Graham Ellis - my blog
Electronic communication policies - time to reflect
Two wrongs have resulted in a right - for the moment.
Appropriate information availability to the public (and even to town councillors) about what's going on in Melksham, and public and councillor feedback on it, is one of my key strategic drivers.
An agenda item for last night's Full Council meeting "To review and adopt a Social Media and Electronic Communication Policy" with a proposed policy new to my eyes in the agenda pack, source undeclared was wrong in that it did not give an adequate opportunity for questioning, consideration and indeed consultation.
Last night's agenda was a very full one, and there was not (never going to be?) enough time to consider everything - wrong as these things should not be set up to fail.
On the Social Media and Electronic Communications policy, I was going to propose that we defer adoption of the policy until we had been given time to question some elements with the author, perhaps suggesting improvements and listen to wider views. In the end, 10 p.m. came and this item was lost. wrong that it was being put through without adequate discussion, wrong that the meeting was overloaded but right that we now have a chance to start by learning from the authors when they are available as to the reasoning behind certain measures before we vote in them.
Scroll Down to find my post of a couple of days ago that includes the full text of the proposal
I am NOT in favour of a free for all where everyone can say what they like, but neither am I in favour of a set of tight rules that suppress useful public information and views without good cause, making the roles of staff members as well as councillors difficult, and detaching our local democracy from our community to the detriment of all.
Examples
The inclusion of the supporting document for the "Hydropower System Feasibility Study" which was in last night's agenda pack will no longer be possible. "Communications from the Council will meet the following criteria" ... including "not contain content knowingly copied from elsewhere, for which we do not own the copyright". We do not own the copyright on that document (there's someone else's copyright on there) although we have permission to share it
Communications must "not contain any personal information" and "personal information on to other people or groups outside of the Council, this includes names, addresses, email ..." so that excludes the names and email addresses of the police officers in the police report presented last night.
"Do not forward personal information on to other people or groups outside of the Council, this includes names" so that means that people subject to the policy cannot say "get in touch with your MP who's Michelle Donelan"
"not contain content that is knowingly unlawful, libellous, harassing, defamatory, abusive, threatening, harmful, obscene, profane, sexually oriented or racially offensive" in communications from the council. Good - but nothing to stop content that is knowingly untrue; I believe I have examples - not sure if I believe "The Council will always try to use the most effective channel for its communications" from within the policy itself, as the examples above seem to rule out effective communications in the future - a policy against itself!
Perhaps I am overthinking this - but I am looking not only to our current team, but towards the legacy it would leave to a future team who perhaps are not less scrupulous and more looking to take the opportunities of holes offered by a poor policy than the current team.
Blue Pool and Assembly Hall
2 x full Town Council meetings, 17th July 2023. The full Town Council on 26th June voted for a three month project to look at the future of the Blue Pool and Assembly Hall. The Town Council was allocated £10,000 to engage a structural engineer to look at the condition of existing resources and advise on the possible, and the Friends of Melksham Assembly Hall were looking at an example of the possible. With only 2 full council meetings in the three months, tonight was an opportunity to report back.On the Town Council side, our Clerk is waiting to hear back from a quantity surveryor. I don't know if that's from the initial approach or with a final report.
On the Friends of Melksham Assembly Hall side, a huge amount of work has been done and we reported back on that tonight. Our presentation and supporing document is at http://www.fomah.org.uk/ and you can see the huge amount we have done.
But there should not be sides - it should be moulding into a partnership. It's my view that the Town Council needs to step things up a bit or it will fail to meet the deadline it set itself, and to be a partner and not a hurdle.
Published Monday, 17th July 2023
Sneaking in a policy that stifles sharing?
Update - 18th July - the meeting ran out of time and the consideration of this issue was, therefore, deffered. See (here) for new article and comment.
On Monday 17th July 2023, your Town Council will be asked to adopt a new "Social Media and Electronic Communications Policy".Much of it is good, but I have serious concerns. It appears to limit what council staff and councillors can say, even in terms of sharing information which is available in public. It confirms the right of the council to access councillor's emails in certain circumstances, while failing to define the limits on that. It confirms, correctly, the council's right to remove material in the case of some types of breach, but it does not state anything about material validly published being retained, allowing the council to delete and edit as it wishes. It allows some categories of posted information to be published and remain which we probably would not want there in The Council's name. There is a lack of clarity in whom it applies to.
