retaining wall, drinking of alcohol and urinating in public were all witnessed by residents. They called the police who responded very swiftly but the residents are naturally concerned that this sort of behaviour will become the norm.

I agreed to contact the Borough Council and request that signs be erected to prohibit skateboarding. I also agreed to ask the CCTV control room to monitor the car park from the two adjacent cameras and to  record any incidents. I was pleased to hear from one of the officers that the four lights on the Bromfield Court boundary were to have timers fitted so that they switched off at night. And I promised to speak to the police to ensure that the car park was visited on a regular basis.

I only started writing on this site in early November but I am amazed to discover in the month of November the site received 990 hits!

Obviously many of these will be other Liberal Democrat site owners taking a look but I have added my web address to my email signature and have received many favourable comments from my email recipients.  I’ve also created links from our local party site and a couple of other local sites.

So will December take us over the 1000 mark? Watch this space!

We held our very first Farmers’ Market during our first Food and Drink Festival in October 2005 - in beautiful sunshine. And we have held monthly Farmers’ Markets since January 2006 - all in dry weather. We once had snow early one morning and we’ve had strong winds - but we’ve never had rain! Looking at the weather forecast last night I was convinced that we were going to lose our record today but -no! We had black clouds and at one point there was a sort of moisture in the air but no rain! Our record is intact!

And today’s market was the biggest yet  - 29 marquees housing over 40 stallholders many of whom had sold out by lunchtime. Although the market bookings are handled by Jon Webb, the Borough Council’s Market Manager, Stone Food and Drink Festival play a very large part in promoting the market. We put up banners and information boards, place ‘A’ boards around the town and issue press releases on a regular basis. Jill Hood and I are around the town on Farmers’ Market days ‘networking’ with the stall holders and generally making ourselves available to sort out any problems. Judging by the continuing success of the Market we must be doing something right!

Stone’s Farmers’ Markets are held on the first Saturday of the month (except January) in the High Street and Market Square.

On Thursday the contractors were rolling the last of the tarmac, yesterday they were painting the white lines - and today the extended Christchurch Way Car Park was open for business! Just in time for today’s Farmers’ Market.

An extra 70 parking spaces in the town will surely be welcomed by traders and shoppers alike - but many will wonder why it’s taken the Borough Council ten years or more to get this work done. However much I welcome positive news, I am very concerned that the original plans appear to have been disregarded in that large sections of the hedge between the new car park and the footpath have been ripped out - despite the plans showing the hedge as “to be retained”. And surely there should be a fence erected in the border to protect the remaining hedge from being damaged?

The good news, however, is that no charges are being imposed until January 2nd next year - an early Christmas present to our shoppers! Coupled with the no charge on Saturday afternoons until Christmas announced by the Borough, Stone is obviously the place to come to for your Christmas shopping!

The following applications relate to properties within Stonefield and Christchurch ward. For further details contact the Planning Officer at Stafford Borough Council, 3rd Floor, Civic Centre, Riverside, Stafford ST16 3AQ or telephone 01785 619337 quoting the application number.

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Application Number: 07/09379/COU               Type of Application: Change of use

Date registered: 28  November 2007                 Applicant: A & J Structural Design

Location:  Bromfield Chambers, 38 Radford Street, Stone

Proposal: Change of Use from drawing office B1 to hairdressing salon A1 with ancillary internal alterations

Case Officer: Miss S Empsall

It was up early to make sure I was down at St. Dominic’s School for a site visit by the Borough’s Development Control Committee at 8.30 a.m.

The school has applied for planning permission to build an extra classroom and no-one objects to that. However they have also applied to alter an ‘existing’ car park off the Margaret Street entrance and have announced that access for the pupils will then only be allowed through the gates in Newcastle Street. This has caused uproar from the parents who rightly argue that Newcastle Street is a busy road and that forcing children to use those gates poses an enormous safety risk. The parents want the Margaret Street entrance to be retained particularly in view of the fact  that Margaret Street has recently had tens of thousands of pounds spent on traffic calming measures and a pedestrian crossing under the ‘Safer Routes to School’ programme.

