Tag: Steve Tierney

Selective landlord licensing – the devil in the detail

07:21 Thursday 21st January 2016
BBC Radio Cambridgeshire

DOTTY MCLEOD: Peterborough has been reviewing the results of a consultation on whether to charge landlords in parts of the city hundreds of pounds to license their properties. It was an attempt to crack down on anti-social behaviour and unscrupulous landlords, but it proved controversial and provoked allegations of racism when the Council carried out a consultation on the scheme back in 2013. The scheme was deferred again in September last year, only a week after it was put back on the table, and then re-introduced again a month later in October 2015. My producer Dave Webster joins me now. So Dave, how was this scheme actually going to work?
DAVE WEBSTER: Well it’s called selective landlord licensing, and initially it was only going to apply, or it wasn’t going to apply to all landlords in Peterborough, just the ones that have problems in the Gladstone, Millfield, New England and Eastfield areas. Now landlords would have to fill out a form registering the property, that’s for an initial five year period. There was going to be a fee, around about £600, but after consultation with various associations and letting agents, that was dropped to £50. Detractors claimed it was racist, unfairly targeting Asian landlords, who are prevalent in the target area. It would mean additional costs would be passed on to tenants.
DOTTY MCLEOD: And so why was it thought that a scheme like this was needed?
DAVE WEBSTER: Well in short it was designed to try to improve areas of the city to deal with anti-social behaviour, poor quality rental homes and criminal landlords. They’ve been introduced by other councils already. The Government gave the local authorities the power to introduce these licences back in 2006. For example, they’ve had a scheme running in Margate for the last five years. They’ve prosecuted twenty landlords who hadn’t applied for a licence, the maximum fine being £20,000.
DOTTY MCLEOD: And since 2013, this has been a bit of an hokey cokey of a Council policy in that it’s been in, it’s been out, it’s been suggested, it’s been deferred. What’s happened now?
DAVE WEBSTER: Yes. A highly controversial policy. For example landlords queried why the scheme was only proposed for one part of the city, and not make it pan-city wide. back in September last year we reported that councillor Peter Hiller made the decision to defer the scheme. He’s the Council’s Cabinet member for Growth, Planning, Housing and Economic Development. Now in a statement he said that a change to Government legislation in April meant that the Council now required approval from the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government to introduce selective licensing into the target area. So the story is not over yet Dotty. It needs to be signed off by the Secretary of State if the target area contains more than 20% of privately rented homes in the entire area controlled by the Council, which in this case it did. So then a month later in October last year it was put back on the table would you believe it. The aspiration is it will change the quality of life for private tenants. .. Lisa Forbes is the Chair of the Peterborough City Council’s Scrutiny Committee, which met last night to talk about these plans. Morning Lisa.
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Paul Bullen and Steve Tierney – the Political Outlook for Cambridgeshire

08:20 Thursday 29th May 2014
BBC Radio Cambridgeshire

[C]HRIS MANN: The elections may be over, but the fallout from the results is only just beginning it appears. UKIP of course grabbed most of the headlines, and their rise has been particularly strong in Cambridgeshire. In fact Fenland saw the fifth biggest percentage of people voting for UKIP in the UK, and their vote share has, well, rocketed from just 5% in 2011 to a whopping 47% in this year’s Euro elections. So could that mean the area that’s traditionally True Blue is going to turn purple? I’m joined now on the line by Paul Bullen, who’s Leader of UKIP at Cambridgeshire County Council. Hello Paul.
PAUL BULLEN: Good morning.
CHRIS MANN: Still celebrating?
PAUL BULLEN: Ah. I think the celebrations are finished now. It’s down to hard work and planning for the elections next year.
CHRIS MANN: Also with us is Steve Tierney, the Chairman of Wisbech Conservatives. How have you got through the last few days?
STEVE TIERNEY: Very well thank you. Yes. (LAUGHS)
CHRIS MANN: Not feeling down in the dumps, the way that you’ve been dumped at the ballor box by the voters of Cambridgeshire?
STEVE TIERNEY: Well, you know, the election was disappointing, and obviously we would have liked to have done better. But you look at these things and decide what to do about them and you move on.
CHRIS MANN: So Paul Bullen, what are UKIP going to change in Cambridgeshire, realistically?
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Wisbech – European Businesses Filling Vacant Shops

17:24 Tuesday April 29th 2014
BBC Radio Cambridgeshire

[C]HRIS MANN: Over the top and scaremongering. That’s how an article about Wisbech which appeared in the Sun on Sunday newspaper has been described by one business leader in the town. Under the headline “Little Lithuania” it claims locals are being squeezed by the influx of immigrants from Eastern Europe. The Independent councillor for the Waterlees area of Wisbech Cllr Virginia Bucknor has called for people in Wisbech to boycott the Sun.
(TAPE)
VIRGINIA BUCKNOR: There are so many inaccurate comments in that article; the fact that they said one business had to close up after over 100 years because of the Lithuanian shops. He retired. His business is still going well and open for business. I shop there. It’s still being used successfully. Now they do open a lot of the shops there, which I happen to love.
(LIVE)
CHRIS MANN: Steve Tierney is town councillor, Chairman of the Wisbech Conservatives.
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New Leader For Cambs County Council 2013

07:07 Wednesday 22 May 2013
Bigger Breakfast Show
BBC Radio Cambridgeshire

PAUL STAINTON: What a difference a day makes, doesn’t it? Yesterday morning Cambridgeshire County Council was leaderless and in no overall control. Now the Council has a Leader, and the system of governance has been turned upside down. The frontrunner for the Leader’s job, Tory Martin Curtis, was elected Leader with 32 votes, 16 more than rival candidate John Hipkin. But both the LibDems and Labour groups abstained from the vote. They did however vote on a new decision making framework. From May 2014 decisions will be made by all-party committees, rather than a Cabinet. Well Cllr Hipkin (Independent) said the public shouldn’t worry that the committee system will slow down decision making. (TAPE)
JOHN HIPKIN: If this is the way the County’s going to work over the next four years, then I think the people of Cambridgeshire can be reassured. We’ve made a number of sensible decisions. We’ve shown real cooperation between the groups. I think we’ve got on to friendly terms. There’s a good atmosphere in Shire Hall. I’m not sure how long it will last, but believe me it’s strong today.
SAMANTHA DALTON: And why did Labour and the LibDems abstain from voting for you as the Leader? Instead they chose to effectively allow the Tory Leader to come in and be voted for.
JOHN HIPKIN: Well I guess as you know in interviews of this sort one always says this, you’ll have to ask them why they did as they did. But my guess is neither of them was comfortable about forming an alliance. Particularly I think Labour members had a problem about making an administration with UKIP. And I think, if I may say so, I think some of them are more comfortable in opposition than they are for taking responsibility for government. Something which may interest your listeners, which is that UKIP voluntarily upon my request gave us two very important places on two very important committees, simply because they understood that we had a closer relationship with the communities in question that did they. Now say what you like about UKIP, but that’s what they have done. (LIVE)
PAUL STAINTON: Well here to discuss it are Maurice Leeke, new Leader of the LibDems, and Phil Rodgers, a Cambridge based political blogger. Good morning gentlemen.
BOTH: Good morning.
PAUL STAINTON: First of all, Maurice, it all appears to be working wonderfully well so far. Everybody getting on, everybody sharing things, it’s like a beautiful vision in rainbow colours. Continue reading “New Leader For Cambs County Council 2013”