The proposed policy "appeared" for the first time on Tuesday evening (12th June) on pages 147 to 149 of the 219 page agenda pack of the second of two full council meetings to be held the following Monday evening. There is no explanatory text, nor originator's signature. By Friday, I had established that the policy was written by an officer (not our communications officer) with amendments by our town clerk. It appears to be based on a mature template. The Town Clerk has not been available from Wednesday, and both she and the officer concerned are not available on Monday and will not be at the meeting to address queries and concerns.
If I were being a "Drama Queen", I might suggest that this new policy is being sneaked in with the intention of it being adopted, unnoticed, during a busy meeting, and with an aim of reducing the availability of public information from your council and councillors. To give lie to any such suggestion, I will propose that we defer adoption of the policy until councillors have had a full chance to understand some of the elements and reasons for omissions, and submit and agree amendments. It can then come back, as a policy which is strong and clearly does not infringe basic democratic rights, benefitting from the inputs and ideas the multitude of skills in your councillors and staff such as the officers concerned with communications.
Published Saturday, 15th July 2023
BBC "Any Questions" in Melksham
UPDATE 16.7.2023 - excellent show. Superb publicity for Melksham and our team. I even got to ask a question (on railway station ticket offices) at (here) ... I emailed overnight (Friday) to Any Answer and they called me up during the discussions on the show ... full segment on station ticket offices at (here). Original post follows ...
This evening - 14th July 2023 - the BBC's "Any Questions" on Radio 4 will be broadcast live at 20:00 from Melksham. "Alex Forsyth presents political debate from Melksham Assembly Hall in Wiltshire with Thangam Debbonaire MP, Richard Foord MP, John Glen MP and Katherine Bennett." https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m001npghIt will be repeated at 13:10 tomorrow (Saturday 15th July) and that will be followed by "Any Answers" after the 14:00 news with Anita Anand hosting a follow up phone-in. https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b006qmmy
Big "Thank You" to Terri Welch for suggesting to the BBC that they come to Melksham, and to the Town Council for providing such a suitable venue. Please listen in to hear speakers from across the region answer questions on current topics from local residents. Will questions be asked on the sharp rises in mortgages that many of you are facing, on the difficulty of finding an NHS dentist, on how to nurture British tennis players for Wimbledon, or whether cluster bombs should be made available to Ukraine? Perhaps a question will be asked on the BBC's current issues with the personal lives of their presenters?
As I write, tickets are still available at TicketSource ( [link] ) and I look forward to seeing friends there. Or, please, listen on line. It should be an interesting evening.
Published Thursday, 13th July 2023
CouncilSpeak - Abbreviations
As councilors, we often abbreviate for speed and our own sanity (and to stop meetings going on too long). Here are some abbreviations you may come across at Melksham Town Council. I have also added a ward map as common query is "who are my councillors". Look back at http://grahamellis.uk/blog130.html to then find who you've voted in. Note that in East Ward, Louisa and Carl have both resigned; first vacancy to be filled by election tomorrow, second vacancy to follow thereafter. Outside the coloured areas, Melksham Town Council is almost entirely surrounded by Melksham Without Parish Council.A&A - Assets and Amenities Committee
AGM - Annual General Meeting
ASB(O) - AntiSocial Behaviour (Order)
AH - Assembly Hall
AHWG - Assembly Hall Working Group
BAU - Business as Usual
BOA - Bradford-on-Avon
BP - Blue Pool
BRICKS - Charity number: 1183118; not sure what it stands for
CATG - Community Area Transport Group (Now LHFIG)
CCS - Crown Commercial Services
CCTV - Closed Circuit Television
CIC - Community Interest Company
ComDev - Community Developement Committee
CPT - Community Policing Team
CPRE - Council for the Presevation of Rural England
ECWG - Environment and Climate Working Group