I have supported the parents in their campaign and was pleased to be able to speak at the subsequent meeting of the Committee. I supported the comments of my fellow Ward Councillor Joyce Farnham and spoke for five minutes highlighting the parent’s objections. It was very reassuring to hear one committee member after another speak about their concerns on safety grounds of the proposed access arrangements. Eventually it was unanimously agreed to defer a decision to allow the school to produce a report they had referred to and to invite further comment from the County Council Highways officer.

We haven’t won the war yet but we certainly won today’s battle.

Stafford Borough Council has announced that parking on the Pay and Display car parks in the town - at Westbridge Park and Crown Street - will be free of charge after 1 p.m every Saturday until Christmas. Whilst any such concession is welcome, I wonder why they have departed from the custom of previous years of granting free parking for the whole day.

But I’m being silly - the answer is obvious! The Borough Council’s finances are in such a mess that they even have to adopt a ‘Scrooge’ like approach to half a days car parking income at Christmas time.

I am very disappointed. On our way to the NEC we called at the off licence down the road for this week’s copy of the Newsletter - only to be told that there had been printing problems overnight and the Stone edition had not been printed. They hoped to get it later in the day.

So when we got back from Birmingham at tea-time, we stopped at Londis at Walton to discover that they only had the Stafford editions and that the Stone edition had not been printed after all.

This is a bitter blow. The residents of Northesk Street have been campaigning long and hard against the proposed Stonefield Traffic Management scheme culminating in a photoshoot on Wednesday for a big story before the closing date for consulation this weekend. And Liz Pegg had picked up on the razor wire issue and was going to run a story on that also.

I just hope that there’s space next week for these stories to be published.

Today Jan and I went with Jill and Steve Hood to the Good Food Show at the NEC in Birmingham - only to be accused of having a day off! Nobody seems to understand that when you’re involved in helping to run a successful Food and Drink Festival there’s an awful lot of research which needs to be done! These things don’t just happen!

So Steve and I carried out several consumer tests in the Drinks hall while the girls went off to see Rick Stein give a demonstration in the theatre. After sitting through a tutored beer tasting by Roger Protz, Steve and I were firmly of the opinion that next year’s Food and Drink Festival must include a Drinks Hall and that we should persuade Roger to come back to Stone again!

On a serious note, we did have a very useful day. We met up with Beth Cohen from Ludlow who has been so very helpful to us and we also made some very useful contacts. It is always useful to attend shows like this to pick up ideas and to see what events and ideas would transfer to our Festival.

It’s hard work - but someone has to do it!

I am very worried. A couple of days ago I was asked to go to the Coppice Estate and to see for myself some razor wire which has been woven into the hedge alongside the pavement in Redhill Road. I thought it might have been an exaggeration - surely no-one in his right mind would use razor wire in such a prominent location. But there it was. A length of about thirty feet has been placed in the hedge and clearly designed to prevent access to the field.

I am very concerned indeed. The danger posed to children, pets and livestock is only too obvious. I’ve spoken to an officer at the Borough Council who agrees that the situation is  dangerous but cannot find any powers that the Council can invoke. So I’m contacting the County Council Highways office and I’m sending a copy of my email to the police. But I suspect that I will be told that there’s no power to have the wire removed.

In civil law, the occupier of land owes a duty of care to anyone on his land, even a trespasser, and would more then likely be liable for any injury sustained in these circumstances. But I want to prevent the problem reaching that stage. Has anyone any suggestions?

The following applications relate to properties within Stonefield and Christchurch ward. For further details contact the Planning Officer at Stafford Borough Council, 3rd Floor, Civic Centre, Riverside, Stafford ST16 3AQ or telephone 01785 619337 quoting the application number.

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Application Number: 07/09038/LBC           Type of Application: Listed Building Consent - Alts & Ext

Date registered: 20 November 2007                 Applicant: Jackie Taberner

Location:  22 Stafford Street, Stone

Proposal: Signage.

