Communication not confrontation

4
2081

In six weeks time we will be going to the polls to elect our representatives on both Rye Town Council and Rother District Council for the next four years. It has been this way since the government of the day changed the system of local government and the majority of the powers of our town council were transferred to a new overriding local authority, Rother.

Since then there has been an often-fraught relationship between the two councils with differences of opinion and often a feeling in Rye that Rother is only concerned with the interests of Bexhill and that Rye, being on the far east of its empire, is worthy of little or no consideration.

This is, in fact, not true, but it is understandable particularly when we hear, for example, that RDC, whilst pleading poverty, is able to find millions of pounds to top up the grant to maintain the De La Warr Pavilion – surely the biggest white elephant in East Sussex – and Rother Cllr Prochak tells us in her article this week that proceeds from Rye litter fines are being used to fund a new initiative to keep all the bus shelters clean. There is, of course, just one old bus shelter in Rye but many, including some new, in Bexhill. Neither is it helped by the rest of Cllr Prochak’s piece, where she tries to convince us that the litter enforcement agents are in fact polite, agreeable gentlemen doing their best to persuade us to be nice and tidy, when there is plenty of evidence (admittedly anecdotal, but plenty of it, nevertheless) to suggest otherwise. The implication is that she has no intention of changing the system (from which, far from being a cost to Rother, they are actually paid by the enforcement company – no wonder the agents concerned are so keen to extract every last penny from both residents and our visitors).

This may have sounded so far like a Rother-bashing piece, but it is not intended to be. There are faults on all sides, but it is possible to work together for the common good. Currently our excellent mayor and his team are ably demonstrating this by their success (so far, at least) with negotiations to re-open the swimming pool and also by persuading Rother to take the future of the Landgate seriously. We should also remember that some of the perceived problems were brought on by Rye itself when the then town council handed over so much of the town’s assets to the new district council during the local government reorganisation of the 1970s.

Some while ago the editor, news editor and this writer (being a former editor) had several informal meetings with representatives of RDC including the chief executive and several senior councillors. At these meetings, a genuine interest was shown in working with Rye and trying to find more that would unite us rather than divide us. And if one thing came out of these meetings it was the necessity for communication and for everyone in Rye to know what decisions were being taken and why.

Without trying to attribute more power to Rye News than is the case, it is nevertheless, a fact that the majority of our readers hear what goes on at councils – whether town or district or even county – through our pages. We are, after all, one of the only disseminators of truly local news left in the area. It is vital, therefore that we are told what is going on.

So far as the Rye council is concerned, we are in touch with the town hall and, of course, we are able to publish regular updates and reports from our mayor, a practice which hopefully will be carried on by future mayors. However we hear little, if anything, from Rother, which means from our RDC councillors. They may well be doing an excellent job, but we don’t know that. They may well be trying hard to persuade nearly 40 other councillors, the majority of whom will have no interest in Rye, what is needed here and how the town differs from, say, Bexhill. But, again, they haven’t told us.

All we have had recently is another RDC councillor who does not represent the ward of Rye and Winchelsea, nor, so far as I am aware, lives in Rye, regularly using our comments columns and trying to convince us all that our councillors and Rother know best. Cllr Prochak’s, if one may say so, slightly insensitive contribution this week, is a classic example of this lack of understanding of our town.

Which brings me back to my first sentence. We will have two elected Rother councillors on May 5 and at least one will be new to the job. Regardless of their political affiliations, their job is to get Rye’s message and our needs and problems through to the rest of the council and also TO TELL US. If the town knows, it may not always agree, but it will at least understand.

So, councillors, tell Rye News what you are doing and why. Your constituents want to hear from you and the pages of this paper are open to you, please use them and then perhaps we can all work together, not just on emergency projects such as the swimming pool, but on everything else as well.

Image Credits: RDC .