EcDev - Economic Development and Planning Committee
EGM - Extraorindary General Meeting
FOI - Freedom of Information
FoMAH - Friends of Melksham Assembly Hall
GWR - Great Western Railway
HD - Hugh Davies (Head of Operations)
KGV - King George Fifth
LHFIG - Local Highways Footpaths and Infrastructure Group
LR - Linda Roberts (Town Clerk)
LTP - Local Tranport Plan
MELK - Sometime abbreviation for Melksham
MH - Melksham House
MKM - Melksham (Rail Industy abbreviation)
MP - Member of Parliament
MRDG - Melksham Railway Development Group (now MTUG)
MRUG - Melksham Rail User Group (now MTUG)
MTC - Melksham Town Council
MTUG - Melksham Transport User Group
MWPC - Melksham Without Parish Council
NALC - The National Association of Local Councils
NP - Neighbourhood Plan
NPII - Neighbourhood Plan 2
NPPF - National Planning Policy Framework
NR - National Rail
O247 - Option 24/7
PC - Police Constable
PCC - Police and Crime Commissioner
PCSO - Police Community Support Officer
PWLB - Public Works Loan Board
RACI - Responsible, Accountable, Consulted and Informed
RDG - Rail Delivery Group
RFO - Responsible Financial Officer
SEMH - Social, Emotional and Mental Health
SEN(D) - Special Educational Needs (and Disabled)
SID - Speed Indicator Device
SLCC - Society of Local Council Clerks
TC - Town Council
TH - Town Hall
TIC - Tourist Information Centre
TOC - Train Operating Company
TVM - Ticket Vending Machine
TW - TransWilts
TWHC - The Well House Collection
TWSW - TravelWatch SouthWest
VAT - Value Added Tax
WC - Wiltshire Council
WCC - Wiltshire County Council (now WC)
WSO - Wiltshire Swindon and Oxfordshire
WWDC - West Wilts District Council (superceded)
WWRUG - West Wiltshire Rail User Group
Tempted to add links to all of those. Haven't, but please ask me about any of them!
Published Wednesday, 12th July 2023
Soundbites - about me
This was originally published to help the electorate learn about me a couple of years back when I stood for Town Council. Since that time, I have made many new friends and contacts and a re-introduction may be useful to some of you. I am not changing any wording in here - I stand by what I said, though some things have moved on and a great deal more knowledge has been gained. Original at http://grahamellis.uk/index.html. The supporting image is more recent - you won't want to see what is now a vanity picture from years ago.In April 2021, I wrote:
* I have lived in Melksham for over 20 years (Wiltshire for 40 years) and love the town and people
* I also ran a business here in the South Ward from which I am recent retired
* I live in the ward I am standing to represent (no parachute to a "safe seat"!)
* I am only standing for the town council as I beleive that role will take a great deal of my time to do properly. Even though retired, I am aware that I could take on too much and be too thinly spread, which is not my style.
* I am standing as an Independent candidate; I have no electoral connection or arrangement with other candidates, but I will work closely with all others over the term of office - I have a track record in doing that for the good of Melksham.
* Since my wife and I moved to the area in 1999, we have been actively involved with community and projects of immediate and ongoing benefit to Melksham. I am best known for my work on public transport, helping to regain a more appropriate train service and ensure buses were not slashed back. This work has brought me national awards, but the real reward is seeing people benefitting from the improved service - with 25 times the number of journeys being made
* I was elected President of the Chamber of Commerce (usually a one year term) and held the post for seven years.
* I am looking to represent you for the full term of the next four years with a view to carrying on for the following 4 years too. We are going to see changes like we have never see before during this period.
* I have never stood for election to any town, parish or county election before, nor served on any through co-option. I have, though, attended many meetings and worked well with councillors of all political colours, partnering, promoting and achieving causes for the common good.
* Running a council is running a business - looking after staff, volunteers and customers. And I have run a customer facing business in Melksham with an incredibly low staff turnover, which rose to be no.1 out of 16 in customer reviews in Melksham.
