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News The Sausages, Mash & Pud - at the Bell in Castle Hedingham went well. Sir Allan Haselhurst attended and, along with County Councillor David Finch, spoke after the meal. A raffle was held and the evening raised a good sum of money for David's forth coming election campaign in June. AGM 2009 - at the AGM the Chairman, Vice Charman's and Secretary were all re-elected. On the committee Warren George stood down and was thanked for his help, the new elected committee members for this year were: Sue Clarke, Elizabeth Gray, Geoffrey Lucas and Wendy Scattergood. The metting was also attended by MP Brooks Newmark and David Finch who gave a brief on the up and coming elections. The Autumn Supper - held at Belchamp St Paul Community House was a great success. Sir Alan Haselhurst and Brooks Newmark both attended and spoke after the supper. A raffle and Auction was held and we raised a good amount of money for the association funds. We will be looking to do something similar again next year. AGM 2008 - at the AGM our Chairman Rory Watson & Secretary Geoff Lucas announced they were standing down and they were thanked for their time and efforts over the past years. In their place will be Fred Swallow as Chairman and Jennifer Smith taking on the position of Secretary. Jo Beavis was re-elected as Deputy Chairman Political and Peter Day re-elected as Deputy Chairman Finance & Membership. Ted Moses also stood down from the committee and the new elected Committee Members were: Margaret Lucas, Elizabeth Gray & Warren George. Summer Lunch - this was a great success, the venue was wonderful (an old Essex Barn carpeted & decorated beautifully) many thanks to the Jones's for the use of this. We had a lot of people turn out and our guest speaker was MP for Braintree Brooks Newmark, soon to be our MP at the next election. The food was excellent and the raffle raised a good amount as did the auction of three bottles of wine. Some photo's can be seen of the event in our Gallery section.
Conservatives Take Control Of Braintree District - congratulations to our three candidates, Jo & Wendy for re-election & Fred for taking the seat of Lib.Dem Steve Boulter! The Conservatives took 42 of the 60 seats at Braintree, Labour lost 10 & the Lib.Dems lost 4 seats.The results are below: 2007 2003 Gain Joanne Beavis - 1283 1013 +270 Wendy Scattergood - 1114 710 +404 Fred Swallow - 1103 - -
Braintree District Results - Conservatives - 42 (+15) Labour - 9 (-10) Lib.Dem - 1 (-4) Halstead Residents - 5 Greens - 2 Independents - 1 Sad News - in the last month we have had two of our longest standing members pass away, Lilly Harrington & Bob Metson, they will be greatly missed. Both of them always came to our functions, when they possibly could, and we had some very interesting chats & they told us some fun stories from the past. Our deepest condolences go out to their families.
New Year See's Big Change - As of 1st January 2007 we are preparing to leave Saffron Walden & join the new Braintree Constituency which will be formed at the next General Election. There is a lot of work to be done but remember Sir Alan Haselhurst is still our MP until then.
SWCCA Women's Committee Dinner - Joanne Beavis & Peter Day attended the Dinner at the SAS Radisson Hotel and it was a great success, a sell-out in fact. The talk by William Hague MP was excellent and, many people said, did not go on long enough. If anyone gets the chance to hear him speak do it you will enjoy it very much, we did! Joanne Beavis Gets Promotion - At the Braintree District Council AGM 2005 District Councillor Joanne Beavis was appointed to the Standards Committee. Councillor Beavis becomes the first woman member of the Standards Committee since it was established in February 2002. Sir Alan Haselhurst Holds Seat - Sir Alan Haselhurst has kept his seat and increased his majority over the Lib Dems by more than 3000 to over 27,000!! That's over 50% of the vote! A very well done to him and his army of helpers throughout the constituency. David Finch Holds Seat for County - David Finch has also kept his position as County Councillor and increased his vote to over double that of the Lib Dems!! He had 4959 votes and the Lib Dems had only 2182 votes and Labour had only 1722. David achieved 47.7% of the votes which is a great result. The Lib Dems are not quite the force in our area they keep telling themselves! Conservatives Making Essex Excellent - Since gaining control in 2000 Essex Conservatives have set about transforming the Previously near bankrupt Lib dem/Labour authority into a shining example of Conservative good practice. In fact the Council's so good the leader of Essex County Council Lib Dems - Ken Jones said on 15th Feb. 2005 "This is an efficient County Council and getting more efficient as the years go on. This work has got to be recognized and credit given where credit is due." Council Tax - increases at the lowest level for 10 years and not just once but twice in succession - 2004(4.7%) and again (2.9%) for 2005. Waste and Recycling - One of the best recycling rates in the Country. Civic amenity sites achieving over 65% recycling. An integrated waste strategy agreed by all districts in Essex that positively excludes incineration. (It's only the Lib Dems and Labour who talk about incineration. The Conservatives have moved on to new ways of working and new technologies.) Highways and Transportation - Improving road conditions and traffic flow all the time throughout the County. £45 million additional investment in roads and resisted the Sudbury by pass with its implications for adverse traffic flow in our area. Library Service - Providing excellence in service and highly rated by Government inspectors. Community Care - Providing care for the elderly at home and providing over 7500 meals per month 7 days per week to those that need them. Children's Service - Taking care of our children who need help and developing new ways of providing smarter and better service. A service now so highly rated that it has been granted Beacon status. And Locally...... 30 - 40 mph schemes in all villages - Completed. Flood defence work for Sible Hedingham - Started. Local issues such as the need for salt bins - Sorted. Additional funding from the County Council to every Parish in Essex - Done. Conservative controlled Braintree District Council has launched a Rural Communities Development Fund, available for each Parish - New Initiative. Conservative controlled Braintree District Council is funding extra Community Police Support Officers - Safer Communities. Lib Dem Lies In their literature, Liberal Democrats attack Labours Council Tax rises - all talk. Liberal Democrat Peers voted with Labour to introduce new Council Tax bands. Conservatives voted against (Lords Hansard, 10th September 2003, Col.339) Liberal Democrat Peers voted with Labour to support the Council Tax revaluation. Conservatives voted against (Lords Hansard 17th July 2003, Cols.976-80) Liberal Democrat MP's voted with Labour to ratify the new law, which introduces the new bands and the rigged revaluation. Conservatives voted against (Hansard, 10th March 2003, Col.126) Liberal Democrats also support a Local Income Tax, this would cost a typical working family over £630 per year more! Only Conservatives are providing effective opposition to Labour's plans for third term tax rises. Sible Hedingham Sugar Loaves Flood Protection - it has been announced by County Councillor David Finch that the flood protection for the Sugar Loaves Pub area will start within the next six months. As soon a an environmental assessment of the area for the ponds has been completed, by the Environment Agency, it will commence. This is excellent news for all those who live in the immediate vicinity who have suffered so badly from several flooding's of the area in the past few years.
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