Catch up on the latest political news from across Kent with Rob Bailey, joined by Conservative George Perfect and Labour's Tris Osborne.
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00:00 (upbeat music)
00:02 - Welcome to the Kent Politics Show live on KMTV.
00:27 I'm Rob Bailey.
00:28 And this week we learned the scale
00:30 of the financial crisis at Medway Council.
00:33 The Labour run authority is begging the government
00:35 for a 14.6 million pound loan
00:37 to stay afloat in the next year.
00:39 The bid was made after the council was refused permission
00:42 to raise council tax above the 5% limit this spring.
00:46 We spoke to the council's leader, Vince Maple, this week
00:48 and asked him what would happen if the loan is also refused.
00:52 - Well, the report is very clear.
00:54 Actually, Sitford's words, not my words,
00:56 is that if neither element of support is given,
00:59 that actually it is impossible
01:01 to set a credible, balanced budget.
01:04 Those are not my words, the words of Sitford.
01:06 So it shows the challenges that we have as a council.
01:09 That's why we've taken their advice and recommendations.
01:12 We've made the request to central government.
01:13 As I say, one element of that has been rejected,
01:17 but we're hopeful on the second element
01:18 and we'll continue to work on that basis.
01:21 - Well, joining me this week is Labour's Tris Osborne
01:24 and Conservative George Perfect,
01:26 both from Medway.
01:27 Thanks for joining us.
01:29 Tris, very much sounding like Medway Council
01:31 is on the brink, in the kind of last chance saloon, really,
01:35 with this bid for government funding.
01:37 When you took power last May at the elections,
01:40 the leader, Vince Maple, we've just heard from,
01:42 was under no illusions about the situation you inherited.
01:44 He talked on the day of the election
01:46 about the financial challenges.
01:48 How did we get to a point where it's so,
01:50 it feels like such a crisis?
01:52 - Well, look, you're absolutely right.
01:53 On the day, we talked about the concerns that we had
01:56 and we actually bought in SIPPFA,
01:57 which is the Independent Specialist in Accountancy
02:00 in local governments, and they went through the books
02:02 and what they've identified is that with falling revenues
02:06 coming from direct government,
02:07 we've had a 91% cut in revenue grants.
02:09 We've had a 30% reduction, if you look at it,
02:11 from an overall package perspective of government funding.
02:15 And in addition to that, inflationary increases
02:17 caused by the trust mini-budget.
02:19 If you add all of these together,
02:21 the reality is that councils everywhere are struggling
02:24 and unfortunately, Medway Council,
02:26 because of the decisions made in the past,
02:28 we have inherited an even worse situation.
02:30 And so what we're now asking people to do
02:32 is we're taking them on a journey with us
02:34 to fix this issue, to put us into a firmer footing
02:37 over the next two to three years,
02:39 and we will regularly communicate with people
02:41 and be transparent about those challenges.
02:43 And there are some incredibly difficult decisions.
02:45 - We'll come to some of those in a minute,
02:46 but George first, I mean, laying the blame there
02:48 at the Conservatives, both nationally and locally,
02:51 is that fair?
02:52 - Well, look, I think we've been very clear
02:54 that there have been difficult decisions
02:56 that we had to take, the previous administration,
02:57 when Conservative led over the past 20 years,
03:00 have had to take in terms of the running of Medway Council.
03:02 We're a unitary authority close to London.
03:05 We face a number of challenges on a local level,
03:07 which make it particularly difficult in terms of our budget.
03:10 We've got location-specific factors,
03:12 including high levels of need in some of our towns,
03:15 which drives up the need for children and adult services,
03:17 which makes up the vast majority of the spend
03:20 that the council has.
03:21 We've been on an improvement journey.
03:22 The previous administration spending significant sums
03:25 of money every year in terms of improving children's services,
03:28 which was the right thing to do and delivered.
03:30 We delivered that good Ofsted result
03:32 that happened earlier this year
03:34 with the brilliant officer team that we've got at Medway.
03:37 And look, we're very clear,
03:38 there are difficult decisions that the administration
03:40 are going to have to take because of that,
03:43 and because of the situation
03:44 that the country has found itself in
03:45 with very high levels of inflation.
03:47 - We've heard Conservatives nationally
03:49 often coming back to that moment
03:51 when Labour left office in 2010 saying,
03:53 "There's no money left."
03:55 Well, this is the same thing, isn't it?
03:56 I mean, you left the Labour administration
03:58 with no money left.
03:59 - Well, there is money left.
03:59 I mean, look, since 2010,
04:03 the Conservative government nationally
04:04 have had to, first of all, clear up the mess
04:06 that was left in 2010.
04:08 We've dealt with some of the biggest challenges in history,
04:10 whether it be the war in Ukraine,
04:12 whether it be the recovery from the COVID pandemic.
04:14 And the prime minister's had to take very difficult decisions
04:16 in terms of both central government budgets,
04:19 but obviously that trickles down,
04:20 as Tris keeps referencing,
04:22 to local authority budgets too.
04:24 But look, there hasn't been a 91% cut
04:27 in the grant that has come from government
04:28 because the Revenue Support Grant didn't exist in 2010.
04:31 It was the Formula Grant,
04:32 which was split out through business rates.
04:34 But we're very clear that the situation is challenging,
04:37 which is why the Secretary of State announced
04:39 a further £600 million for local authorities,
04:42 a 10% increase in the Rural Support Grant
04:44 for other authorities in terms of those within rural areas
04:48 that have that high level of need.
04:49 But we accept that there are difficult decisions
04:52 that have got to be taken.