* During the campaign, I delivered information door to door, happily talking with people I met when out and about, wrote to the local newspaper, make my case online. I was available on the phone or in person if people want to meet ("my garden or yours?", during covid). I was Delighted to hear from people and become better informed. But I did not knock, uninvited, on doors. The same avaialbility applies, now, after the election. I am very much available; it would be exceptional for me to leaflet everyone again, but please get in touch - I'm often around on foot or bicycle and I'm one of your two councillors who lives in the ward.
* I openly publish my views, my philosophy (see top links on this page). Rarely a turncoat, I can be swayed by good logic, changing times and circumstances, and the common good. Unlikely to change my views or standards just to win election!
In July 2023, I remain here and approachable
Published Tuesday, 11th July 2023
Closure of Railway Station Ticket offices - consultation and implications
With my public transport passenger "hat" ...Dear Wiltshire Town and Parish representatives, parishes and towns with Railway Stations,
Station booking offices at Chippenham, Bradford-on-Avon, Trowbridge, Westbury, Warminster, Pewsey, Salisbury and Tisbury stations to close by the end of next year. That would mean that no station in Wiltshire would have a ticket office any longer. A three week consultation was launched on 5th July - so that's until 26th.
I am writing to a known contact or clerk in each town / parish in Wiltshire to alert you to these proposals and to invite you to attend online sessions later this week organised by TravelWatch SouthWest, who co-ordinate passenger groups across the region, and I encourage you to come along. Email from their secretary below includes meeting booking link at https://www.eventbrite.com/cc/twsw-ticket-office-closure-consultation-2382509
The consultations are organised train company by train company - in Wiltshire responsibilities are as follows:
Great Western Railway - https://www.gwr.com/haveyoursay
Chippenham, Bradford-on-Avon, Trowbridge, Westbury, Warminster, Pewsey, Bedwyn, Avoncliff, Melksham and Dilton Marsh
South Western Railway - https://www.southwesternrailway.com/station-change-proposal
Salisbury, Tisbury and Dean
The Rail Delivery Group tells us than only about 12% of railway ticket sales are now at a ticket office counter, and if ticket offices close staff can then be more customer focused
Passenger concerns and early comment includes:
* Reduction or removal of help at a fixed point at a station is a barrier to the timid traveller
* By using ticket machines, customers may end up paying more than they need
* All staff (not just the former ticket clerks) will need to know all about the fares system
* Although most current users will be able to cope, new users will be put off trying the train
* Ticket offices reform IS overdue, but fare systems and alternatives for all should be deal considered first
* Changing ticket offices into staff rooms would result in less rather than more availability
* Reduced staffing will reduce support available to disabled passengers
There are also concerns from staff representatives that the way this helps the rail industry save money is by reducing headcount in customer facing roles - through natural wastage and staff being unhappy or unable to fit new roles initially, as "no compulsory redundancies" has been promised only until the end of next year.
My nearest station (Melksham) does not have a ticket office, and I frequently speak with occasional rail passenger who will travel to Chippenham or Trowbridge to speak to a real person there. This shows time and again that the lack of a customer facing staff member is a real barrier to rail travel; it's not only about ticket sales but about information and re-assurance too, and about helping when trains are disrupted and alternatives have to be provided. At Melksham, I was involved in the successful campaign to have our service increased and I'm fairly well know; on almost every visit I make to the station, people use me as an advice point and may people learn about new travel opportunities, or are re-assured that they may join the train to pay in cash / because they need one of the myriad of tickets not available on the machine, or can't find it, or because the machine is not useable. The lack of staff is far more than the lack of a ticket office, and ticket office staff do far more than just sell tickets. Everyone - for every station - should make an input.
I believe that the decision to close most or all ticket offices is already made, and the consultation is more geared to working out how it can best be done - part of "best" being how to minimise customer anger and to minimise loss of passengers. But the 80/20 rule is in play here - 80% of customers cost 20% to sell tickets too, and the remaining 20% cause 80% of the costs, and the decision is already taken to cut the ticket selling cost.
* Please inform your council and councillor of these consultations and make your local inputs relating to the station in your parish/town. All our stations are important to our local economy.
* Please come along to the TWSW session(s) this week
* And - please - respond to the consultation itself and let your residents know you are doing so.
Any questions - please ask at the session, or please ask me. And please feel free to share to other who may wish to make an input.