Case Officer: Ms S Brown 

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Application Number: 07/09332/FUL            Type of Application: Full  

Date registered: 19 November 2007                 Applicant: Mrs Foster

Location: 8 Redhill Road, Stone

Proposal: Erection of conservatory

Case Officer: Miss S Empsall 

I never thought I would ever say this but, last night, I actually felt sorry for Bill Cash, our Tory MP. He came to town to be present at the Christmas lights switch on but no-one seems to have told his usual entourage. So the poor chap was on his own for most of the evening.

I managed to pop into Granvilles for a few minutes (betweeen stewarding duties in the street) for the official get together with Father Christmas and Freddie Jones. Bill came in on his own looking rather lonely. So, for a few minutes, we engaged in polite small talk. Politically we are of course miles apart but it was good to hear that Bill and I are agreed on one point. The current debacle concerning the lost data discs must mean that any further plans for ID cards are dead in the water. No one will ever trust any government with confidential information ever again.

And Bill also has a view on who should be our party’s next leader! He would vote for Nick Clegg whom he regards as sound and possessing considerable latent potential. He regards Chris Huhne as a bit of  ’a jack of all trades and master of none’. So I now know that the eurosceptic wing of the Tory party fears Chris Huhne being elected!

My ballot paper arrived today so I’ve already returned it with my cross firmly placed in the Huhne box. Sorry, Bill.

A huge crowd filled the town last night for the switching on of the Christmas lights - and they were not disappointed. The threatened rain kept away and the evening’s entertainment was enjoyed by all.

The fun began at 5.30 p.m when the local schools’ choirs joined together to sing carols and afterwards local groups and performers kept the crowd entertained all night. At seven o’clock compere Dave Smethwick introduced TV’s Emmerdale star Fredie Jones who, with help from Father Christmas and the Town Mayor Cllr. Phillip Leason, switched on the lights. New displays this year with all white LEDs - very effective. There then came the surprise of the evening with a couple of minutes of fireworks in the sky above the stage. A wonderful sight which prompted a round of applause from the crowd.

It was good to see so much activity in the town. The stage across the top of the High Street worked well and the childrens’ fairground in the square was a great success. Even my wife Janet had a go down the helter skelter - admitting afterwards she didn’t realise it was so high! And the market marquees at the bottom of the High Street gave local groups and charities an opportunity to raise some funds.

A great evening - which was justification enough for the the fact that I was on my feet all day during the preparations!

Members of Stone Town Council were invited to Stone Fire Station last night to hear a presentation on the Staffordshire Safety Plan for 2008/11 and with particular reference to Stone. Unfortunately it would appear that the cold wet evening deterred some councillors from attending so the attendance was embarrassingly small.

However we were given a very full and interesting presentation which I found very reassuring. A couple of years ago, the Fire and Rescue Service issued a consultation document which caused a lot of consternation and alarm. Hidden in the small print was a proposal to downgrade Stone fire station and to have only one fire engine stationed there. I and many others responded to the consultation document and obviously our protests were listened to.

The new Plan provides for the retention of two fire engines at Stone and for a refurbishment of the thirty year old station premises. And we were also given details of a new approach to dealing with non life threatening call outs. New smaller response vehicles with smaller crews will be first on scene thereby retaining normal fire engines on standby. And over the next few years two new stations will be built to position engines and crews nearer to the anticipated demand.

I couldn’t help but think that someone in the Fire and Rescue service had been taking lessons from Roger Thayne, the former Chief of Staffordshire Ambulance service and realised that the same  principles he had introduced to the ambulance service would work equally well in the fire service. I believe Roger’s legacy will be greater than most people realise.

After the talk, it was outside into the wind and rain to watch a demonstration of a casualty being removed from a crashed car. In a very authentic reconstruction of a two vehicle accident, we were able to see some extremely high tech equipment being used to cut in to the car, remove it’s roof and extricate the injured driver. Very impressive.

