CITY BUDGET SPEECH 2021 – CONSERVATIVE COUNCILLOR ALISTAIR MCNAIR
I am delighted to be talking today on three Conservative budget proposals: camouflaging 5G masts, speed guns, and weeds.
These proposals are driven by residents for local needs; driven by Patcham & Hollingbury residents for their local community. These proposals are important – they are to help with issues which trip residents up on their very doorsteps, and which if implemented would help re-instil the rightful level of pride in our communities.
Firstly, 5G masts are landing on our doorsteps like aliens from an H.G.Wells novel, or if you prefer Tolkien, glaring over us like the eye of Sauron. Local communities have been very divided over them, but with the need for improved technology, they will only become more commonplace. However, we should not simply tolerate their pylon-like visual pollution.
5G mast cabinets which require planning permission are indeed camouflaged with trees and bushes as part of planning requirements, although it takes far too long, but those masts not requiring planning permission are not camouflaged. I therefore welcome this Conservative proposal for extra money to help disguise 5G masts to help residents come to terms with them, to help these monoliths blend in as best they can. And how much more welcome will more trees be in our streets, helping to re-green our wards.
Secondly, residents move to places like Patcham & Hollingbury for the community-feel, the safe environment for their children, and the more rural experience offered by being on the edge of the South Downs. They do not move there to be terrorised by fast cars driving up and down narrow avenues, making it hazardous for children and elderly to simply go about their daily lives. We have extremely active community groups, and warm relations with our PCSOs, so providing money to pay for speed guns as part of Speedwatch will go some way to helping empower local communities to deal with this local scourge.
Finally, we started this talk by craning our necks up to 5G masts which break up our views; now we will look down at the crazy-paving of our sidewalks which too are being broken up one weed, or rather thousands of weeds at a time, posing both trip-hazards for our elderly especially, and an enormous expense when the pavements finally do give way.
People really do trip over the triffid-sized weeds, as well as the broken concrete, and end up broken themselves in hospital. If we care about reducing our carbon emissions, we should care about our pedestrians, so I welcome this Conservative proposal for fighting the weeds of our wards.
ENDS.
