tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-66628912009-12-11T11:01:23.501ZThe occasional diary of a Liberal Democrat Councillor. Richard has been a Stone Town Councillor for the Stonefield and Christchurch Ward since 2003 and was elected to Stafford Borough Council for his ward in May 2007. Richard is also parliamentary spokesperson for Stone Liberal Democrats. Stone is a market town in North Staffordshire, midway between Stafford and Stoke-on-Trent.RICHARD STEVENSnoreply@blogger.comBlogger65125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6662891.post-28198743469524065822007-07-13T21:43:00.000+01:002007-07-14T09:04:51.636+01:00

I returned home from Westbridge Park like a drowned rat tonight! Jill Hood and I had been down to meet the skateboarders to see for ourselves the problems with the skate park. We'd met a few of them at our political 'speed dating' session with them during the election campaign and had heard a consistent complaint that the skate park was badly designed and inadequate.It's only when you listen to

RICHARD STEVENSnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6662891.post-209536768281693052007-07-12T22:27:00.000+01:002007-07-13T16:51:54.567+01:00

The judges will be in town next Thursday so tonight's In Bloom meeting was the final get together of the group before the big day.Obviously I wish the town well in the competition but I'll reserve all my other comments about the Stone in Bloom set-up until after the judging.

RICHARD STEVENSnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6662891.post-30951590461360124392007-07-11T20:26:00.000+01:002007-07-12T17:36:24.011+01:00

Tonight was the first of two training sessions for all Borough Councillors on the new Code of Conduct. I had already seen Alistair Welch's presentation as a member of the Standards Committee but had been asked to attend so that I could take part in the 'case scenario' debates which followed.The members were split up into three groups to discuss the four fictional scenarios which we had discussed

RICHARD STEVENSnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6662891.post-82155932887249064182007-07-11T17:16:00.000+01:002007-07-12T17:25:22.777+01:00

There are times when the easiest way to get a job done is to do it yourself!Last year Stafford Borough Council erected four 'Welcome to Stone' display notice boards on our car parks and at the end of Mill Street. Sadly, the laminated information sheets displayed inside soon faded in the sunlight and were removed many months ago. Replacement sheets made out of more sturdy material were ordered and

RICHARD STEVENSnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6662891.post-27482083476428766732007-07-10T23:06:00.000+01:002007-07-13T08:54:48.751+01:00

Tonight's meeting of the Town Council's Tourism and Town Promotion Sub Committee made very good progress. A long list of current issues was addressed. Christmas lights, the proposed new website,the upcoming Music Festival, the Great Flood commemoration, car park signage, finger post signs, town leaflets, the Joules clock, amphitheatre events, etc. - the list is long but things are now really

RICHARD STEVENSnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6662891.post-49416688294745514852007-07-10T16:41:00.000+01:002007-07-11T16:52:31.315+01:00

Staffordshire is one of the safest counties in the country and Stone's crime rate (or lack of it) should be the envy of many towns this size. So it was with horror that I discovered that this morning Stone was the subject of a scene straight out of a Hollywood movie. Radford Street blocked off by three patrol car whilst a dozen or so police officers with machine guns arrested a man and then sped

RICHARD STEVENSnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6662891.post-61388642880204073892007-07-10T09:46:00.001+01:002007-07-10T10:02:03.643+01:00

I had to send apologies to two meetings last night because I had a night off to enjoy myself! Jan and I bought our tickets months ago for the Borough Mayor's Gala performance of Much Ado About Nothing at Stafford Castle - so apologies went to Market Town Initiative and Stone's Independent Voice and I'm sure they both managed without me!And I am so glad I did. The performance was absolutely

RICHARD STEVENSnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6662891.post-48763678841625265392007-07-09T16:57:00.000+01:002007-07-09T18:08:14.034+01:00

Today I've been in two schools but for very different reasons. This morning I had the great pleasure to go up to Yarnfield with Jill Hood to visit Springfields First School on behalf of the Food and Drink Festival. Last year we ran a competition amongst the local schools to see who could grow the biggest pumpkin - the plant on the Festival's logo. The winner was a pupil from Springfields so today

