Last night at the executive we voted to send The Core Strategy and Site Allocation Policy out for consultation.
This is an interesting, well written report that is important to our town and has already seen a consultation.
However it is massive and unless people are pointed in the right direction and helped to dissect it all, it will not be on the top of peoples agenda.
This final consultation will be over 12 weeks and I asked if we were going to send out to schools and focus groups as well as public meetings.
The reply was not what I expected and apparently we already consult very well (not sure Ravenswood residents and others would agree with this) and my request was all but swept aside.
See more here in Ipswich Spy's report
http://ipswichspy.com/story/politics/item/3258-ibc-executive-votes-to-send-local-plan-to-consultation
However I was quite pleased that councillor Jones apologised genuinely afterwards for being patronising, when I asked for proactive consultation. I don't think she knows she's doing it actually and, as I rather like her, it was immediately accepted.
Councillor Smart showed his agreement ie 'has some sympathy' with my request for schools to be involved, which then made councillor Jones give a vague undertaking that this could be looked at with e-mails being sent out to various schools.
After close of business, Councillor Jones also said she likes me being on executive as it made everyone up their game. This was in fact the reason I accepted the position because I wanted to up my game as leader of the Conservative group.
So despite a bit of tetchiness during the meeting there was actually some mutual respect and appreciation shown afterwards.
We are, after all, just trying to do a good job for the town, even if we disagree on many aspects of the 'How we do it'.
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