A NUMBER OF Belhus residents have complained that their local councillors are hi-jacking their campaigns.
Relationships have never been great between a certain section but appeared to have hit a new low.
Dee and Simon Lodge of Aveley Road has been given national acclaim for her campaign to address the problem of mould in Thurrock houses.
But they have now distanced themselves from the council’s campaign as they felt the local councillors were “grandstanding”
The Lodges appear to have a long standing feud with the chair of the health and well being committee, cllr Wendy Curtis and fellow Belhus councillor, Sue Gray.
Dee and fellow residents were unhappy that they initially were barred from a “task and finish” group even though it was their democratic right to be there.
Dee has now distanced herself from the council’s campaign but will continue to campaign down the line she wants to take it.
Dee’s complaints have been echoed by an Ockendon street rep, John Noon, who has complained that Ockendon councillor, Sue Gray has taken over his campaign to improve street lighting and security on the Tamarisk Road bridge.
Mr Noon said: “It is the worst of both worlds. We either have councillor Kiely who has the profile of Lord Lucan round here or we have cllr Gray who has taken over my campaign with her high-handed manner.
“It is all about her campaign and her friends and not about the bridge.
A resident, who did not wish to be named, defended the councillors. They said: “You cannot have it both ways. These councillors have joined campaigns, taken up the causes and are working hard to get results.”
Cllr Gray was unavailable for comment.
Labour councillors riding roughshod over the wishes of residents and voters. Who’d have thought. Next they’ll be saying they are lazy good for nothings who don’t give a crap until the hard work’s been done, bit like the cavalry getting all the glory. Presumably Comrade Kiely is stuill claiming his allowances under false pretences. Keep up the good work Labour.
Councillor Kiely is working hard for the residents of Ockendon….by fighting racism and promoting marxism up and down the country.
As for the Belhus councillors…the ward is heavily skewed in Labours favour unfortunately due to the demographics of that ward.
Oh dear here we go again, everything getting into a twist, it seems the battle of council estates as begun again, with the Belhus Cll’s who live on the Flowers Estate taking over Dee Lodges campaign to rid the entire Thurrock council area of Toxic Black mould, after all it is a killer, because Mrs D.Lodge as got the disease and is trying to bring it to the notice of the public, the Labour councillors are trying to high jack the campaign as theirs, because this what they are good at, the numpties havent got the brains to, start their own campaigns so they step in silence the people who have thought of the idea, then take it over as theres, Mr.Noon is a Street Rep who lives on the Flowers Estate, so he must have at least six councillors to call apon, I see good old pirate queen Sue Gray as taken over the lighting issues along Tamarisk Road and the Railway pedestrian bridge over the C2C, there she was in the local paper saying that she was concerned about muggings due to bad lighting along Tamarisk Road and on the Footbridge, the only reason she as taken this on is, its very close to her home, if you look in the local newspapers there is good old charlie Curtis, complaining about the increase in traffic on the South Road, which happens to run passed his home on the Flowers Estate, he is worried about how people are going to get across the road, because the Thurrock Nurseries wants to expend their premises, I know it doesnt make any sense does it, this he is sipposed to be the Councillor for the Belhus Ward, and doesnt give a fig about the peoples, lives who live next to the very noisey and dangerous, Stiiford Road, and the comings and goings over HVG’s from the Howard Tenens yard 24/7, they suffer from noise and air pollution 24/7, but how good old Charlie and Wendy Curtis and Sue Gray couldnt care less, they havent been seen in there own ward, for over three years now, the nearest they get to it is at election times, then they sneak around hopeing not to be stopped by the residents, who proberly wouldnt recognised then in any case, we have got used to this situation, if it wasnt for Dee and Simon Lodge, nobody in the Belhus Ward would ave known about the meeting with the Morrison group, or to know that Dee Lodge had invited top people down to discuss the issues about Black Mould, she was shunted away in a small back room away from the other people who attended, I think the entire Labour Party wants a bloody good shake up, the head of the party, should make the ward councillors go into there wards, and talk to the people and see what there needs are, not hide away and do nothing, they can manage to get to there own private little bit of power called SORA, they hide the meetings from the very people who its meant to be for, I have heard many people complain that they didnt know there was a SORA, or where it met and when, and if they did find it, they couldnt take part in any conversations or ask questions, unless you put them to the Chairperson SUE Gray or Wendy Curtis and there clan of mates who dont argue them and agree with everything they say, who can the ordinary person turn to, when you cant contact your so called ward councillors, who promise everything and do Nothing, we pleaded with Cllr.C.Curtis for help in improving the front of our houses along the Stifford Road, what did he do for us, Nothing not even a answer from him, that week he had a sign erected in North Stifford Village on the Cricket Green, I leave it there you all make your own minds up, I didnt mentioned Cllr.Kiely because he is doing to Flowers Estate what our Belhus Ward councillors did to us, he as good teachers doesnt he..
If I lived iOckendon now as I did for 30 years previously, I would be pleased that the local councillors were getting involved, even if they do get all the glory!
Small price to pay for getting the problem solved perhaps.
JMW118, I do believe you are being soft on Councillors who are jumping on the “bandwagon”. It is not just a matter of claiming all the glory, they use that “glory” to further their own political ambitions. They claim they are concerned for the tenants living in properties infested with “toxic black mould” but at the same time tried to discredit the “Awareness Campaign”, led by Mrs Lodge, by implying that she is “scaremongering” and sending letters to tenants telling them that “toxic black mould is NOT a category 1 hazard i.e.life threatening but a category 4 hazard i.e. not life threatening, despite written confirmation from a Minister of State that “black mould” is a category 1 hazard and the Council has a duty to deal with it. I raised the issue of damp and mould in Council rented houses at a Full Council Meeting in June, 2011 and Mrs Lodge raised it again at a Full Council Meeting in December, 2011, I even suggested at the June, 2011 meeting that Councillors should speak with Mrs Lodge, who is terminally ill as a result of exposure to “toxic black mould”, who would give them first hand knowledge of the serious consequences of continous exposure to damp and mould has on the health and wellbeing of those living in affected properties, especially infants and young children. Not one Councillor contacted Mrs Lodge, on the contrary they hoped it was just a “storm in a teacup” and would blow over, where was their concern then? They underestimated the determination and persistence of Mrs Lodge and have now been shamed into treating the matter seriously and taking urgent action to deal with the problem. Whilst I am pleased that the Councillors are getting involved, at last, I believe humilty and an apology, that it has taken them so long to acknowledge the seriousness of the problem and that the Council has a duty of care, is more appropriate than the “crowing” about what they have been shamed into doing by Mrs Lodge. Hope you still want to vote for me!
JMW, Sorry I forgot to mention my “blog” you might like to read it. You can access it on the “Your Thurrock” web page by clicking on “Blogs/Letters”. It is titled “A Word in Your Ear”.