Sent on behalf of Councillor Mike Barnacle
Dear Eileen
This is the final piece for the newsletter, I will ring you later today regarding the newspaper cutting of the poem referred to.
Readers should note my representation to PKC on 11 May 2015 (shown below) reproduced here from the June edition.
At Full Council on 13 May 2015 it was unanimously decided to support all the Kinross-shire members in opposing the Commission’s proposals and write to maintain PKC’s position that there should be no reduction in councillors and Kinross-shire’s Ward boundary to the north, along the ridge of the Ochil Hills, should be preserved, along with the incorporation of the parish of Arngask.
The faceless bureaucrats that run Britain, of which the Commission are clearly a part, have effectively ignored PKC’s representatives in their latest proposal, subject to a public consultation that runs until 22 October 2015 (see display at Lochleven Campus library).
It is still proposed to reduce our councillors from 4 to 3 and the northern boundary of the ward has been moved slightly north of the A91 to reflect the Milnathort Polling District.
This is a blatant, but not unsurprising, disregard of the elected view of PKC and I call upon the people of Kinross-shire to oppose the Commission’s proposals vigorously and support your elected members.
When one considers Kinross-shire was a county in its own right until the 1970’s, why should there be a reduction in our representation up at Perth when our population has not only grown since then but is forecast to grow significantly in the future?
My colleague, Councillor Cuthbert, is working on a detailed analysis of the flawed methodology the Commission have employed in reaching this extraordinary and illogical boundary proposal. A summary of this and suggested arguments to counter what’s proposed will be made available to assist folk who feel strongly about Kinross-shire’s historic boundaries and identity in writing their objections to the Commission.
I very much hope that our voice will be heard and that the Commission reconsider their rejection of the Council’s position. I suspect, if not, that this could lead to Scotland’s ‘Rutland’ moment. The smallest county in England, which has a landscape dominated by the large expanse of Rutland Water, had been incorporated with Leicestershire, but effectively won its county back after a hard fought campaign. Kinross-shire’s landscape dominated by Lochleven, has a “claim of right” that may be heard again.
Food for thought and action folks.
Kind regards
PS In 2010, another unaccountable body in the form of the Royal Mail unveiled plans to delete county names from its database by 2016, inspiring representations that “We are not a postcode” and a specially written poem by our laureate Carol Ann Duffy “The Counties” is reproduced below:
Councillor Mike Barnacle
Independent Member for Kinross-shire
Sent on behalf of Councillor Mike Barnacle
Dear Colleagues
I am writing to your from a cottage on Colonsay in the Hebrides where I am on a short vacation so cannot attend the above meeting, the Report on the above paper not being available before I left Kinross-shire.
It is my understanding that the Commission’s proposals include the outrageous option of dividing the current Kinross-shire Ward and reducing its number of Councillors from 4 to 3. This appears to be proposed in the interest of voter parity on ward numbers and a projected reduction in voter numbers, rather than any interest in maintaining local identities.
As you should be aware, Kinross-shire has been a county since 1685 and merged with Perthshire in government reorganisation during the 1970’s. The current Ward reflects the shire’s historic boundaries with the addition of Glenfarg, whose services and school catchment lie in Kinross-shire. There is a strong sense of local identity that will be broken by this proposal.
I understand that the other boundary changes proposed are minimal for PKC with the exception of the Kinross-shire Ward. I also fail to understand the voter projections given the level of proposed and ongoing development taking place resulting from our Local Development Plan and Tayplan.
I would argue that there is a strong case for maintaining PKC numbers at 41 (good to have an odd number in the unlikely event of a close political vote), retaining the current Kinross-shire Ward boundary and 4 Councillors. I sincerely hope you will adopt this position in your response to the proposals and support my local Ward member colleagues who I understand share my concerns about this proposed change. I will be interested to learn of the period for public consultation thereon, being certain of a strong community objection from Kinross-shire folk to this latest attempt to ignore their historic boundaries and identity.
Kind regards.
Councillor Mike Barnacle
Independent Member for Kinross-shire
Mob: 07590 312428