Everyone agrees that October’s Food and Drink Festival was the best yet. TV chefs Mary Berry, James Tanner and Paul Rankin demonstrating in the Crown Hotel; The Gourmet Food Marquee with over 70 stalls; another successful Real Ale trail; the roving feast Manger a Trois evenings;  and, of course, a special Festival Farmers’ Market!  Yes a truly wonderful week!

Well, last night was our opportunity to thank the many many people who had helped to make the event such a success. We took over the Lounge in the Market Square and Custodio put on a superb Portuguese buffet. And we were delighted to welcome over 70 helpers and volunteers so that we could personally thank them for all their efforts.

There was a great atmosphere and we talked about our plans for next year’s Festival. Everyone wants to be involved again and we had numerous offers of extra help too! What a fantastic community spirit we have here in Stone!

That’s what my wife told a telephone caller I was doing this morning. What she could have explained is that I am a member of the Borough Council’s Public Appeals committee and that we were hearing two appeals against the making of Tree Preservation Orders.

Before hearing evidence the committtee normally carries out a site visit to view the trees in qusestion and today we traveled in a minibus to the far northern reaches of the borough. We travelled to a site north of the Blythe Bridge bypass and to another in the Dairyfields in Trentham - sites which most people would have guessed as being in Stoke-on-Trent but not so!

So having looked at all the trees in question we returned to Stafford to deliberate.  And all the business was transacted before lunch.

But lest anyone should think that I’m about to take David Cameron’s advice - don’t worry! I only looked at the trees - I didn’t hug any!

I have never witnessed anything like it before! Twenty teenagers (and some were big lads) getting into a boxing ring to spar with the town’s beat bobby for two minutes with a one minute interval between rounds! And all in aid of charity!

P.C. Andy Whitehall has been in training for several months and today he surpassed every expectation. This man has been a hero of mine for a long while. He loves our town and has put so much into the community. He knows almost every young person by name and the youth of Stone have the greatest of respect for him. There can be no doubt that Andy’s commitment is a major factor in Stone having such a low level of youth crime.

When the idea of establishing a Youth Cafe in town was first mentioned,  Andy was one of the first to get involved and the Sparathon was his suggestion as a fund raising venture. Months of planning and training finally paid off this afternoon in the Fighting Fit gym on Mount Industrial estate. In a packed hall, Andy took on all twenty lads and created an absolutely fantastic afternoon’s entertainment. The lads all conducted themselves superbly and were a credit to the town. Colin Taylor acted as MC and, to loud musical accompaniment, introduced  each contender. The crowd roared on their favourites and, thank goodness, Andy survived all twenty rounds without a blemish! What respect that man has gained!

And after the prizes were handed to the best, the bravest and the most entertaining contenders, Andy announced that when all the sponsorship money is collected he expects to have raised well over two thousand pounds for the Youth Cafe. Fantastic!

Stone Choral Society peformed their annual Ingestre Hall concert last night  to a  full house - and what a delight it was. Entitled ‘Beyond Boundaries’, the programme was wide and varied. The highlight for me was the choir’s rendition of Karl Jenkins’ ‘The Armed Man - a Mass for Peace’ - a difficult piece but skilfully sung. But the star of the show was undoubtably a young guest soloist, Rosie Middleton, who sang a couple of operatic arias before joining the choir in  three pieces from Carmen. A spendid finale to a spledid concert.

Yet again I am amazed that we have such a depth of talent here in Stone.  The programme names over 60 members of the choir, all amateurs and many of them friends of mine, who all meet each week to enjoy the sheer pleasure of singing together.

I notice from the Programmme that the Choir’s next concert is the Carol Concert in Christ Church Stone on Thursday 20th December and next year’s Easter concert will be Faure’s Requiem in St. Dominic’s Church on Sunday 13th April 2008. I’ve already put these dates in my diary! And that reminds me to speak to Steve Brookes to make sure he asks the choir to hold a concert during the Stone Music Festival next year - July 10th to 13th - if he hasn’t already done so!

