Council pleases itself - not public

Great news, according to last week’s Gazette. Annual termination settlements at Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council are down by 82 per cent, they only cost £68,000.

But hold on, that money could pay for a lot of street cleaning. And down 82 per cent, shows you how careless the council has been with our money in the past.

In the days, when the council was run by the town clerk, and funded by the Rates, we trusted the council, and they got on with it. How different it is today, these executives, sitting in their plush offices believe they are running a multimillion-pound company, and should receive the same high salaries and perks as big business.

The controlling Tory councillors, join in the fantasy, by referring to themselves as cabinet members. And what sort of business has customers who cannot go elsewhere, with their custom, even if the service and/or the cost is excessive. Really, we are shareholders of the council, as we provide the majority of their funding. So why don’t we have an AGM, where we can vote, on salaries and appointments. Perhaps, the council can start by telling us the salary and perks of the new chief executive, after all we are paying his salary. But of course, this won’t happen, as the council is a private Fiefdom, run for the benefit of those who work there.

David White, Coates Close, Basingstoke.

Party of law? Not anymore

I am deeply concerned by the government’s plan to break promises made in the Withdrawal Agreement; an international treaty signed less than a year ago.

The Northern Ireland Secretary admitted this would break international law. The Internal Markets Bill would renege on commitments to avoid a hard border on the island of Ireland and would set negotiations with Europe back to square one.

The Conservative Party prides itself on being the party of law and order, of economic stability and of the Union. Now the government is openly breaking international law and paving the way to a no-deal economic disaster. How can the Conservative and Unionist Party jeopardise the hard-won peace in Northern Ireland?

The Prime Minister does not speak for the ordinary voter from whatever political leaning. He was elected to deliver a comprehensive, and as he described it, as an ‘oven-ready’ deal with Europe, which would help communities and individuals like me. Yet his embarrassing actions threaten not only the reputation of his own party, but the global reputation of the UK as a trustworthy nation.

David Dry, Allnutt Avenue, Basingstoke.

MP - save concerns for testing farce

I am rather surprised that our MP Maria Miller thinks that residents ‘deserve better’ than to have a morgue placed ‘in the midst of the community’.

If you look around the town most of our funeral directors are placed in exactly that, in the midst of the community. Stowells by homes and the Technical College, Alexander & Dry by homes and a car park, Spencer& Peyton by homes and a pub and Jonathan Williams by homes. All doing the same job as a morgue looking after bodies awaiting funerals with dignity and respect.

Surely her energies would be better placed sorting out more coronavirus test centres for the residents of Hampshire. I thought getting to Newbury was bad enough but according to your article on page 3 people from this area are now being sent to Lee Valley the other side of London for their tests.

If Test and Trace is going to work then we need to be able to access test centres easily. More test centres and people acting responsibly may mean that mortality rates will stay low and we will not need the temporary morgue wherever it is placed.

Pauline Mayer, Frome Close, Basingstoke RG21 4PZ.

Complaint rightly thrown out

News that the complaint against the deputy mayor for alleged racism has now been dropped (Gazette online 9th September) will have come as a relief, not just to Cllr Onnalee Cubitt, but also to the vast majority of us moderate and free-thinking Basingstokians.

It is a depressing sign of our times that we have to be on constant guard against saying ‘the wrong thing’. That the current pandemic emanated from the East there is little doubt, so we can certainly label the virus with impunity as Chinese ‘flu.

Those who dissent against such labels were singularly quiet in the 70’s at the time of the wretched 3-day week. Many will recall that the UK was suffering from the “English disease” and it was a well-deserved label, given that the country was then being held to ransom yet again by unions.

Complaints about’ inappropriate’ use of certain words unfortunately abound. Can historians even now refer to the Black Death? And is one no longer allowed to turn off the M1 to visit the Black Country?

Hugh Sawyer, Winchester Road, Basingstoke.

Gov’t must sort out confusion

I am very sorry but I haven’t a clue what they’re on about. Is that six in a pub? Six in a shop? Six in a school? Six in the park? Six in my house? The magic number, six. Simple? Not really.

The rules in England in regards to coronavirus have now gone right over my silly little head. As far as I can make out its gibberish, it just sounds like blah, blah, blah, blah.

Obviously we all want to see the back of this virus, we want to be responsible citizens, we want to do what’s right. But the rules laid down by the government have been changed so frequently, and are not what you could call exactly common sense. I mean more than six can travel on a bus, but not meet in my house, what’s wrong with my house? I am being a bit facetious I know, but come on this is getting silly.

