Yesterday, the Medway Conservatives called in for further scrutiny the cabinet decision to agree the next tranche of the school street roll out, taken on 19th November.
The Conservative Group are concerned that there has been no opportunity to scrutinise the results of the consultation exercise, despite concerns raised on several of the schemes by the public. The Group are further concerned that the Cabinet are taking too fast an approach to the next phase of the rollout. The Group support school streets where there is evidenced public support for the scheme, and a tangible impact to safety and air quality can be demonstrated.
Councillor Andrew Lawrence, Shadow Cabinet Member for Regeneration, Community and Housing, said:
“Whilst the Cabinet are the executive authority, they have a duty to listen to the concerns of members of the Council and residents when making far reaching decisions impacting large numbers of residents.
I wrote to the Portfolio Holder, Cllr Alex Paterson, before the Cabinet meeting, detailing my concerns, which, unfortunately, he ignored. Through this call in, it will ensure that there is an opportunity for residents’ concerns to be properly heard and discussed, as well as the opportunity for elected members to scrutinise the next tranche further.
The Conservative Group will support policy that is evidence based and has clear and deliverable outcomes. It is not acceptable to restrict residents’ movements without considering consultation even with an exception scheme.”
Leader of the Opposition, Councillor George Perfect added:
“The Conservative Group will always stand up and champion residents’ concerns and respect the outcomes of consultation.
This call in provides an opportunity for residents and members to have their concerns listened to by the appropriate Overview and Scrutiny committee, and I look forward to the discussion at the forthcoming meeting.”