Last night I attended a most unusual and enjoyable social event in the ballroom of the Crown Hotel. A few months ago some good friends of mine -  David Puxley, Ivan Forster and Alan Fernyhough - told me that had found an advert in a newspaper dated 1790 announcing that the Stone Association for the Prosecution of Felons was holding it’s annual dinner in the ballroom of the Crown Hotel! We are all familiar with Felons dinners in Hanley and Burslem but none of us had ever heard of a Stone Association. Local historian and fellow councillor Philip Leason was roped in and he too could find no further references to it.

So David et al  formed a small committee and set about arranging a ‘resurrection’ of the Association and it’s annual dinner. And what a success it was! A splendid meal, many bottles of wine on the table and three short but excellent speeches. President Ian Moxon formally announced that we were all appointed members of the Association and could henceforth be called Stone Felons!

These associations were formed before Robert Peel created the police force as we know it today. Local businessmen would subscribe to a fund in order to employ nightwatchmen to arrest burglars and thieves and to pay for the prosecution of local criminals. Since the advent of a proper police force, the only purpose of the Association is to hold an Annual Dinner. I’ll drink to that!

Grateful thanks to the organisers. A splendid evening which I’m sure will now become a tradition in the years to come

The following applications relate to properties within Stonefield and Christchurch ward. For further details contact the Planning Officer at Stafford Borough Council, 3rd Floor, Civic Centre, Riverside, Stafford ST16 3AQ or telephone 01785 619337 quoting the application number.

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Application Number: 07/08849ADV   Type of Application: Application to Display Adverts 

Date registered: 14 November 2007                 Aplicant: Mrs Jackie Taberner

Location: Westbridge House, 22 Stafford Street, Stone

Proposal: Signage.

Case Officer: Ms S Brown 

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Application Number: 07/09073/FUL            Type of Application: Full  

Date registered: 12 November 2007                 Aplicant: Mr Luckman

Location: 14 Joules Drive, Stone

Proposal: Two storey side extension and single storey side extension

Case Officer: Ms T Brown 

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Application Number: 07/09230/COU             Type of Application: Full

Date registered: 9 November 2007                 Aplicant: Energy Lazer Ltd

Location: Unit 11, Mount Industrial Esate, Stone

Proposal: Siting of two gas tanks oxygen and nitrogen on a concrete base surrounded by steel fence

Case Officer: Mr J Dolman

The voting papers to elect the next leader of the Liberal Democrat party will soon be dropping through members’ letter boxes. I have made up my mind where I’ll be placing my cross.

I’ve seen and heard both Nick Clegg and Chris Huhne at close quarters and I’ll be  very happy with whoever wins the contest. Both candidates have the necessary qualities and youth to bring a period of stability and progress to the party. The choice is not an easy one.

However, I’m firmly of the view that Chris Huhne is the man for the job. I heard him speak at Coventry during the previous leadership hustings and was hugely impressed. I like his position on Trident.  I think his knowledge of economic and environmental  affairs will be invaluable and in general I believe him to be the more heavyweight of the two. Yet is is personable and has an excellent TV and media presence.

I listened to Nick Clegg at the Regional Conference in Wolverhampton earlier in the year. I was not over impressed - particularly by his proposals on sentencing. I’ve spent a lifetime defending clients in the criminal courts and Nick’s comments displayed a lack of realism. Policies designed to curry favour with Daily Mail headline writers worry me. ‘Making sentences mean what they say’ is a good sound bite but displays an appalling ignorance of the realities of life in the criminal justice system.

And then I watched them both last night on BBC1’s ‘Question Time’. Their performances confirmed my views. I felt that Nick failed to deal adequately with a couple of points and that Chris came across in a very competent and positive manner.

So when the ballot paper arrives next week, it’s Chris Huhne for me.

This year’s Christmas lights will be switched on by well known film and TV actor Freddie Jones who is currently watched by millions as he plays Sandy in the popular TV soap Emmerdale. Born in North Staffordshire, Freddie will  be in Stone for a night of fun and festivities on Thursday 22nd November.

