New Year's Message

It is with continued pride that I serve and represent the people of Grange-de-Lings, Greetwell, Nettleham and Riseholme on West Lindsey District Council.

The obvious highlight of the year was the Royal visit in March to Nettleham of His Royal Highness the Duke of Kent. He came to officially open the Bishop’s Palace Site which Nettleham Parish Council has been working to make into an amenity area. If you haven’t visited the site yet, it is well worth taking a stroll through.

In February I was very pleased to act as Agent for Conservative candidate Mrs. Pat Mewis in a by-election to the Scotter ward of West Lindsey District Council. I am pleased to say that Pat and her team’s efforts secured victory for her and we welcomed her on to the council, early in the year.

The Conservative administration at West Lindsey, acutely aware that the benefits of growth and an improving economy are not being felt by everyone, once again froze our portion of the Council Tax.

I was surprised, pleased and delighted to be elevated to the Chairmanship of the Governance and Audit Committee at West Lindsey District Council in May; having previously been Vice-Chairman in the preceding year. I continued my role as the administration Chief Whip. 

If there has been one issue that has been most prominent in 2014 it has been planning. Be it new homes to be developed, the Lincoln Eastern By-Pass or Wind or Solar Farms; they have all generated considerable interest from local people. As a member of the Planning Committee at West Lindsey I have tried, within the constraints of the planning system, to get the best possible results. Planning decisions must always be determined on planning grounds. The best representations that we receive at the committee are when people come armed with our local planning policies and demonstrate how a proposed development conflicts with those policies. Based on the number of appeals, which have been upheld by the Planning Inspectorate, in the council’s favour; I think we are doing a very good job for our residents.

It was with sadness that I learnt of the death of Nettleham Parish Councillor Allan Bonney in October. He will be much missed. I have been pleased to support and welcome his successor Mr. Richard Porter to the council, who will formally sit with us for the first time this January.

As we approached the end of the year my time, and that of my colleagues, has become increasingly focussed on getting the district council’s budget to balance. It has not been easy. Tough decisions continue to lie ahead and that means that the local elections in May will be terribly important. They will be a choice between a competent Conservative administration that has weathered the choppy waters of austerity and has a plan for the future or the risk of the untried and untested alternatives. 

I have very much enjoyed the past two years as a district councillor for the Nettleham Ward. I hope that local people will be kind enough to re-elect me in May so that I may continue to keep our community at the forefront of the minds of local decision-makers.

For each and all I offer my sincere wish for health, prosperity and happiness in 2015.

New Year's Message

"Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold; Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world."

It is these words of Yeats that perhaps, for me, sum up the year.

I would like to wish everyone who lives in Greetwell, Grange-de-Lings, Nettleham and Riseholme – the people that I represent on West Lindsey District Council – my best wishes for a happy and prosperous New Year.

West Lindsey District Council sadly lost three of its members in 2013.  The Elswitha Report demonstrated how close the authority came to being in very hot water. Nevertheless, swift action by competent officers averted disaster. As a new member of the council I am determined to ensure that lessons are learned and mistakes are not repeated.

In the Nettleham Ward we have had a mixed year. There was bad news for local library users. Good news for Greetwell as new leadership on the parish council brought fresh efforts to bring the community together. And disgruntlement in Riseholme as the University of Lincoln served notice on Bishop Burton College that they would not be renewing the lease creating an uncertain future.

I have had a busy year, my appointment as the Conservative Group's Chief Whip means I have been busy keeping seats filled on committees and on occasion attending committees on which I am not a regular member as a substitute. This is helping me understand more fully how this district council functions.

I was also very proud to be appointed Vice-Chairman of the Governance and Audit Committee. I think that Accountant, Cllr. Mrs. Sue Rawlins and I, with my background in political theory make an excellent and complimentary team heading up this committee. It has been a hard year. The Authority's rating for governance was rated red by our internal auditor and this means we must improve. These things take time, especially as they require cultural change in the attitudes of people. I hope to see some immediate progress on the balance of power between councillors and officers redressed early in the coming year.

One of the highlights of the year was Nettleham's victory, once again, in the Lincolnshire Best Kept Village competition. As a member of Nettleham Parish Council, who enter the village in the competition, and take great pride in ensuring that Nettleham overall is maintained to a high standard, I am pleased that our community's hard-work was recognised.

In May I was very pleased that Conservative County Councillor for the Nettleham & Saxilby Division Cllr. Mrs. Jackie Brockway, was successfully re-elected. In tough conditions Jackie managed to both increase her majority in percentage and numerical terms, which is an impressive achievement.

