Election Result 19th Apil 2012: Nigel Rennie (Independent) 794 votes; David Fawcett (Labour) 439 votes. 2:1 vote in favour of Independents. Thank you to all the residents of Binfield who voted for me. Thank you also to the excellent Tellors and Council staff who stayed all day at the Polling stations and then even later at the count.

http://www.nigelrennie.co.uk/issues/independant-voice/

2012 Election Issues

Another election in the offing. More than 10 local residents requested an election following the retirement of Brenda Wilson as a Parish Councillor. Brenda did an excellent job for many years and should be thanked by us all, but I understand she has had to retire due to ill health. Binfield Parish Council is complaining about the cost, but at the same time they did not offer co-option to anyone (which does not cost anything) and they seem strangely averse to having an elected Councillor.

I have put my name forward as a genuinely independent candidate and the other candidate is David Fawcett (Labour). Either of us will be able to express a non-Conservative view and despite the prevarications of the current Conservative clan at least we will have been elected by the residents and not won by the default of there being no other candidates as happened in both 2007 and 2011. Residents of Binfield have not elected their Parish Council for over 8 years!!

What do I stand for ?

1. To fight to stop unnecessary housing development.

• There are currently 10,780 new homes planned to be built in the northern arc of Bracknell, of which nearly 8,000 will be in Binfield and the immediate surrounding area. That will triple the size of the existing population and the area would become a suburb of Bracknell.

Imagine 3 times the volume of traffic, 3 times the number of school applicants, 3 times the number of people going to the doctor or dentist.

• After being given special permission by their Party, the 3 Borough Councillors representing Binfield voted against the proposal. The Parish Council have employed a planning specialist to give advice and have voted to oppose the development proposals.

 2. To demand sufficient infrastructure for any new houses that are to be built.

• Despite the massive number of new houses being planned, there is as yet no evidence of how the infrastructure costs will be met.
• The Council has an abysmal record of providing new services for new houses  e.g. Temple Park – only houses;  Farley Wood – only houses;  Amen Corner – only houses; Stevenson Drive – only houses. All of the latest planned developments in the village are for houses only e.g. Murrell Hill Lane, Foxley Lane, Binfield Nursery.

3.    To fight to protect the green gap and the separate identity of Binfield as a village.

• The present Council is planning to build houses, schools and a football stadium (for Bracknell FC) on Blue Mountain Golf Course. This is a disgraceful misuse of power, especially considering that Bracknell Forest Council signed a legally binding agreement not to build on the green gap when they gave permission to build more homes at Temple Park.

4.    To fight to protect the countryside for future generations.

• The Council is supposed to represent the residents, that is why they were elected. Over 3,000 local residents voted against building on our green land (that is nearly half of all the residents in Binfield), so why do they insist on going ahead against a clear desire not to?
• Why did Binfield Parish Council vote against the proposal to make Wicks Green into a conservation area?

5.     To fight the planned stoppage of bus services in Binfield.

• Our Council is planning to even further reduce or get rid of the occasional bus service we have in Binfield. How will people without cars manage to get to Bracknell?

6.   To ensure that villagers are kept aware and up to date with events that will affect their lives.

• The Binfield Parish Council web site is only occasionally updated and little information is given to residents. Our whole village is going to be massively affected by the current proposals from Bracknell Forest Council and yet most residents are not aware of the planned changes.

7.    To protect and enhance village life to the benefit of the residents.

• Binfield is a village, and I strongly believe it should be protected as such. I came to Binfield in 1984, over 28 years ago, precisely because it was a village. A lot has changed since then, but despite increasing pressure from Bracknell it has managed to retain its distinct identity as a village.
• Once upon a time Binfield held events. Where have they all gone? e.g Carters Steam Fair on the Carnival Fields, Barn Dance and Pig Roast (courtesy Mr Luff!!); the Circus on Circus Fields. Let us bring some life back into the village and show that we do not have to rely on Bracknell for everything we do.

8.   To provide an alternative voice on a Parish Council which protests that it is not Conservative. The facts seem very different:

Councillor                           Party                                     Nominated By

• Hilary Doyle                        Independent              Amanda McLean – Conservative
• John Harrison                    Conservative              David Horton – Conservative
• David Horton                     Conservative              John Harrison – Conservative
• Enid Rose Leake                Conservative              Ian Leake – Conservative
• Ian William Leake             Conservative              Dawn Hains
• Amanda  McLean              Conservative              Ian Leake – Conservative
• Dominic  Ogden                 Independent               Amanda McLean – Conservative
• Andrew Voller                   Independent               Amanda McLean – Conservative
• Brenda Wilson                   Conservative (retired)
• Rita Woolford                    Not known                    Co-opted by Amanda McLean

To Mr Fawcett I hope that the best man will win, but whichever of us it is at least the residents will know that they have elected a new voice who is not obliged to tow the party line.