Organised by Stone Town Council, the evening’s entertainment will start at 5.30 p.m. with the Stone Schools Christmas Choir singing carols. At 6.00 pm the up and coming female vocal duo 2 am will take to the stage followed by last year’s success story The Unknown. The Revellers Choir will perform from 6.40 p.m. and at 7.00 p.m. Freddie Jones, assisted by Father Christmas and the Town Mayor, will perform the switch on ceremony. Then the ever popular Boogie Nights will entertain the crowds from 7.30 p.m.

I always look forward to this event. It’s a real community event and the town will be full of families creating a sea of happy smiling faces. It will be a long day for those of us involved in setting it up but it is always worthwhile. So don’t miss it! Remember the date - Thursday 22nd November.

Last night I had the pleasure and honour of sitting next to Chris Sims, the new Chief Constable of Staffordshire. He was the guest speaker at the Supper Club organised by Stone’s Independent Voice - the group of independent councillors, of which I am a member from Stone Town Council. (I do not believe that party politics has any part to play in town council affairs - only to cause division and confrontation)

Chris has only been in post six weeks but his speech made it perfectly clear that he has ‘hit the ground running’. He has already been to Stone and walked around the town and it’s trouble spots. Yes - he explained that he was well aware of the issues with regard to young people hanging around St Michael’s churchyard at night and the ‘problems’ sometimes caused by our night time economy. The Chief Constable was telling us he’d been to see our trouble spots univited - and before he’d even settled into his new office!  I was amazed!

And he made it perfectly clear that he was not going to be a slave to government targets. He saw the future effectiveness of the force being based on building a relationship of trust and confidence with the public. Music to my ears!

I am in no doubt that Chris is conscious of Stone’s pride in being a safe and happy place to live and work. I’m sure the force in in safe hands.

Staffordshire County Council’s proposals for the Stonefield Traffic Management Scheme were unanimously condemned by last night’s Town Council Meeting. The issue was actually on the agenda but was pre-empted during Public Question Time when a resident of Northesk Street asked for the support of the council in objecting to the proposals.

I urged all councillors to support the request. I pointed out that the scheme appeared to solve a non existent problem. I was concerned at the waste of money on a scheme that no-one wanted. And I was appalled that traffic calming measures were planned for Mount Avenue, which no-one has asked for, whilst continued calls for traffic calming in other areas e.g  Longton Road, Newcastle Road and Eccleshall Road, have all been ignored. And I expressed my astonishment that, far from preventing ‘rat runs’, the scheme would actually encourage one - from Newcastle Street to Longton Road via Margaret Street, Dominic Street and Northesk Street.

Other councillors pointed out the nonsense of creating one way streets pointing towards the level crossing and the fact that the scheme had been designed without taking into account the change in traffic patterns created by the recent installation of traffic lights outside Langtry’s pub.

In a rare moment of accord, all members agreed to support the local residents by agreeing that the Council should write to the County Council lodging a formal objection to the scheme.

The major issues discussed at last night’s meeting of Stone Town Council included the following:

• Dial A Ride - Ian Bowen of Stafford and District Community Link gave an illustrated presentation explaining how the Dial A Ride scheme operates in Stafford. It was agreed to form a small working group to see whether a similar scheme might be formed in Stone.
• Police Issues - Sgt. Dave Wain introduced Stone’s new Acting Inspector Elliot Williams. It was reported that crime in Stone had fallen by 20% and that burglary had fallen by a third. Other local issues were also raised and discussed.
• Stonefield Traffic Management Scheme was also discussed. For more details, see my more detailed posting above.
• Increase in Car Parking charges - It was agreed that the Council would ask Stafford Borough Council to defer the implementation of the 300% increase in the long stay parking charges in view of the likly impact upon the Town Council’s free car parks in Northesk Street and at Crown Wharf and also in view of the total lack of consultation.
• Stafford Road ‘rat run’ - Cllr. Jill Hood raised her continued concerns at the number of vehicles using Stafford Road as a short cut to the A34 - many at high speed. It was agreed that the County Council should be asked to position a “No Left Turn except for Access” sign before the junction and that the County be asked to consider an engineering solution to the problem by blocking or restricting access to the A34.
• Musicfest 08 - Cllr. Steve Brookes reported that good progress was being made by the music festival committee for next year’s Festival and the Council agreed a pump priming grant to enable the organisers to apply for grants elsewhere.
• Civic Amenity vehicle - in view of the fact that the new Recycling site has now opened it was agreed that the monthly visit of the amenity vehicle to Westbridge Park was no longer required. This will result in a saving of over £800 a year.