Graham Ellis
Melksham Town Council, South Ward
Blog at http://grahamellis.uk/perm.html
Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/Graham4Melksham/
I only visit other social media occasionally.
Graham Ellis - graham@sn12.net
Email: graham.ellis@melksham-tc.gov.uk or graham@sn12.net
Phone: 01225 708225 / 0797 4 925 928
Home: 48 Spa Road, Melksham, SN12 7NY
———————
Also
Graham Ellis - graham@sn12.net
48 Spa Road, Melksham, SN12 7NY
01225 708225 or 07974 925928
* Melksham South Ward Town Councillor
* Webmaster, Coffee Shop Rail Passenger Forum
* Acting Chair, Melksham Transport User Group
* Option 24/7 rep for Melksham
* West Wilts Rail User Group (Committee)
* Ukraine2Uk Webmaster and Facebook Group Admin
Published Monday, 10th July 2023
Q and A - KGV and some others
A Facebook post of this morning (9.7.2023) raised a number of question about projects that are mostly in the park. I have always found it difficult to get information out of The Council's Teams system, so I took the opportunity of a visit to KGV at lunchtime to ask a few question and get some updates, with permission to let the readers know what I have written up below. Please note as you read this that I am NOT a councillor for the ward that includes KGV - they're Tom and Jack, Pat, Sue and Claire. Nor am I on the Parks Working Group - that's Jon, Saffi and Colin. All seven of them will be more up to date on strategic plans and what's happening there, though as I'm up at the Spashpad on Wednesday afternoon or Thursday (all day) each week, I will sometimes know the short term stuff. (next - 12th July, 13:00 to 17:30. Then 20th July, 09:30 to 17:30)
Some of the answers below are outside the KGV area; in the cases of the Assembly Hall and Blue Pool, they ARE in my ward so I have an inside track to answers. Other councillors for the ward are Colin, Jon and Jacqui. The Assembly Hall Working Group is myself and Sue, Colin, Gary and Pat
Q: What has the council actually done? This question a somewhat accusatory "you have done nothing"
A: A lot of things including
* New Pipework just completed for drains from the pavilion to the mains sewer
* Zipwire replacement and significant work on the slide to ensure it's available for this year
* The Cafe is open - initially as an outdoor stand.
* Public toilets near the cafe, and near the skatepark, are now available.
* Training and robust planning should ensure the Splash Pad is fully staffed this summer.
* Allotment excess produce may now be gifted to recipients of a charitable nature.
Q: What is happening to the derelict maintenance shed?
A: It is now out of use with nothing stored in there; the council now has assets stored in a number of locations including on the Bowerhill Industrial Area and in and around the Town Hall and Assembly Hall. The maintenance shed will be demolished - probably in a couple of months once a final bat survey is completed to the satisfaction of all parties. Although the council decided a few months ago to stick with the Bowerhill unit, that may be reviewed should a better alternative be available.
Q: Assembly Hall Roof - when will it be done?
A: Before Autumn. Proving hard to get people to quote though
Q: When will the dog run improvements be done?
A:
* Fencing to include a double gate (airlock) - this summer
* Water - also soon but awaits check on availability to connect so not 100% sure it will happen
* Agility equipment - no update / outside my contact's brief
Q: When will the park lights be installed?
A: Don't know. We (as a Town Council) have put our officers in a very difficult position as we are far from unanimous; I would hope that lights to the Adventure Centre behind the MUGA and a light halfway between there and Bath Road toilets would be installed before the dark winter nights, but no promise.
Q: How long will the grass protectors be there (ecoLoos)?
A: For some months. Grass does not grow instantly
Q: When will the splashpad be open this summer?
A: From 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily up to and including 3rd September
Then Saturdays and Sunday only - same hours - up to and including 24th September
These are scheduled opening hours with a robust staffing rota in place.
No major service upgrades that will effect the pad are anticipated this summer.
Technical issues occasionally close the splashpad, as does thunder, extreme rain and wind, etc
Q: Are there toilets in the park open?
