Ipswich Labour’s Financial Assault Against Community Groups

Paul over at Ipswich Spy has written a very good post about how the Soviet Republic of Ipswich’s Politburo plans to launch a financial assault against community groups here..

Politburo General Secretary and supporter of pension apartheid, David Ellesmere is proposing to increase rents on a number of properties currently let for peppercorn rents, a move that will cause financial hardship for a number of community organisations.

The post states

amongst those facing rent increases are Maidenhall Residents Association, Chantry Residents Association, Whitehouse Residents Association and the Waterfront Community Group, as well as a number of scout groups. But it will be the potential effect on Ipswich Furniture Project and the Ipswich & Suffolk Council for Racial Equality that will cause the most outrage across the town, with the council admitting that there is a negative impact on equality if these changes are implemented.

Captain Mainwaring would rather hit community groups than stop paying for a trade union office.

Paul also says

Three options are being presented to the Borough executive for consideration, with the recommended option increasing rents across the properties from a peppercorn a year to over £40,000 a year. Coming so soon after councillors locality budgets were finally withdrawn permanently this calls into question the commitment of the Borough Council to working with community groups.

Whoever thought that Ipswich Labour cared about community groups? Community groups are dangerous. People may come up with ideas that are not in line with the policies of The Politburo.

The article finishes with a paragraph that I agree with totally.

The Conservative and Liberal Democrat administration left power last May, with plans to introduce councillors locality grants and a Big Society fund incomplete. Since then Labour have systematically dismantled all the schemes that had been put in place to encourage greater community involvement, replacing them with a bureaucratic system that will place barriers between the public and decision makers. Now they are introducing a rental policy that will drive scout groups and residents associations to the wall and will take charitable cash that would otherwise be used for community good to fund the grandiose area committee scheme which is already costing more than was envisaged – how much is tonight’s training going to cost, and why do councillors need training on how to go to a meeting?

Here here.

How much is the training costing? I’ve sent in an FOI, so we’ll find out within the next twenty days.