The Hedon Penny Throwing Ceremony 2011 - Slideshow

APPARENTLY there are over 6.5 billion pennies unaccounted for throughout the UK – that’s £65 million pounds worth! 40% of these are presumed to be lost on the street. However, you can guarantee that Hedon’s main street is clear of lost pennies due to the efforts of local children picking them up during the town’s traditional penny throwing yesterday (19th May 2011)!

The event is supposed to be steeped in history and is a parody of the days when Hedon was considered a ‘rotten borough’ with freemen being offered money to vote for a particular Mayoral candidate. Nowadays the event is designed to be just a fun occasion.

Pictured in the slideshow is new Hedon Town Mayor Councillor Ann Suggit and other dignitaries who share the civic traditional duty to throw the pennies to local children. And they really do throw them!

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Next Mayor loses seat in Hedon Town Council vote!

IN A SHOCK RESULT the next in line to be Hedon Mayor, David Thompson, has lost his seat on Hedon Town Council. John Ledger, a long-standing Councillor, has also lost his seat!

The 12 Councillors elected to serve us at the Hedon Town Hall are:

Elected:
1,218 Ann Suggit
1,094 John Dennis
993 Mike Bryan
699 Neil Black
681 Brenda Goldspink
663 Jim Lindop
615 Diane Storr
609 Allen Marshall
561 Sarah Jordan
521 Gordon Thurston
514 Thomas Henry Goldspink
453 Frank Harold Norman

Not Elected:
447 David Thompson
444 John Ledger

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More local Election News

WHILE 'ELECTION FEVER' IS CERTAINLY NOT sweeping the area, there has been some interest in the local elections in Holderness - at least from the politicians!

As well as our main election coverage in the South West Holderness area listed on Ward Election News, HU12 has picked up and noticed other snippets of news.

Hedon Town Council has 14 candidates standing for 12 seats and some candidates have been busy leafleting the town asking for voters support. Catch all the Hedon leaflets we've come across at our previous Hedon Town Council Slideshow or at our Flickr pages. Independent Jim Lindop had his statement published on the Hedon Blog.

Voters in South East Holderness have a colourful line up of candidates which includes Independent, Neil Whitelam, a former Keyingham Parish Councillor and Parliamentary candidate who describes himself as a "Community activist" and  "Patriotic alternative to the old parties...". See Neil Whitelam's election statement (Google Docs). Also in that Ward is former Conservative Councillor Charles 'Chuck' Hunter who after serving for 12 years on the East Riding Council was deemed an unacceptable candidate for that party so is also standing as an independent. He has advertised his candidacy in the Holderness Gazette on 21st and 28th April (see at ElectionLeaflets.org).

Also advertised in the Gazette on 28th April was Ann Suggit's candidacy (Google Docs). Unfortunately Ann was listed as a North Holderness candidate and not South West Holderness where she is really standing!

This article was supposed to have mentioned things that were unusual or humourous about the local elections - unfortunately we haven't discovered any! If you have - then please send us your story at hu12@gmx.com

Finally - whilst being neutral in the Referendum vote on AV - HU12 has to point out its favourite campaign video from the YES camp - it's this on a Cat's view of the referendum - enjoy!

Is your Cat confused about the referendum on the voting system on the 5th May?
- Watch more Politics Videos at Vodpod.

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Hedon Town Council elections 2011

Hedon Town Council elections 2011, a set on Flickr.

There has been a flurry of activity over the long Bank Holiday weekend with the above leaflets (slideshow) all having been delivered in Hedon for the Town Council Elections on Thursday May 5th.

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Hedon Town Council Elections are being contested!

HEDON TOWN COUNCILLORS were elected unopposed in 2007. But the 2011 Election will see a contest ensue as 14 candidates compete for the 12 seats available.

The candidates list published today consists of the following local residents:

Allen Marshall
Frank Harold Norman
Diane Storr
Ann Suggit
David Thompson
Gordon Thurston
Neil Black
Mike Bryan
John Dennis
Brenda Goldspimk
Thomas Henry Goldspink
Sarah Jordan
John Ledger
Jim Lindop

The poll takes place on Thursday 5th May 2011.

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Councillors and local government - 'hyper about hyperlocal websites'

THE HEDON BLOG is an example of a 'hyperlocal' news-gathering website. Along with others in the area such as Beverley's HU17.net, hyperlocals try to bring together news and information about an area in one online place so that it can be found easily by local residents.

However, local councils are beginning to realise the benefits that hyperlocals might bring to them. A conference was held recently on the Government's localism agenda which prompted an article on Learning Pool by Breda Doherty that asked the question: Why local government should be hyper about hyperlocal websites.

The article comments on the rise of citizen-run websites and the role they could play in local democracy and suggests five key benefits for local government:

1. Elected members can more accurately shape their political promises by listening online to what residents actually see as important. They can use these websites to get to better know the people who make up their wards/districts.
2. Councils can use them as a free research tool to find out how the public rate their services, what their concerns are and better determine where restricted budgets should be spent.
3. Councils can also increase the distribution of their traditional communications such as press releases by providing hyperlocal websites with this information to publish.
4. Show that they are not scared of public criticism by taking part in open, online coversations.
5. Look to hyperlocal websites for ideas on how to improve their own websites. Hyperlocal websites are popular as their content is interactive rather than static and discussion is encouraged rather than directed to a minefield of contact us sections or FAQ’s pages only to find out a generic response to their individual community issues.