RICHARD STEVENSnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6662891.post-66598961374958528372007-07-08T13:19:00.000+01:002007-07-08T14:24:16.697+01:00

For several years there have been numerous complaints about the ugly hoardings outside the old Coop building in Radford Street and the old Fire Station in Newcastle Street. And with judging for Stone in Bloom only a ten days away it looks as if some anonymous citizens have decided to do something about the problem themselves!I can't disclose too many details because technically what happened this

RICHARD STEVENSnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6662891.post-1980590370186714832007-07-07T23:07:00.000+01:002007-07-08T14:35:35.774+01:00

Stone Choral Society gave a concert tonight in the hall at Alleynes School and it was just what I needed after a long day in town. A programme of 'Songs from America' covered a wide range of styles from spirituals to a medley from West Side Story. And all sung superbly with dedication and enthusiasm.It is so good to see so many friends in the choir who obviously enjoy singing so much. Ju Clarke,

RICHARD STEVENSnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6662891.post-58469170095581142172007-07-07T22:57:00.000+01:002007-07-08T13:07:12.809+01:00

For several weeks I've had the time and date written in my diary. Saturday 7th. July at 10.36 a.m. This was the moment when a train would actually stop at Stone Station and pick up fare paying passengers and I was fully intending to be there to photograph the event.But I failed! Sadly part of my unofficial duties as a member of the Food and Drink Festival group is to be around in town during

RICHARD STEVENSnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6662891.post-71496453222883104682007-07-07T22:48:00.000+01:002007-07-08T14:25:51.195+01:00

There's a bit of a record being set by our Farmers' Market! No one can remember one when it has rained! And the tradition continued today despite a cool and overcast start. By the end of the afternoon the sun was blazing down and I went home with a bit of a tingling face.It was another great Farmers' Market. Almost 40 stalls selling a wide variety of produce including a couple of new stallholders

RICHARD STEVENSnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6662891.post-54445514105923752352007-07-05T16:21:00.000+01:002007-07-05T16:56:33.275+01:00

I had a good chat to Tim Scott this morning. Tim is a very good pal of mine and I fear I've upset him. I first met Tim over three years ago when he'd arrived in town as the Administrator of the Stone Market Town Initiative scheme. We got on like a house on fire. Although he lives on the other side of Uttoxeter, he lives, eats and breathes Stone. He's totally committed to the town and has been,

RICHARD STEVENSnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6662891.post-27958765124472901832007-07-05T15:05:00.000+01:002007-07-05T23:32:49.876+01:00

Jill Hood attended a meeting at the Crown Hotel last night and sat in a seat near the window overlooking the High Street. She tells me that during the two hour meeting she counted 29 cars travelling down the street - some of them at very fast speeds.I would guess that they were all using the street illegally. The High Street is a pedestrian zone 24 hours a day. It is completely closed to traffic

RICHARD STEVENSnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6662891.post-77299558874903608782007-07-05T09:24:00.000+01:002007-07-05T17:13:23.301+01:00

Since being elected I've started to receive quite a lot of mail from various groups and organisations - some of it pure junk mail and some of it quite interesting. Yesterday I received a newsletter from First, the bus operator, which fell into the second category. Entitled 'firstNEWS', the newsletter contained the usual news about improved services and awards for drivers but hidden away on the

RICHARD STEVENSnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6662891.post-83218294475790006222007-07-04T20:22:00.000+01:002007-07-04T20:38:56.661+01:00

It's two months since the elections and tonight I completed the last of my training sessions. It never occurred to me before I became a councillor just how much a councillor needs to know in order to do the job properly. And I am so impressed by the standard of training that's been provided.Tonight's session was an overview of local authority finances. Not a particularly exciting topic but the

RICHARD STEVENSnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6662891.post-13253471540335972532007-07-04T09:03:00.000+01:002007-07-04T17:20:47.690+01:00

