Royston Liberal Democrats

Royston Town Council decided at its Extraordinary meeting on 23rd March 2020 (draft minutes are available here) to suspend many council functions, including regular meetings. All necessary decisions are being made by two councillors and the clerk. Virtual meetings are now permitted by law, and many parish councils locally are holding meetings in this way. However, so far there have been no virtual meetings of Royston Town Council and none are scheduled, though we have been told that options are being investigated.

We believe that regular meetings with a full complement of councillors and public participation should be reinstated virtually as soon as possible and we will continue to push for this to happen.

Royston Liberal Democrats are committed to democracy and transparency at every level of government.

Our local NHS Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) is asking for your views on community health services.

Section 11 in the questionnaire allows you to share your ideas and is an opportunity to suggest an NHS Health Hub on the Royston hospital site. The Royston Community Health organisation has suggested that this could have nurses, physios and GPs and could have a care home with room for people who are rehabilitating after being in hospital. But this will need strong local support in order for it to happen.

Click here to have your say.

On our Local Transparency page you can now find recordings of recent public meetings of Royston Town Council.

We have uploaded these to allow more people to learn what occurs at council meetings and to facilitate a greater level of transparency and accountability in local government.

Please let us know if you have any feedback.

Progress on parking problems

Carol Stanier is meeting the District Council officers responsible for parking to press for progress on Royston’s parking review. Steve Jarvis has secured agreement for double yellow lines to be installed next year on the bend near the entrance to Layston Park.

Town Council Action on Environment

Royston Town Council recently agreed to reassess their environmental policy following criticism from Lib Dems that it was neither robust enough nor did it provide SMART (specific, measurable, achievable, realistic and timed) goals for the council. Ruth Brown and Carol Stanier are both appointed to the four-member cross-party working group to look at this. Any suggestions from the public are welcomed.

Climate Change Commitment

The first action of the new North Herts Council was to agree (with all party support) to declare a climate emergency, to become a “zero carbon council” by 2030 and to look at ways in which it can help people and businesses across the district reduce their impact on the climate.

Following this year’s local elections, in which Lib Dems gained five seats, no party has a majority on North Herts Council. We met with representatives from both the Conservative group and the Labour group to see what could be the best solution for the residents and businesses of North Hertfordshire over the next twelve months.

After much discussion, the Labour group was more willing to work with us deliver real improvements for people across North Herts including a competent council that listens to local people, a greener district and support for business and enterprise.

For the next 12 months the council will have a shared administration with both Liberal Democrat and Labour councillors working together to improve the council’s performance in agreed areas.

A big thank you to local people who went out and voted in the local elections this May. Carol Stanier now joins Ruth Brown as your second Lib Dem District Councillor.

Thank you also to those who voted in the European elections. Liberal Democrats topped the poll in North Herts, helping to elect Barbara Gibson and Lucy Nethsingha as MEPs for the East of England.

Royston Lib Dems are pleased to announce that as from 13th May (the most recent Annual Meeting of Royston Town Council) we will be recording all public meetings of the Council and sharing these with the public on our website. We hope that this will enable more people to learn what occurs at council meetings and will facilitate a greater level of transparency and accountability. All public meetings will still be open for members of the public to attend.

You can listen to a recording of the meetings on the 13th May by clicking the “play” button below.

Royston Lib Dems are entering a team for the Royston & South Cambs Home-Start Aquathon on 19th May at Royston Leisure Centre. We will donate all the funds raised to this amazing local charity so please do give generously.  Click here to visit our JustGiving page where you can donate. You can sponsor us per length or just give a donation.

We could ideally do with at least one more swimmer. Our slot is at 7pm but you’d need to arrive shortly before. If you know anyone who would like to swim with us then please forward them the details and ask them to get in touch.

Home-Start Royston & South Cambridgeshire – This charity is entirely self funding and has a target of £159,000 to reach by 31 March 2020. This is a charity that supports families in times of crisis and difficulty. It’s vision is that the best start in life for children begins at home with family in a nurturing, loving, stable home environment which determines a child’s future life chances. They help families with children age 9 and under cope with post natal depression, illness, isolation, bereavement, disability, domestic abuse, mental health issues and much more, offering regular support and practical help to alleviate stress with a view to preventing family crisis and breakdown.