The Hedon Blog has welcome participation from Hedon Town Councillors and occasionally runs press releases for that body. The East Riding Council and local MP Graham Stuart regularly send news releases to hyperlocals (and in the MP's case actually includes links to three of them on his website). However, the East Riding Councillors for the South West Holderness area currently have no relationship with their constituent hyperlocals.

Both the Hedon Blog and HU12 have a desire to work more closely with the formal democratic process - whilst maintaining a healthy independence from that process - and is keen to hear from local councillors about their ideas on how hyperlocals just might be able to help them.

Respond to comments below or at e-mail hu12@gmx.com

Note: Image from wordle

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East Riding Council hails its Weather Grant Assistance Scheme

THE RECENT SEVERE WEATHER prompted East Riding Council to introduce an innovative Grants Scheme to help Town and Parish Councils clear snow and ice. The Council is now hailing the success of the scheme, although there has been some constructive criticism locally.

Over 80 town and parish councils, including Hedon Town Council and Preston Parish Council applied for the special funding to tackle the affects of the adverse weather. 

Hedon Town Council received £1,000 which was used to purchase 120 bags of rock salt/grit and a manual spreader. Holme on Spalding Moor Parish Council received £2,000, which was used to buy salt and sand, a small gritter and to hire a JCB to help clear the village of snow and ice. Preston Parish Council also received a grant.

Chris Worrall, chairman of Holme on Spalding Moor Parish Council, highlighted how well the scheme has worked. He said: “The application process was very quick, from completing the paperwork to receiving the funds. We purchased salt and grit and hired a JCB to help clear footpaths and keep the roads around the village clear. We also bought a small gritter for future use. Thanks to the funding, and with the help of volunteers from the community and local business who supplied free hot drinks and meals, we have cleared a footpath all the way around the village, connecting up the shops and the surgery and have also cleared the sheltered accommodation.”

However, in Hedon some residents have queried whether the town should have applied for and received a larger amount considering its size and the population numbers, compared to other places. Also in Hedon due to the lack of council staff being available at the time, it was left up to an individual town councillor who volunteered to take out the manual spreader as soon as possible!

Councillor Stephen Parnaby, OBE, leader of East Riding of Yorkshire Council, said: “This scheme was the first of its kind in the country and was introduced to support town and parish councils to undertake work in their localities and has helped ensure that more is done as soon as possible which is what everyone wants to see.”

£175,000 allocated to the scheme by the East Riding Council. This was funded through a 'performance reward grant' obtained by the Council and its Local Strategic Partnership partners earlier this year.

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Hedon Town Councillor: East Riding Standards Committee complaint

HEDON TOWN COUNCILLOR John Dennis has recently been investigated by the East Riding Council following a complaint made against him. The complaint was initiated by Councillor Dennis himself! 

The East Riding Council investigation examined the councillor's conduct, following his own concerns that he had "failed to declare a personal and prejudicial interest" before casting his vote at a Hedon Town Council Finance and General Purposes Committee held in April 2009.

Following the meeting, and having realised his mistake, Councillor Dennis notified his concerns to the East Riding Council's Standards Committee. This is the council body responsible for guiding councillors on achieving the very highest standards of conduct possible. Due process was followed, and the Standards Committee met to discuss the case last week. Yes! - that's 18 months later!

The hearing found that Councillor Dennis did not act in a way that would prejudice his judgement of the public interest, and that no sanction would be imposed. However, it was recommended that the Monitoring Officer writes to him to provide him with further information about personal and prejudicial interests.

Whilst this matter may seem quite trivial, even comical - complaining about yourself! - it does raise important issues for our local democracy. A look at any council minutes, whether locally or from the East Riding, will confirm that our public representatives are continuously reminded to declare any interests that might impact on their decision-making or council duties.

Councillors must act in the public interest - and not their own interests. And they must be seen to be doing so! Essential procedures and structures (i.e. the Standards Committee) exist to ensure that this is the case. However, the fact that this case took several months to be heard, and the complainant was also the one complained against, does suggest that the system does not seem to work as intended!

In this matter, Councillor Dennis appears to have acted honourably by referring himself to the Standards Committee because of his own concerns. It is a good sign that our town councillors not only hold others to account for their actions - but also hold themselves accountable! However, perhaps the standards system itself needs to be looked at again?

NOTE: The Government has announced that the existing standards system will be axed in the New Year and replaced by new measures to ensure that councillors do not misuse their positions of trust.

Additional information. See: Hedon Town Council - Minutes

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Grrr! Dog pooh!

HEDON TOWN COUNCILLOR Councillor Gordon Thurston has made an impassioned plea via the Hull Daily Mail for residents to report dog walkers who let their animals foul public areas.

It is not only a nuisance, but it is associated with various diseases including 'toxocara canis' which is a particularly nasty parasitic worm that can grow from 9 to 18 cm and can be passed onto humans through dog mess.

All it takes is for a child to be playing in a grassed area where an infected dog has recently fouled - the worms eggs are in the mess; the child gets mess on their hands; fingers and thumbs go in the mouth!

The toxocara canis roundworm inside people can cause stomach upsets, sore throats and bring on asthma. The eggs can remain active in the soil for many years, long after the dog mess has weathered away.

Roundworm and tapeworm (intestinal parasites) can affect dogs at any age, so they should be treated regularly for worms. According to DEFRA 'Worms can cause sickness and diarrhoea in young animals but adult dogs may show no signs'. So some dog owners may not know that their pet is infected!

 If all this isn't reason enough to encourage residents to report dog fouling - then what is!

Of course most dog owners are responsible - and actually are in the best position to report those that are not! You can report dog fouling via the East Riding Council website see Dog Fouling.

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