This morning I attended the Remembrance Parade in Granville Square and was pleased to see such a large turn out.  I don’t recall ever seeing so many people around the War Memorial - there must have a thousand there at least. The attendance grows each year - I’m sure that the wars in Iraq and Afganisthan are in everyone’s thoughts on this day of national remembrance.

The service in St. John’s Church, after the wreath laying ceremony, was fully attended and afterwards I popped into the Church Hall to see the exhibition of second world war cartoons organised by the Bagnacavallo Cartoons Group. This exhibition displayed some very amusing cartoons alongside contemporary photographs of the war in northern Italy. Despite atrocious conditions the soldiers still retained their sense of humour. How sad that Alan Woods, who donated many of the cartoons, passed away before he saw them in the exhibition.

The following applications relate to properties within Stonefield and Christchurch ward. For further details contact the Planning Officer at Stafford Borough Council, 3rd Floor, Civic Centre, Riverside, Stafford ST16 3AQ or telephone 01785 619337 quoting the application number.

________________________________________________________________

Application Number: 07/09204/FUL            Type of Application: Full  

Date registered: 2 November 2007                 Aplicant: J White

Location: 40 Coppice Gardens, Stone

Proposal: Two storey side extension providing garage and utility with bedrooms over. Single storey bay window and porch extension to front, rear conservatory extension.

Case Officer: Ms T Brown 

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Application Number: 07/09231/FUL            Type of Application: Full  

Date registered: 2 November 2007                 Aplicant: TD & JA Kelt & E Tyne

Location: 19 & 21 The Avenue, Stone

Proposal: Railings above existing wall and gates

Case Officer: Mrs K Wilson

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Application Number: 07/09192/COU             Type of Application: Change of Use

Date registered: 7 November 2007                 Aplicant: Custodio Pinto

Location: Directly above The Lounge, High Street, Stone

Proposal: Change part of first floor offices into a food preparation and food storage area for premises below

Case Officer: Mrs K Wilson          

Illegal parkers beware! Anyone found parking illegally on yellow lines in Stone will be at risk of being issued with a £60 fixed penalty notice from today.

The police are no longer responsible for parking issues and Stafford Borough Council are now enforcement authority.  Stone’s traffic wardens have been spending the last couple of weeks training with their new equipment and issuing warning notices only -  ”firing blanks” as one of them called it!

 But from today it’s the real thing! So be warned - don’t take any chances on yellow lines. I am fully in favour of the new regime. Previously most drivers knew the police didn’t have the time or resources to issue tickets on a regular basis and many abused the yellow lines causing obstructions and delays. Now yellow lines should be doing the jobs the were designed for.

Stone’s new £1 million Household Recycling Centre was opened to the public this morning. The need for such a facility has been obvious for years but finding the right site has always been the problem. However,  having  seen the facilities on offer today,  I’m sure the waiting has been worthwhile.

The site will accept almost every type of household waste and I anticipate that it will become very popular - particularly at weekends! No more trips down to Stafford with my trailer! The site is well signed off Beacon Road on the Stone Business Park.

Opening hours are between 9 am and 4.30 pm but the site is CLOSED on Wednesdays and Thursdays. The site is operated by Staffordshire County Council. For further details on recycling visit www.recycleforstaffordshire.org

Welcome to my web site. As your Liberal Democrat councillor for the Stonefield and Christchurch ward on Stafford Borough Council, I am anxious to make sure that residents in the ward are kept up to date with news and comments about what is going on in the ward  and in the town.

From time to time I shall also refer to issues that affect  Stone Town Council where I am an independent councillor.

Please call me if you have any issues or problems. Contact details are at the top of the page.

Best wishes,

Richard Stevens