15 September 2018
Pitmen supporter and HTFCSA committee member Paul Woodhead is a Cannock Chase District Councillor for Hednesford. You will see him around the ground most match days, usually as Pitman Pete and in the Strikers Bar after the game where you can talk to him about any matters or issues of concern.
In these articles I want to bring the role of the councillor alive to you and ensure I am accountable to you as the elected representative for the ward in which the football club resides. I will highlight some of the things I get involved with and the decisions the council makes on your behalf. I will be available after most home games for a general conversation and we can arrange a private discussion should that be appropriate. Alternatively you can contact me by phone on 07930 120077 or by email paul.woodhead@greenparty.org.uk
In a letter to the Town Council Staffordshire County Council has stated that it will expect communities and volunteers to undertake tasks and services previously supplied by the Authority.
In the letter from Cllr Hewitt it states “In terms of the public highway we will prioritise our resources on works that are required to keep people safe and traffic moving, particularly where congestion and disruption could undermine local businesses and jobs. A similar approach of prioritisation will be adopted towards the management of public rights of way and country parks.”
What this means in reality we will, I am sure, discover over time but this initiative of “People Helping People” sounds like routine council services will no longer be paid for by our council tax and if we want something doing we will have to do it ourselves. Once something becomes unsafe or affects businesses rather than communities it might get addressed.
In and around Hednesford we have been doing this for some time as local authority funding from central government is reduced significantly, whilst the local council tax charges increase year on year.
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