SAVE HAYLING POLICE – Community Comes Together to Fight Cuts

I’m proud to have spearheaded the campaign to save our island from further police cuts.

In the face of threats to cut vital community policing the community really came together. A public petition was created and made available online and in local shops and businesses on Hayling. The response was overwhelming and in a little over 4 weeks the petition was signed by over 1,600 people.

The comments on the petition explain very clearly how and why the loss of our local Police  is such a important issue at the heart of our community.

They include: 

“With crime increasing on the island it’s not the best time to be cutting the police presence”

“Police presence is vital to keeping Hayling safe and secure, especially with the recent influx of break ins and thefts. Although Havant Police have done a great job apprehending the more violent suspects with crimes including violent knife attacks within the last month, I am 100% positive losing a local police officer would have a far reaching detrimental effect on our small Island.”

“With rising incidents on Hayling and more houses being built, it is essential that we have a dedicated police officer who is part of our community the whole time.”

You can read all the comments on the online petition which is available if you click here.

The petition has been sent to Havant MP, Alan Mak, for the attention of both Alan and all Hayling councillors, with the following letter:

Dear Alan,

Please find enclosed a petition from the people of Hayling Island who wish to protect police funding.

You will appreciate that the petition is intended for you and all Hayling councillors. You will equally appreciate that councillors have shown a reluctance to address this issue, preferring to suggest that police budget issues do not fall under their remit as councillors. The fact remains however that funding solutions require all elected officials to work together, particularly during a period in which the government is increasingly ‘out sourcing’ funding to local authorities and dedicated bodies. In light of this, I urge you to take a joined up approach to finding a solution. The public, ultimately, are not concerned about the bureaucracy underpinning funding, just that funding is provided.

Since launching the petition, communication has been ongoing between a number of locals and relevant representatives of both the police and the council. Whilst these communications have been helpful, they have often provided contradictory information. As it stands then, there is a widespread fear that policing on Hayling is likely to be squeezed even harder in 2018. Having been an island with a fully functioning police station just a few short years ago, it has already been confirmed that Hayling will now fall under the wider Havant and Emsworth unit and this will result in a thinner spread of officers with one much admired officer no longer beginning and ending her day focusing on our island. And whilst there was at one point a suggestion that the only changes which should be anticipated would purely be an issue of standard officer rotations, it has since been confirmed that rotation is not the issue here.

There is a clear and obvious correlation between the decrease in policing and the increase in crime. With the burgeoning costs associated with rising crime figures, it is difficult to argue that funding cuts represent anything other than short term savings but higher long term costs. Good management of the public purse then needs not only a joined up approach but a stronger focus on longer term fiscal management.
So allow me, for the sake of clarity, to reiterate the intention of this petition: to urge you to work with all local representatives and other relevant bodies to save Hayling from policing cuts.

The publicly ultimately judge the actions of any politicians on real life results, not on statements of intent or commitments to make representations. I urge you then to deliver on this.

Should you wish to speak to me directly about this matter, I would, of course, be happy to oblige.

Yours Sincerely,

Paul Gray

Hayling Island – A Lidl Bit of Diversity?

Hayling Island Lidl

Lidl wants to put a store on Hayling. The debate is raging on Facebook and the planning process is taking its course with public consultation. Whatever the outcome it is clear that Hayling residents, myself included, care passionately about their island. 

It has made me wonder though what is it that we are all fighting for? What is it about Hayling that makes it Hayling? Whether it is the tip, housing development or Lidl’s I keep hearing that Hayling is an island and has unique problems because of that. Whilst not denying that, is that all that makes Hayling worth fighting for? Portsea is an island but it is still heavily developed.

Planning decisions about a place are usually made by people who don’t live there but who believe they have a clear perception of what the place is like. So how does Havant Borough Council see Hayling? If recent experience is anything to go by, it is a piece of land they can fill with housing without thinking about infrastructure. It is an island where they can put retirement homes. It is an island they can see but not hear. I think we should change all that. I think it’s time we should make ourselves heard.

But what voice should we speak with? Is the island full of NIMBYs who will object to all development? Is the island full of the middle class and the retired that just wants everything like it was in their past? Is part of the island community blind to the plight of their poorer neighbours? What sort of island is Hayling?

My own view is that the voice of the island should reflect the diversity it holds, both in its people and in its environments.

The island is a place where the past and future can exist together, where a traditional family funfair, which was new itself once upon a time, is only just along the beach from wind and kite surfers, where nostalgia mixes with modern pastimes and each feeds off the other. Hayling surely has to be an island where traditional family businesses can co-exist with large corporations.

It should be an island that should focus on building inclusive communities and fighting for the needs of each community. It should be an island that see its natural beauty as a key resource for all. The island’s character should be more than its physical extent, it should reflect the future its inhabitants want to share.

