Shame we can't Vote
With the way the elections are held in Rutland we only get to vote every four years when all the councils are up at the same time. This means, since we voted last year we miss out on the local elections this year, and for the next two elections to come, which is rather a shame.
Personally I think it is clear we could do with some new councillors on Rutland County Council, if not a complete new set. With a few exceptions the majority seem hell bent on ruining this beautiful county by turning it into a developers paradise. It would seem as soon as a developer comes along and buy's a bit of farm land dirt cheep they earn the right to build on it, with just a dew exceptions that I can think of. I get the feeling some of them have visions of turning Oakham into some new kind of city and ruining Rutland forever with concrete and brick.
What Rutland needs are Councillors that care for the rural nature of Rutland. Ones that can be entrusted with this beautiful small county and allow natural development in a gradual and controlled way. Not ones that give in to the demands of developers. The countryside needs to be preserved for the children of the current generation and then their children to come. We need to keep Rutland a green haven that others can visit and enjoy and from it that provide employment through tourism and pleasure, something we are good at.
I'm not saying that Rutland doesn't need development, it does, but in a carful way, so that the character and the nature of the county isn't destroyed forever. Care has to be taken to protect green spaces, existing playing fields, agricultural land and the villages need to be protected from any expansion of the two towns. There are brown field sites that can be developed in the county before any planning permission is granted for any green open spaces. Places like the former Ashwell prison site which could be carefully developed in to a new eco village to provide affordable homes for young families.
I think it says a lot about Rutland County Council that some of the independents in the council have had to form themselves into anti-corruption group and they are having to put in freedom of information requests to get information from a council they are members of. Surely all the dealings in the council should be open to all councillors to ensure transparency and avoid abuses of power. We need open local government and not closed meetings and meetings where decisions are taken before the meeting start. What we need are meetings where people are allowed to make their cases and everything is considered. What is happening here from what I understand is not democracy in the true sense of the term.
What Rutland needs most at the moments is Councillors that listen to the people and not the developers. People that will protect and nurture it as a place of beauty for the future. People that are driven by higher motives than money, greed and power that can see what we have here is worth protecting. That is why it is a shame we can't vote today.
