Harwell Village News and Gossip

Following the collapse of the wall at Rosemead Cottage on the High Street on the 8th Feb 2005, Councillor Jim Mulford used Parish Council ground staff and equipment to help remove the debris and tidy up.

There would normally be no issue here, and we would think 'what a nice thing to do', except that this is Jim Mulford's friend, and we have no evidence to suggest that assistance has been offered to anyone else in the Parish. Clearly some people see Jim's assistance and reallocation of Parish Council staff and equipment as an irresponsible use of our money to help his friends.

One can only speculate if this sort of activity has led to the increased cost of the Parish Council this year.

This is the second incident where we have reported 'friends' of Jim Mulford gaining preferential treatment - the appointment of Jim Mulfords friend as Parish Council clerk (without as far as we can see any advertising for the post) being the first. Many in the Parish question Jim Mulfords ethics, and see this type of action as the cause.

This could be a mistake though, and Parish Councillor Jim Mulford may be honestly looking to help all members of the Parish. We would like to see his plans for this (and we will certainly be looking through the Parish Council minutes for any cost recovery or admission of a conflict of interests from Jim Mulford), but in the mean time please feel free to contact him on 01235 835500 (number taken from the Harwell Parish notice board). Do not hold your breath though as we have already heard from people who have been turned down by Jim.

We have a short addition to the article, the owner of the house did confirm to us in an email that Jim and Co. were helping. She was at pains though to point out that it was a road traffic accident that demolished the wall.

Mrs Kings wonderful Grade II listed cottage collapsed on the 12th Feb 2005. Two thatched cottages were destroyed in the accident. These houses were a wonderful feature on the A417 heading out of Harwell towards Upton.

News papers and others are blaming a bodged renovation attempt, but at the time of writing this is not clear. The new owner Mr Dawson has been modernising the two cottages, one of which (Mrs Kings) had been empty since she passed away at the beginning of 2003.

Thankfully no one was hurt and the adjacent houses seem to be unaffected by the collapse.

It is clear that the current Chairman June Blissett is out of her depth and has lost focus, it is also clear that many of the Councillors are inappropriate for the roles they have undertaken. We need a new agenda, we need a new approach, and we need to bring Harwell back to the people of the village.

Here is where we could start:

Environmental Issues. Let's define a statement towards the environment. What the villagers expect, and how the council should act.

The Didcot Development. Lets get the best possible houses for the people that are going to live there. Lets not worry about personal agendas and stubborn rejection of the plans, and get back into the talks and make things better for our new Parish residents. We should explore with the developers how we can help the people of Harwell by looking at rebuilding some of the crumbling Harwell facilities.

Business Development. The Parish Council have no idea or plans to help businesses within our area. Lets see what we can do by talking to local businessmen, and working these ideas into the plans for the Parish.

Recreation. Our ground staff are among the best, but are not supported by the Parish Council. Use of the playing fields, and signs to show people how to get there will increase the use of these facilities, and allow Harwell to utilise the empty back field. We should also look to Lottery funding to help renew the worn down play area for children.

Web site. The technophobic nature of the existing Parish Council make this impossible to support. Let's open up the Parish to the world, and allow email to the Councillors and staff.

People management. This is clearly something that can only get better. Introduction of NALC policies and guidelines (something rejected by the current Parish Council) will improve staff morale, and improve the public's ability to gain access to the Councillors and the Parish Council staff.

Review the current contracts with a view to selecting the contract with the highest merit and value.

Planning. Define a set of Parish standards that will help the people of the Parish understand the general rules under which the Parish Council will accept planning applications.

Facilities. While the Parish magazine stands out as a clear success, most of the services offered to the village are in decline, or have been suspended. We need to document what is available to us, and how we are going to make the most it.

But to do this we need to remove the current Chairman June Blissett, and realign the appropriate Councillors to the new plan.

Lets clear up two things on this site as they are important and will stop a lot of lies:

Emma Hollister (the now ex-Parish Council Clerk) who has been complaining to the Parish Council Chairman about verbal and other abuse from many of the current unelected Parish Councillors has finally been forced out of her administrative position in the Parish Council.

In what some might see as either a mass outbreak of forgetfulness, and others as collusion, the Parish Chairman and a few of the strutting B listers removed her from her position for misconduct. All because she sent an email, and the B listers 'forgot' that they asked her to do so. No honestly - thats was it - they are pathetic.

And of course there are no surprises that in a totally biased and not-in-our-communities-best-interests move, Jim Mulford and June Blissett's friend has taken over the position. The new clerk is of course the old clerk - well the one before Emma Hollister. She left several years ago in a tantrum over working conditions. But now, for the moment at least, she is back.

We have asked Emma to write a document for this web site, and we hope she does - it is always good to see the truth and not hear the lies.

And finally for today, we applaud our sponsor who is under constant verbal threat from the ever wagging tongue of June Blissett and the B-list gang. The 'I'll get him' attitude of the few show just how much they have to hide.

However, he (our sponsor) should seek comfort from the praise and good will that we have heard from all but one of the villagers. One also has to wonder how long it will take the old guard to realise their position is untenable, and that they represent no one but themselves.