A: Yes - there are two toilets on the "Bath Road" block - near the river and skate park on the main road side open daily. There are also two EcoLoos open beside the Pavilion near the splash pad open daily. These have only recently been installed and use new technology, so there may be some teething issues as they "bed in".
Q: When will water availability be improved at the allotments?
A: The taps are being replaced by water troughs soon to allow very quick container filling
It may be possible to lay in further plastic pipes on biggest sites to provide a second trough
Q: Some allotments are not well maintained / used. What is being done?
A: Tenants of unattended allotments will soon be asked to buck up or vacate.
Q: What's happening at the Blue Pool and Assembly Hall?
A:
* At the Assembly Hall, lots of excellent things are happening - see July to September brochure. Further announcements in for September. Roof repairs before days get much shorter.
* Wiltshire Council has invited Melksham Town Council to take an interest in the Blue Pool [site - but perhaps the whole building]. Two groups took a look around last Thursday and I have requested an agenda item for 17th July to progress this. Following the visit last week, the friends have been working on "the possible" and hope to present initial thoughts that evening - looking at existing building use, with comments on demolish and rebuild, and do-nothing alternatives. The Assembly Hall Working Group is to meet (awaiting a meeting being called) to propose extended terms of reference to include the whole site.
Q: Do you get a chance to get a holiday?
A:
* My wife Lisa and I took a long trip away in March and we are both around all summer. We do plan a break in the autumn while we remain of an age we can easily travel, and we have a cruise booked for next year.
* Town Council Staff, especially those with dependent children, are more constrained on when they go away. So there will be significant absences over the summer - but that's when there are less meetings anyway.
Published Sunday, 9th July 2023
Out of the box ideas
I've been visiting Weymouth (again!) today - taking a group but at the same time looking and learning. Some unconventional ideas for exhibitions, museums, ClimateFest, etc - modern (and replacable) objects that say "yes please, touch me" to attract a broader range of visitors including the young, and to engage with visitors and make it a memorable experience. Simple display boards that show not only the complex principles, but also how you are employing them.
Published Saturday, 8th July 2023
IOU - Blue Pool and Assembly Hall update
IOU - our residents - an update on matters Assembly Hall, Blue Pool an so forth - or on matters such as providing potentially for booking, indoor bowling, cafe area, citizens advice, civic centre, climbing wall, community base(s), community meeting place, community room, creche, enquiry desk, entertainment venue, exhibition area, first aid room, gift shop, heat-pump, hub, kitchen, lecture room, lido, loos, lounge, maintenance, mosque and support rooms, museum, OAP games room, polling station, pop up bank, public WiFi, rainwater collection, safe space, solar generation, stage, storage, support room, ticket sales, town hall car parking, venue bar and youth centre. That's from people want - Needs Assessment last December, the Town Centre Masterplan, Priority for People, as well as the other more empirical data like what people are saying and asking, and also work done in the life of the previous council. There's a frightening number of elements, options, and data sources. And the Blue Pool has now been declared as surplus to Wiltshire Council's requirements ...On Monday of the week before last, the Town Council voted to take a very serious look at the possibilities offered by the Blue Pool and Site - through an enhanced working group to involve the Friends too On Tuesday just gone, the Friends Committee met, with councillors invited, and on Thursday both councillors and key friends toured the pool. The group I was with included friends people with significant technical knowledge, and we took a good look at the detail of the building, condition, measurements, etc.; we really have an excellent and committed bunch of volunteers and there are other key people who could not make it at short notice but for whom further access can be arranged. And it comes back for full council a week on Monday (17th). I don't know what the outcome will be, but I know we have a superb team and the outcome will be well through through both in what's done short term (within the life of this council) and for the long term (target date 2038 like the neighbourhood plan?) - looking at what is does for the community and its sustainability for the community.
This is something of an interim - holding - public message to let people know what's going on. Please - by all means - comment and engage. Anything I have missed from my "benefits" list above, tell me. But if I have anything to do with it, there will be real public input as we go through with this, but then decisions made and we'll all follow the emerged best path and get it done.
Finally - a big "thank you" to everyone more widely involved, including those in official posisition who are behind the scenes, for helping us start this process; we are delighted to be working with you.
Published Friday, 7th July 2023