Friday 12 February 2010

Malvern Hills District Council Budget Consultation

Yesterday, MHDC held their annual Tenbury Roadshow, to an almost empty hall.

Tenbury Business's had been invited by an email that said.

We have a vision of a district, which has first class services and facilities, is clean, safe, healthy and prosperous and has vibrant and active communities.

As a valued member of our business community we would really like to hear your views on how we propose to spend your money in 2010/11 towards making that vision a reality.

Only two people turned up. One a Town Councillor who also runs a small business and is linked to two others, and me!

This did give us a good opportunity to discuss at length various local issues, but none that is really worth expanding on at this point.

It is a shame that despite the obvious effort of the District Council to include Tenbury in their consultations, that so few people get involved. I can only assume that either everyone is too busy, or they are entirely happy with how Malvern runs the District.

15 comments:

Anonymous said...

Well, it would have been nice to have known about it in advance!

Phil said...

Why do MHDC only invite businesses? If they had invited the public then more people - including me - would have turned up. I think most people are unhappy with the way things are run, perhaps that's why MHDC didn't invite us?

DaveC said...

I run 2 businesses in town and neither of them got an invite. I had no idea the meeting was going ahead. I suspect the reason the attendance was so poor is that the business owners never acdtually received the email. Whilst ny business may be based 'over the border' at the Aspire Centre, I and the other businesses that run from there still regard ourselves as Tenbury Busineeses not Shropshire ones. I suggest MHDC need to try harder. Or didn't they really want busineeses to attend?

DaveC said...

And I bet that all those businesses on the Lower Teme Business Park weren't invited either; nor Kerry's, nor Esterform, nor Henry Edwards etc etc, all because they are technically in Shropshire. But anyone can see they are all Tenbury businesses, some of them big employers. MHDC really do need to learn to look at the bigger picture.

@WR15 said...

I don't know what the invite criteria was, but last year I assumed they only invited businesses that pay business rates. I am registered on the MHDC business directory (follow the links from their home page). Perhaps it was only registered businesses that were invited. I originally heard about the meeting when it was advertised to the Town Councillors by the District Councillor at a Town Council meeting.

Anonymous said...

We pay business rates and we weren't invited! We also pay Council Tax. Do you know if the Council has any plans to hold a public, rather than invitation-only, event? It's our money they spend!

@WR15 said...

The meeting wasn't invitation only. It was advertised elsewhere (just not very much). Now too late for any more meetings this year, the budget has been set.

Anonymous said...

Where and when was it advertised?

Anonymous said...

The next budget consultation meeting is Feb 22, 7pm, Elgar Rooms, Council House, Malvern, if anyone fancies a 60 mile round trip.

Anonymous said...

hang on one sec
businesses in burford payed their business rates to shropshire not to malvern
it is up to shropshire council to do something for them.
Malvern are getting better at running their affairs

@WR15 said...

It is a great shame that due to the lack of investment in Tenbury, many of "Tenbury's" businesses are located in Shropshire. Whilst most people live in the MHDC area, the employment is in Shropshire.

Anonymous said...

It's about time that the two councils for Shropshire and Malvern got their heads together. Why cant anybody in power see that Burford needs Tenbury for facilities, employee's, employment etc, and Tenbury needs Burford for Employment, housing and custom etc. It's about time either the two areas were merged, or the councils worked together to include everyone. We are ONE community, split down the centre by red tape and borderlines. Until that happens we will never do any good. I live in Burford and consider myself to be a Tenburian, I shop in Tenbury, I don't visit Ludlow, yet I have no say in how the town is run.

Anonymous said...

I think many people have a view that either Burford should be in Worcestershire or Tenbury in Shropshire, but I guess hell will freeze over before either faction agree.

Anonymous said...

IF i remember many years ago the people of burford had a referendem on about moving into worcestershire they voted against

reason why in those days under the old rates system it was cheaper so you burford people had their chance
so hard cheese

Anonymous said...

Trouble is I wasn't old enough to have a vote then!!

Perhaps it is time to re-visit this one for the good of all of us - Tenbury and Burford.