Fresh push to create a Grantham Town Council

By The Editor

30th Sep 2021 | Local News

A fresh push has been made for a town council to be created for Grantham.

A motion has been submitted for today's full meeting of South Kesteven District Council calling for the review on the issue.

It has been made by the Deputy Mayor of Grantham, Graham Jeal (Con-Grantham St Vincent's).

His Notice of Motion said: "That the Council approves the commencement of a Community Governance Review in relation to the establishment of a Town Council for Grantham".

Traditionally, support for a Grantham Town Council has been strongest from the district council's small Labour Group, rather than from the ruling Conservatives.

Grantham is the only one of the four market towns in South Kesteven not to have a town council. Stamford, Bourne and Market Deeping all have one.

Fears about the cost of such a body is a factor in opposition to creating a town council for the district's largest town.

Nub News sought comment from Coun Jeal.

The agenda for today's meeting also includes a motion from Grantham Labour Councillor Charmaine Morgan calling for SKDC to call on the government to review business rates and support other measures to help the embattled high street, as previously reported by Nub News.

Deepings Independent Councillors have also submitted their own motions.

Coun Ashley Baxter wants the Council to instruct the relevant Cabinet Member co-ordinate a public consultation or residents and stakeholders before any further decision is made on a £40,000 report which recommends a raft of measures concerning how SKDC handles planning policy is taken to its Constitution Committee, Cabinet or Council.

His motion commented: "The Council has paid over £40,000 to a private consultancy (Cratus) to undertake a review of the SKDC Planning Service. The review has been presented to the Governance and Audit Committee and Planning Committees and contains 29 recommendations. It is said to recognise the importance of planning as a critical component in supporting economic growth and unlocking future prosperity of local communities.

"The Planning Service Review has received a mixed and luke-warm response from Councillors. If implemented via constitutional and other procedural amendments, it will have a massive impact on the way in which planning applications are dealt with by the Council including a significant change in the level of involvement and influence that Councillors can have."

Coun Phil Dilks has raised the issue of the Deepings Leisure Centre.

His motion said: "This Council welcomes the recent frank admission by the Leader that decades of failure have led to The Deepings currently having an unusable Leisure Centre.

"Council resolves to launch an urgent independent inquiry to investigate all aspects of what led to the current situation including:

"Why proper maintenance was not carried out year-on-year

"Why the Deepings Leisure Centre lease was never signed

"Why County Council funding of £124,000 a year to support Deeping Leisure Centre was withdrawn in 2014 unlike similar funding for the North Kesteven Council facility at North Hykeham which was continued to be paid by LCC

"Why no site for the long-promised replacement Deepings Leisure Centre has been agreed

"To establish whether funding for a new-build Deepings Leisure Centre was ever available."

Today's meeting is at the Meres Leisure Centre and is due to start at 1pm, with a session where the public can ask questions.

The formal part of council business will start at 1.30pm, unless the public sessions ends earlier.

     

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