Every now and then I take a day and really get stuck into district councillor work. Most days I am working and can get to evening meetings only. This is what I did one day recently.
My day started at 0900 with a kerbside meeting with a highways engineer from the county council and parish councillors in Whittlesford. We wanted his views on options to make a junction safer, including the possibility of a traffic mirror at the Guildhall junction. The County Council engineer was not keen, but at least we understand now what we have to do to take this foward.
1100 - I arrive at the District Council's offices at Cambourne for the first of a series of meetings. I'm vice chair of the Climate Change Working Group and we have secured a sizeable grant for a scheme working with parish councils. The scheme will help them reduce carbon emissions and establish some household examples of fuel efficiency. Together with the chair of the group and the climate change officer from the district council, we work on a project plan for the first year of funding.
1230 - I go and have a sandwich lunch with the chair of the standards committee - an independent person, a businesswomen in fact, not a district councillor. We discuss how we can work together, as I chair the corporate governance committee, which looks after audits and risks. That done, I go off and find another councillor to discuss the scrutiny committee and whether it should look into some grants. We decide, after working through a complicated diagram showing the links between the district and the county, that actually this issue is best covered by the county council - we conclude that there is no point in duplicating work!
1500 - I meet with the chief executive of the district council, and we go through the upcoming corporate governance meeting, and any particular issues that we should put on the agenda. I'm keen to make sure we don't miss anything out.
1600 - I call in on the planning section, because a resident has asked for some advice and I need to make sure of what I am saying in reply, so check with one of the experienced officers. I also pick up a copy of a section 106 agreement, which is where a developer agrees to make a payment for local amenities (play facilities is a good example) in return for being allowed to build. I have a meeting one evening next week with residents on this and I need to make sure I have the facts.
1700 - Leave Cambourne and drive through Cambridge, picking up one of my boys from school, and return home. Phew! But I've learnt some new things, resolved some problems, and that is what it is all about.
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