Wivenhoe Times

  Fiona Harmon 

 I understand that a by-election has now been called for the seat vacated by Kathleen Wenaden on Wivenhoe  Town Council on 29th May. I wonder who the ten electors who requested it are.

 The Colchester Gazette has an important report on the delivery in print of the independent report on subsidence in Clifton Terrace delivered to WTC. There are some good photographs too. The newspaper report can be read here .

 So says today's Colchester Evening Gazette. Sorry news since it was damaged last october.

The markings on the road junction suggest that repairs to the potholes will soon be made thanks to Essex County Council.    

Surprised to discover the allowances being received (before tax and the 10 per cent levy from the Liberal Democrats' party) by two of Wivenhoe's Councillors are: Mark Cory:  Basic allowance from Essex County Council in 2024-25    £13,730   04p                      Basic Allowance from Colchester City Council in 2024-25 £7,576 54p                      Allowance as Deputy Leader of Colchester City Council in 2024-25   £14,319  67p                      Total: £35,626   25p   Andrea Luxford-Vaughan:    Basic Allowance from Colchester City Council in 2024-25     £7,576  54p                                  ...

 

 

I was very puzzled to see the agenda for last Monday's meeting of Wivenhoe Town Council. It had an item covering the election of thehe Mayor and Deputy Mayor for 2025-2026 amongst its items. Why this appeared is not clear to me since the Town Council's Standing Orders provide for the election of its chairman and deputy chairman - i.e the Mayor and Deputy Mayor - at the annual meeting in May. Have I missed something or has this been done?

 

  I should very much like to know when the talks about 7,750 more houses between Wivenhoe and Elmstead began. Who knew that these discussions were taking place? Which local Councillors objected to them? Wivenhoe will, if this development goes ahead, be even more spatially compressed. Time, in my view, for Wivenhoe to get out of the control of Colchester City Council and to tell Tendring District Council enough development of housing is enough.

 These reports can be found by going to the Essex County Council website and entering the word 'Wivenhoe' in the search box. 

 

 

 

I have reported this pothole, which has been there for some time, to the Highways Authority in the hope that it may be rapidly filled in.   

  MARK CORY Colchester City Council basic allowance:  £7,293 55p Colchester City Council Deputy Leader of the Council: £13,784 82p Essex County Council basic allowance: £12,292 Total: £33,370 37p MICHELLE BURROWS Colchester City Council basic allowance: £7,293 55p Colchester City Council Cabinet Member's allowance: £13,128 43p Total: £20,421 98p ANDREA LUXFORD-VAUGHAN Colchester City Council basic allowance: £7,293 55p Colchester City Council Cabinet Member's allowance: £13,128 43p Total: £20,421 98p TOTAL ALLOWANCES PAID TO THESE THREE COUNCILLORS: £74,214 33p These allowances are due to the three Liberal Democrat Party members. Tax has to be paid on these allowances plus a tithe (currently at 10 per cent according to the most recent information available) to the local party organisation. 

Details of the Council's proposed charging plans to be submitted to its Cabinet can be found  here  . Residents are expected to pay £10 in a set-up fee, £30 for a single wheelie bin, and an annual fee of £55. All these charges will be subject to an annual review in the future. The Council hopes to save £200,000 from the scheme in 2024 and, perhaps, £700,000 in the following year. Somehow or other, it will not in my view be a popular move. 

  This is not an advertisement. Ian Grimwade and his team really do offer some of the best services you can find in Wivenhoe.

Walking past these houses is a familiar thing to do. Almost everyone in Wivenhoe has done so. They share one attribute, the porticos on their fronts. These showed to passers-by that their occupants were educated people who understood that the porticos showed their social aspirations even if they were not strictly correct by classical standards. One cannot be certain but  people with these tastes probably aspired to minor gentry status. Unfortunately, neither house found its way into James Bettley's revision of the Pevsner guide to Essex. Vine Farm House Ropery House