Our overall reaction is one of disappointment about how
little determination or imagination the
working group appears to have shown in
addressing their brief. Their output is merely a restatement of the existing
ideas promulgated at previous meetings. Have they explored and rejected other
options or have they merely recycled their brief?
None of the proposals goes very far in addressing the
democratic deficit in Bath. We note that none of the options as presented is
fully costed only indicative figures being provided.
The creation of parish councils that will have little power
and then only in local areas of Bath, will do little to address the systemic
problems of the city and will, we understand, cost council tax payers a lot of
money to create and maintain as well as adding extra levels of bureaucracy.
The committee idea has the virtue of probably being cheaper
but would have little actual power. It seems unlikely that any serious
residents’ groups would join it as it would give them very little power in the
decision-making process but would ensure they shared more than their fair share
of the blame.
This leaves us with the status quo which while
unsatisfactory appears to be better than the other options on offer.
If the BANES is really serious about addressing this issue,
and this is not just a PR initiative, we would urge that they take more time to
analysis the costs and benefits of various proposals. We would also urge that
they look at researching more options with more imagination and determination
than they have shown to date.