And now I’m told there are going to be marshals out to enforce these rules. That I think is going too far. If you go to the BBC News website and look at a simplified version of the rules (Rules and guidance on meeting up) you’ll see that the rules are different in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. The United Kingdom I think not, more like the highly confusing Kingdom.

My message is simple, sort it out, make it uniform, and make it logical, please.

Brian Simmonds, Belmont Heights, Hatch Warren, Basingstoke.

Camrose decision is about values

On Wednesday, September 23, a proposal will be debated at Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council. This important proposal is to decide whether Basron will be successful in obtaining approval to build a care home on the Camrose football ground site on Winchester Road.

It is my contention that any councillor who does not vote against this proposal should switch off their Zoom and go and type their resignation as a councillor. This is a decision about values. A decision about decent moral values against pure greed.

To all intents and purposes the Camrose ground is a memorial ground. It was given to the people of Basingstoke in recognition of the contribution and suffering the Basingstoke people had to endure during the war. In the post war period the country endured acute austerity with food rationing until 1954. The covenant given by Lord Camrose was handed to two aldermen who were both councillors; Woods and Spurling. This was in 1948 and was to last 100 years. It was extended in 1953 hence it is due to run out in 2053.

As well as being aldermen, Woods and Spurling were trustees of Basingstoke Town Football Club. It is this bit of detail that Rafi Razzak and his legal team have latched onto to try and get approval to develop the Camrose. It is a moral absurdity of course. However when it comes to money and greed these little moral details go out the window. To most people’s disbelief this proposal is still being considered. Not only that, we have a council which are recommending it should be accepted. Of course, should we be surprised?

Any council that can award a multi-million Development Contract to a company which had been struck off by Companies House as at Chineham Shopping Centre is capable of anything.

Next week’s debate sees the protesters given four minutes. Four minutes you might say - is that each? No. It is four minutes to be shared by all the Protesters. I suppose some would say that is Basingstoke democracy in action. It is a democracy which has deprived myself of any sort of representation from any councillor.

The council own a chunk of the Camrose ground (29%) at the Mansfield Road side of the ground. The stand there was built in the 1950/60 era and it is still there. The council has done nothing to upgrade it and it should have been removed years ago. So around 60 years of wanton neglect by a council which claims to promote sport for the people of Basingstoke. We have a football club playing at Winchester awaiting completion of the ludicrous attempt to upgrade the Hampshire FA site at Winklebury. The council as part of a collaboration accepted a £250K enhancement at Winklebury in 2017. The costs have reached £600K and probably still going up as the club strive to upgrade the ground. Plans for Winklebury were drawn up amazingly by the Camrose developer; all part of the Camrose scandal.

The people of Basingstoke deserve better than this. They have given their verdict through the excellent work of the young editor and reporters from The Gazette. Their work led to petitions signed by 2,500 people with a slogan ‘Save the Camrose – No to Winklebury’. The care home proposal has no support whatsoever from the Basingstoke public and if the Councillors are worth their salt they should reflect that. Local MP Maria Miller has led the way by saying a one for one replacement football ground is required if the Camrose is to be built on. Sport England and the Football Foundation are scathing of Rafi Razzak and his Basron partner Malcolm McPhail. The Basingstoke Town ex footballers (around 300) are upset. The local residents and the adjacent Councillors to the Camrose have objected. The football world outside Basingstoke are both saddened and appalled with this Scandal.

The argument about the Covenant is almost certainly lost for Rafi Razzak. The interpretation from Solicitors out of town is very different from the verdict of Rafi Razzak’s legal team. In essence the Covenant belongs to the club that represents Basingstoke Town. They can play at the Camrose and be protected by the Covenant lease. Rafi Razzak is owner of Basingstoke Town Ltd. He took his club to Winchester in August 2019. There he transferred the License for the FA – Southern League membership to the Basingstoke Town Community Club Ltd having evicted them from the Camrose. Hence Basingstoke Town Community Club Ltd. are the rightful owners of the Covenant. That is recognised by the FA and Southern League. When Mr.Razzak realised that things were not going well during the winter and the Community Club may want to return to the Camrose he re-seeded the pitch and destroyed it.

Sport is important and the council should recognise that. Their handling of the ice rink and Camrose issue’s show how out of touch they are.

Next Thursday they can take just one small step to regain some credibility by totally rejecting the care home proposal.

David Graham, Mallard Close, Kempshott.