Last night witnessed another 'first' for Stone! The young Japanese virtuoso violin player Atsuko Sahara delighted a packed audience in the Crown Hotel ballroom and I was privileged to be there. I have four or five discs of Vivaldi's Four Seasons and know the work backwards but she still managed to impress upon it her own style and interpretation. it was a delight!And from a practical point of

RICHARD STEVENSnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6662891.post-52314145045698015192007-07-02T22:52:00.000+01:002007-07-03T09:09:59.012+01:00

I'm getting used to doing my double act now - trying to be in two places at the same time! Tonight I think I succeeded. At five o'clock I was in Stafford for a meeting of the Standards committee where the main item on the agenda was the new Code of Conduct for councillors. Several amendments, or rather additions, were being suggested by the Councils monitoring officer Alistair Welch. These

RICHARD STEVENSnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6662891.post-84571090251192478172007-07-02T09:10:00.000+01:002007-07-03T09:15:06.919+01:00

You will recall I posted an item over the weekend concerning the vadalism to the flower boxes on the railings at Walton. On Sunday I emailed Streetscene to inform them of the problem and, lo and behold, when I opened my inbox this morning there was an immediate reply from Ernie Tillett. He confirms that the boxes will secured to the railings and will be replanted today. What a fantastic response

RICHARD STEVENSnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6662891.post-78928513627736464332007-07-01T19:20:00.000+01:002007-07-01T20:05:14.829+01:00

I was suitably dressed for the threatened rain when we left the house this morning for the Civic parade and church service. The weather forecast lat night had prompted me to get my raincoat out of the wardrobe and to put a small brolly in my pocket. In the event I didn't really need either.The parade assembled at Stonefield Park. Our Town Mayor, Philip Leason led the parade followed by other

RICHARD STEVENSnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6662891.post-35490791094592170152007-06-30T19:46:00.000+01:002007-07-01T09:07:49.703+01:00

Tomorrow heralds a smoke free future - and even though I have failed to collect a bet I feel vindicated. Let me explain. About six or seven years ago I got into a heated debate about the perils of smoking and the dangers of secondary smoke with a pal of mine. We were standing in the smoke filled bar of the Pheasant pub and I put forward an argument that the day would come when it would be illegal

RICHARD STEVENSnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6662891.post-40811154790090041622007-06-30T16:43:00.000+01:002007-06-30T17:00:43.387+01:00

Janet and I were just about to leave the house this morning to go down to town when the phone rang. It was Cllr. Jill Hood to tell me that vandals had overturned the flower boxes on the railings in Stafford Road near Walton island. She was willing to put the soil and flowers back in and I offered our help. When we arrived we were greeted by a really sorry sight. Three of the boxes had been pushed

RICHARD STEVENSnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6662891.post-3425681063015332952007-06-27T16:23:00.000+01:002007-06-27T16:38:16.280+01:00

A couple of weeks ago I received a phone call from an Oulton Road resident who had been keeping a close watch on the new development on the former Underwoods Garage site. The roof trusses had been placed in position and, on the day he phoned, he had seen six velux style roof windows being fixed into position on the roof elevations facing Oulton Road. He was alarmed because on the plans that he'd

RICHARD STEVENSnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6662891.post-90726995084015614852007-06-27T09:54:00.000+01:002007-06-27T09:58:22.414+01:00

Councillor Dave Smithwick chaired his first Estates sub committee last night and has set the record for the quickest meeting yet of the new council. All business dealt with within an hour!We received up dates on various current issues. We have submitted an application for a grant to the Big Lottery for our planned improvements to the Frank Jordan centre and will shortly be submitting an

RICHARD STEVENSnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6662891.post-84854071127048792582007-06-26T09:27:00.000+01:002007-06-27T09:36:03.728+01:00

No more rain since my last posting so, thankfully, the river level has dropped about two feet overnight. Sadly some parts of the Midlands and the north have suffered very badly. The scenes shown on the television news are frightening.The sight of householders sweeping floodwater out of their homes reminded me of the problems in Cross Street a couple of years ago. The ground floor rooms of the

RICHARD STEVENSnoreply@blogger.com