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| Hammersmith Town Hall |
BBC news have reported on it here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-39415618. So what does it mean for residents of Shepherd's Bush? It may mean hikes in Council Tax, given that the original TriBorough Agreement, brought in when all three councils were run by the Conservatives, was designed to save money in the first place.
"A joint statement released by the Westminster and Kensington & Chelsea authorities said the decision had been taken "in the face of uncertainty" caused by Hammersmith & Fulham, which they accused of "appearing to make alternative in-house plans without any formal engagement with the other two local authority partners about key services. This is causing anxiety to shared staff and placing potential risks to the joint services for vulnerable people in each borough".
Westminster Council leader Nickie Aiken said: "Both the leader of Kensington & Chelsea and I feel we are unable to continue when we have a partner that we do not believe is as committed to it as we are."
To see a local Conservative view, written by local Councillor Harry Phibbs, follow this link: http://www.conservativehome.com/localgovernment/2017/03/tri-borough-arrangements-to-end-next-year.html
And to see the Labour view, read our local Council's opinion: http://www.thecowanreport.com/ . Labour leader Stephen Cowan argues that Tri-Borough was over-rated, and that "many of the savings attributed to tri-borough were savings that would have been made by anyway."
It was of course always open to question whether Conservative Westminster and RBKC would ever get along well in a joint agreement with our Labour council. What is clear is that the agreement has broken down, and that local services in our borough will be strictly local from now on.
According to the BBC:
Westminster Council leader Nickie Aiken said: "Both the leader of Kensington & Chelsea and I feel we are unable to continue when we have a partner that we do not believe is as committed to it as we are."
To see a local Conservative view, written by local Councillor Harry Phibbs, follow this link: http://www.conservativehome.com/localgovernment/2017/03/tri-borough-arrangements-to-end-next-year.html
And to see the Labour view, read our local Council's opinion: http://www.thecowanreport.com/ . Labour leader Stephen Cowan argues that Tri-Borough was over-rated, and that "many of the savings attributed to tri-borough were savings that would have been made by anyway."
Surely the key point must be that the system only worked when the three boroughs were all politically united.
Perhaps this all comes down to political posturing. After all, we have local elections coming up in 2018, and everything will be up for grabs.
The Shepherd's Bush Blog offers a personal view on life in Shepherd's Bush. If you would like to contribute a story about our neighbourhood, email us at shepherdsbushblog(at)gmail.com
Perhaps this all comes down to political posturing. After all, we have local elections coming up in 2018, and everything will be up for grabs.
The Shepherd's Bush Blog offers a personal view on life in Shepherd's Bush. If you would like to contribute a story about our neighbourhood, email us at shepherdsbushblog(at)gmail.com
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