I have been able throughout the year to support a number of local projects through my Councillor Initiative Fund. I have supplied monies for equipment and repairs for Nettleham Cricket Club, photographic equipment for the children of Nettleham Infants School, funding to support the new Greetwell Get-togethers which are helping to make Greetwell more of a community and assisted in the purchase of a HD projector unit for the clubhouse at Lindum Rugby Club on Lodge Lane.

In April is was really please to join Jackie and a team of local volunteers from Greetwell with a 'Spring Clean' littler pick in North Greetwell along the A158.

I am genuinely distressed that the vacated Linelands site in Nettleham remains boarded up - I pass it almost everyday when walking into the village centre. I had expected to hear that progress was being made in finding a private developer to redevelop the site into a new elderly 'extra care' home. I plan to continue to make representations to the County Council demanding that action is taken to bring the site back into use.

I know that 2014 will have more challenges ahead and action will be needed to solve the issues we face. Nevertheless I feel a renewed sense of optimism is beginning to percolate through our nation and soon, I hope, everyone will begin to feel the benefit.

For each and all I offer my sincere wish for health, prosperity and happiness.

Giles McNeill
Working hard for the Nettleham Ward

New Year's Message

I would like to wish all the people of Greetwell, Grange-de-Lings, Nettleham and Riseholme – the people that I represent on West Lindsey District Council – my best wishes for a happy and prosperous New Year.

I am grateful to so many people who supported me last summer, helping me secure election as one of your two district councillors. I intend to work hard for all residents of the Nettleham Ward in 2013 and beyond.

Local government, across the country, is under increasing pressure. Councils are already tackling budget cuts of 28% and face a tough outlook.

The economic legacy left by Labour’s lassie-faire and lacking approach to debt – whether national or personal – is driving an unprecedented process of change as local authorities have to radically reform their services to meet the challenges the ‘Age of Austerity’.

Councillors are on the frontline. We are having to make the difficult choices about what services stay and what services have to go. We are choosing what can be transformed and what has to be decommissioned.

Elected by local people to protect their interests and represent them we must lead a process of innovation, adaption and change; doing so against a back-drop of declining trust in politics and politicians.

During my election campaign in the summer I made four pledges to local residents. 

At the time of the by-election I said that ‘Low Council Tax was my priority. It remains so. Your money must be spent well by the council, but I am sure you want to keep as much as possible for your own needs. Through my work on West Lindsey’s Governance and Audit Committee I scrutinise how effective the council’s organisation is and will continue to make the case for keeping the Council Tax frozen.

I also promised to bring the Linelands site back into use as an extra care home for the elderly with daycentre facilities. I am pleased to say that it is anticipated that a formal tendering process will begin soon to bring the site back into use as adult social care provision. I have been active on this issue, holding preliminary conversations with potential providers within the sector and encouraging them to prepare bids.

I made it clear that Nettleham was not the right place for operational police services to be moved from West Parade, Lincoln. I opposed the plans for a ‘Custody Suite’ at Police Headquarters on Deepdale Lane. I am very pleased to report that through concerted effort with fellow councillors at all levels and with the excellent campaign organised by SOLVE this view has prevailed and the new Police and Crime Commissioner, Alan Hardwick, who I met the day following his election, and who was able to reassure me, has scrapped this proposal.

Finally I pledged to protect our villages from unsuitable development. I am pleased that I now serve on the Planning Committee, giving me my say in development plans across the district – a firm voice for our communities.

The past year has been one of change. As a Governor at Nettleham Infants School, we changed to Academy status in September. I have been working to reduce inconsiderate parking which local residents find vexing. I am particularly concerned, and hope to tackle in the coming year, parking around the school when the school safety zone is not in effect and the reports of rudeness by parents to local residents.
In 2013 I hope to bring back on to the agenda the issue of flooding. Nettleham seems to have missed out since the floods of 2007 in getting real help to mitigate the risk of flooding. At the end of 2012 we came very close to a repeat of those floods, with the path along the Beckside between Church Street and Vicarage Lane flooded.

In May we will once again be invited to go to the polling stations to vote in elections to Lincolnshire County Council. I am certain that participation will be higher than the paltry 15.3% achieved in the Police and Crime Commissioner Elections. However, decisions are made by those who show up, so I would encourage everyone to go and vote and if circumstances require I would urge you to consider if obtaining a postal vote is the right thing for you. I am confident that the Conservatives will remain in control of Lincolnshire County Council, where they are delivering for all the people of Lincolnshire in these tough times.

In 2013 I hope we can renew our commitment to heal our communities from the woes of the global economic recession, put aside partisan tendencies, and work with our political opponents on the many things we agree upon.

For each and all I offer my sincere wish for health, prosperity and happiness.

Giles McNeill
Working hard for the Nettleham Ward of West Lindsey District Council