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4 COMMENTS

  1. I presume I am the Rother councillor referred to in John Minter’s letter.
    For the sake of the record I live in Fairlight, which I have represented since 2019, together with the villages of Guestling, Icklesham and Pett. Not so far away. I often visit Rye to shop, see the Art Gallery, attend classes or have a meal. I have family members who are long-term residents of the town – one of whom was educated in Rye.
    I attended the Rye News event at the Brewery Yard and put my name forward as a contributor.
    It is odd to say there is a need for Rother councillors to explain what they are doing and then criticise me and Cllr Sue Prochak MBE when we do just that.
    Much local government expenditure is sourced by grants for specific purposes awarded by central government. It’s a question of finding suitable projects to fit the criteria.
    Let us have the two-way communication I’m sure John would support and together see through projects for the benefit of the town – and nearby villages.

  2. ‘The Minter of our discontent…’ But actually, John, you’re right. Communication is key.
    I think, however, what’s forgotten is, councillors, whether RTC or RDC don’t have some big comms machine behind them and a slick PR team. If they go home and have sufficient energy, they write an article for Rye News, and if they’re lucky enough (ahem…) it gets published. Then, by and large, it gets savaged. Often by your good self, John. And one might wonder what that does for the correspondent’s inclination to write another? Or for people’s desire to stand as a candidate for election in the first place. But that’s another story, and a broader problem in our society. And journalism must be rigorous and robust, and I suppose those who stick their head above the parapet must be also…
    However, yes, you’re totally correct, John, people need to be kept in the loop about what’s happening in their name and with their taxes, if they’re to stay engaged in democracy. But there’s another facet to this too, people barely have enough time to slump in front of the telly and glug a well earned glass of vino at the end of the day. Who wants to start picking through the minutiae of council meetings or to attend the public gallery? Precious few, I suspect. So we do need to communicate, but we also need to be able to trust our representatives too. Sadly, faith in democracy has taken a battering, and that’s one reason why politicians of any rank and status are so often mistrusted. The people I know, who are turning up to council meetings for Parish, Town and District, are, I believe, doing their best in very difficult circumstances – and they’re volunteers. They’re not out for world domination or to enrich themselves or to inflate their ego. So, of course they need to communicate and to be held to account, but they need to be given a break sometimes too. And the shortcomings in the system need to be acknowledged. Lastly, Rye News is, as you say, an invaluable voice for our community, but it’s also an intrinsic pillar of local democracy. Local councillors and journalists alike ought to be commended for putting themselves out, and personally, I’d like to see less antagonism and less tribalism throughout our society. At the Town Meeting and in the last session of RTC, there were strong echoes of this sentiment, so I really hope for more light and less heat. Keep up the good work, John! Xx

  3. Time to look forward and addressing the problems we face instead of constant enquiries into past mistakes.
    Our children are going to bear the brunt of bad decisions made over decades, the major one being housing. I was surprised to learn that there is a site ripe for developement in Bexhill, the old prison (which has been suggested as a holding place for refugees) It has been empty since the early nineties, how many more places such as old MOD sites could be turned into affordable housing with land that belongs to the Nation. Good,affordable housing is the key to wellbeing, too many young families are struggling to make ends meet, the cost of living for those on lower incomes is spiraling out of control and working families should not have to rely on charity to get by.

    • I don’t think you have to live in Rye to express an opinion, what is important is for elected representatives to reserve time to meet residents on a regular basis, if this action is not carried out by our elected representatives people will not be heard. A regular surgery is a pre-requisite.
      As a Rother DC Councillor, more so as a Cabinet member today, individuals are involved in more and more meetings, now they tend to be at The Bexhill TH., not as used to be the case of taking Cabinet or Scrutiny out to our Country parts. Meeting people. Like Westminster, it seems to be a life of meetings, taking major issues years to reach a conclusion, why oh why, does it take so long for legislation to happen or issues to be resolved! I agree with Linda, so much money is being spent on enquiries which could be better spent. The public today do not see outcomes, Government and departments need a radical overhaul on how they run and perform so the public can be more involved and informed.
      It would be good if a member, this time round, of Rye Town Council, could be selected to stand in the Rother elections, this would certainly give that connection with Rye!

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