Backed into a corner

This Tuesday sees Wymondham Town Council discussing an issue not only controversial because it involves the allocating of hundreds of thousands of pounds to a project potentially going nowhere, but also because of the near intolerable pressure brought to bear on our volunteer councillors.

The so-called public realm project was first touted by South Norfolk District Council last year and the Tory majority at Town Council enabled it, committing £250,000. Apparently, the proceeds of the sale of the former council building in Wymondham would also be added to the pot by District and CIL funding from new builds would be used to top up this project. In all, a sum of £1 million was being bandied about.

Except a number of things happened since that January 2023 decision and now.

For one, the Conservatives spectacularly lost the Council last May. And the sole remaining Tory resigned in pantomime fashion at the end of a meeting, smirking as he exited stage left.

So no Tories on the Council. No-one to champion public realm because the new administration wasn’t sure it wanted to commit £250k to a project no-one really knew about (mainly because the Tories did not include any non-Tory councillors in their discussions).

A couple of our councillors on the Finance & General Purposes committee also looked thoroughly through the Council’s finances yet could find no extra funding for this project.

So a new Council scrutinised public realm.

Asked for clarification.

South Norfolk sent along an officer to present to the Council and a senior Cabinet councillor to promote the project.

But the project failed to inspire, seeming only to suggest that public realm money could be spent on alleyways, perhaps new planting, repairing paving or installing a new mini- roundabout at a dangerous junction.

Alarm bells had begun to ring on this with new councillors way before the threatening tone of South Norfolk’s Tory leader who said Wymondham had better come to the party and ‘put up or shut up’ (the leader has such a way with words) at a testy District meeting last month.

But what is more sinister is the relentless pressure on the new council to accept the deal even though there are no proper thought out plans. No current consultation with locals on what could be offered, just a vague commitment to consult after Town Council had committed funding.

And certainly nothing IN WRITING about how much South Norfolk would contribute.

The pressure has come from the leader and his cohorts. Those who want to push through this ill thought out project just because they can. So step forward local and social media.

Online articles from a supposedly reputable magazine which constantly ridicules current councillors (who are volunteers serving Wymondham, remember) At least two online articles have appeared in a week, criticising councillors on a decision they are yet to make.

Printed local papers have also added fuel to the fire, printing three related articles on public realm (and a poorly researched report on increased burial fees which tried to smear Liberal Democrats but that’s literally another story).

All designed to force our hand.

We know because we heard the Tories were going to activate their comms team and associated partners to put pressure on. (Yes we have our intel too and what we were hearing was downright nasty and evidence of the toxic nature of politics at the moment).

There have also been reports of not so subtle encouragement of locals residents and shopkeepers to attend the meeting on Tuesday and ask pointed questions on public realm.

So here we are, backed into a corner, by former councillors who want their project to progress but with no assurances on what funding will come to Wymondham and a ‘lord’ of a leader at District whose thinly veiled threats of withdrawing all funding left us with nowhere to go.

But we have nothing to hide.

In fact I am actively encouraging people to come along on Tuesday and hear for yourself how we debate this issue. Listen to the shenanigans we have had to put up with over the past few months. And then stay to hear our decision.

However I strongly recommend you read Paper F in the agenda pack (available on the Council website) before you come along. It’s rather illuminating.

We do our best to be effective custodians of public money and do not take decisions, especially financial ones, lightly.

But remember: public realm was not this administration’s project.

I will finish by saying a good friend told me at the start of our new administration that we would be scrutinised like no other council before us. This is true because for years, Tory led councils have merely trundled along, doing the bare minimum.

But Wymondham voted for change last year so our progressive, aspirational council will continue to push ahead with improvements, innovation and representing our residents the best we can.

I just hope that when it comes to public realm and the supposed £1million fund, we have no reason to say ‘we told you so.’