Havant Borough Council has a plan for Hayling which it is clearly not executing. In this vacuum islanders have the chance to pour their own thoughts, hopes and wishes. Finding a voice for Hayling may not stop development, but speaking clearly may help islanders to take back some control over the nature and pace of development. Without a distinctive voice no-one will listen to us.

So what sort Hayling do you want?

Alan Mak MP and his fondness for “Alternative Facts”

Local Conservative MP, Alan Mak, has once again been accused of lying to the public over the ‘Save the Tip’ campaign on Hayling Island.

Despite failing to attend a public meeting on the issue, a meeting at which all the major parties bar the Conservatives were represented, Mak now claims to have led the campaign. NOT TRUE.

Whilst local residents discussed the issue, local Conservatives, keen to create a false impression, wandered around Hayling Island pretending NOT to be the party responsible for the cuts, despite being the party in government AND the party running local council.

And Mak’s claims come in spite of him consistently claiming it was a local issue which he could have no real influence over and despite the fact that local cuts are directly linked to funding cuts made by HIS own government.

By April 2016, despite Mak having previously done all he could to dodge the issue, the man now openly mocked by local residents for “jumping in front of cameras” sniffed a publicity opportunity and leapt onto the bandwagon, attempting to rebrand himself as the voice of local disquiet. Now, almost one year on, he has produced a glossy publicity leaflet which infers he is some kind of local saviour. NOT TRUE.

In the end, the campaign was arguably unsuccessful. Efforts were made by many local residents but Hayling only received the same treatment as other areas of Hampshire facing the same cuts, i.e. in the end opening hours were still cut and the council faces a legal challenge over its intention to charge new disposal fees to the public.

Why does this matter? It matters because in an era of “fake news” and “alternative facts” it is essential that someone cuts through the spin and gives the public the truth. This kind of blatant duplicity can not be allowed to continue and therefore, if we are to stop it, it needs to be exposed.

In light of all of this, and in view of the fact that this is not the first time Mak’s honesty has been questioned, I’ll shortly be establishing ‘MAK WATCH,’ a facility whereby local residents can flag up such untruths.

Please then, one and all, do not hesitate to get involved. None of us has the right to complain if we don’t step up. Our community deserves far better than what we’ve currently got.

Hayling Island – Focus on Housing and Infrastructure  

Hayling Island
The ​Hayling Island Infrastructure Review is apparently already underway. The Hayling Island Infrastructure Advisory Committee has identified the main areas of concern. All this, even before the consultation period has ended.

I would like to raise these matters:

Firstly, I believe that the social aspect of infrastructure has to have equal weighting to the economic aspect. There is little point in saving a penny or two if the result is a society that it is difficult to live in.

Secondly,  essential services and  infrastructure must be considered holistically. Infrastructure is not the sum of component parts.  For example, if the review sites transport as the top priority will this mean investment in the transport network but none or diminished investment in health services?

Thirdly, all stakeholders must be consulted. By this  I mean that organisations such as the NHS, HBC, HCC, Highways Agency etc must be heard.

Fourthly, the review should not be seen as an end point. The review should look to growth projections and plan to future proof the Island’s infrastructure.

Fifthly, I am convinced that the terms of reference of the review should give equal weighting to what might be described as intangibles such as  air-quality and environmental impact. Such indirect costs may be tricky to work out but that does not mean they should not be considered. These intangibles are often the most vital elements for the social and economic vitality of a community.

Lastly, the review should consider the long-term sustainability of any infrastructural development.

What does all this mean? Well, it means some progress is being made. It means the issue of housing is now focused on the practical realities of infrastructure, as is correct. It also means however that our local councillors are repeating a familiar routine of  creating a problem through short-term thinking, creating themselves a very limited definition of a successful outcome and then congratulating themselves when they meet those low expectations.

Young People are Right to be Angry

Generally, I’m all in favour of more localised democracy. Parish councils can be a valuable asset to a community. But sometimes, and only sometimes, the line between local and parochial can be all too thin.

How exactly is the parish council in this video serving its community? It isn’t. This is nothing more than some stuffy coggers wanting to stop the kids. They seem determined to keep their little part of England in a time warp. Except of course it isn’t just THEIR bit of England. It’s also those young peoples’ bit of England. And surely they deserve a community council which represents them as well?

Trying to ignore whole sections of communities never ends well. Disenfranchising young people will only create wider social divisions.

You can read more about the campaign for Wittering Skate Park here.

Pompey – SOS Call Good for the Club

Very pleased to see that the Pompey community group, SOS, has spoken up about getting behind the team.

At Saturday’s game at Fratton Park, despite a two-nil win against Accrington Stanley, sections of the Fratton faithful turned on the Pompey players.

There’s never any point in attacking your own team. It’s counterproductive.

Good on SOS for having their say.

More about the events on Saturday were covered in The News today.

Follow SOS Pompey on their Facebook page and Twitter