04:53 But it's very interesting that the Labour group
04:55 are now calling to increase council tax above 5%,
04:59 when obviously last year, if you go to their website,
05:02 they were calling alongside the leader
05:03 of the opposition nationally to freeze council tax.
05:06 So it's just the same thing we hear
05:09 from the local Medway Labour,
05:10 which is one thing in opposition
05:12 and another thing when they're in the administration.
05:14 - I mean, you've just said just then,
05:15 you want to take the public on a journey with you.
05:18 The first thing that many Medway residents
05:20 would have heard about the possibility of council tax
05:22 going up by an extraordinarily high figure potentially
05:25 would have been this week.
05:26 You wanted to do that without a referendum.
05:28 What was the figure that you were pitching to the government?
05:31 - So what we were asking for is a package.
05:32 So we asked for two things.
05:34 First of all, we asked for a capitalisation bid.
05:37 So we're effectively borrowing on capital
05:39 to spend on revenue,
05:40 which we were going to do for a two year period.
05:42 And you're absolutely right.
05:43 One of the things we did ask for and request
05:45 is an increase in council tax.
05:47 The reason for that...
05:48 - By how much can you say?
05:49 - By an additional 5% beyond the referendum limit.
05:51 - So a 10%?
05:52 - A proportion up to that level, yes.
05:55 - £167 a year on a band aid property.
05:57 - Can I explain why that is the case?
05:58 Because clearly, since we took office,
06:00 we then commissioned Sipford to come in
06:02 and look at the finances and their recommendations to us,
06:05 an independent financial body,
06:07 was that we then go and make that request
06:09 and that capitalisation request.
06:11 So we followed the guidance.
06:12 Sipford are the actual body
06:14 that the government would go to themselves.
06:16 And can I just challenge,
06:17 we've had, the reality is,
06:19 is that all local councils have suffered cuts.
06:21 We've had 40 MPs, including Tories, say
06:23 that this has gone on too long.
06:25 And whether you take the 91% figure
06:27 or the 30% figure, including to inflation,
06:29 - Well, that's a very different figure though, isn't it?
06:31 - It is not sustainable.
06:32 We have seen local government reductions.
06:34 And the reality is, is around the country,
06:36 whatever the political complexion,
06:37 this isn't party political,
06:39 councils are struggling under the Conservatives.
06:41 And this was going on from pre-COVID.
06:43 This was the austerity agenda,
06:44 which is now coming back to bite us.
06:46 And I'm afraid difficult decisions
06:48 are going to have to be made.
06:49 And I understand they're going to be unpopular,
06:51 and I'm willing to have that conversation with people.
06:53 - Well, let's start with some of those,
06:54 because one of the areas which is really interesting
06:56 is the potential impact on businesses in Medway.
07:00 Parking fees going up by 60 pence an hour in all car parks.
07:03 Let's start there, potentially.
07:04 I mean, I've spoken personally
07:06 to lots of businesses in Gillingham
07:07 that have campaigned for a long time for cheaper parking.
07:09 They say parking is absolutely killing their trade.
07:13 This isn't going to help, is it?
07:15 - So parking charges, we are still,
07:17 when we compare to comparator local authorities in Kent,
07:19 we're still amongst the cheapest in Kent.
07:21 And in some cases,
07:21 we are cheaper than every other location in Kent.
07:24 Similarly on charges for countryside parks,
07:27 we will be the cheapest location
07:28 for countryside parks in Kent.
07:30 So we don't operate in a vacuum.
07:32 You can see on your news channel that many other areas are,
07:35 there's protesters against car parking charges.
07:37 No one wants to see higher car parking charges,
07:40 but the reality is, is local government,
07:42 whatever your colour,
07:43 they are struggling at the moment with their finances.
07:45 And we would maintain that our parking charges
07:48 are significantly lower than other areas in Kent.
07:50 We have a competitive advantage,
07:51 and that's what business wants.
07:53 - George, this is about footfall in Medway's towns.
07:56 There's also, we've heard here in the summer,
07:58 the Dickens Festival won't go ahead.
07:59 The English Festival won't go ahead.
08:02 What do you make of those decisions?
08:03 - Well, look, I think the administration
08:05 have outlined a package of decisions.
08:07 We'll comment on every one of those,
08:09 specifically in the Leader of the Opposition's response
08:11 at the budget at the end of this month.
08:14 But, you know, more widely, we're still very concerned.
08:16 I mean, this is a budget that has been built,
08:18 we've just heard, and predicated on the government
08:21 giving a 14.8 million pound capitalisation directive
08:24 in order to fund the budget.
08:26 We've got a 12.9% increase overall
08:28 in terms of the council's revenue spend across the year.
08:31 Well, that's much higher than usual inflation.
08:35 We've got all of the other concerns
08:37 that you've just outlined,
08:38 whether it be cancelling festivals,
08:40 whether it be closing the visitor centre in Rochester,
08:43 or whether indeed it be, you know,
08:46 continuing the administration's desire
08:48 to increase fees and charges.
08:51 And this comes at another time.
08:52 We've got red routes being propagated in Reynham,
08:55 where they're not wanted.
08:56 64% of respondents went against those,
08:58 yet the administration are flying ahead with that.
09:00 We've got lots of things coming forward
09:02 that are having implications on the overall revenue budget.
09:05 And unfortunately, I'm afraid Councillor Osborne
09:07 isn't answering some of those points that you're making,
09:09 I don't think particularly.
09:10 Well, it's a challenge.
09:11 I mean, he said initially
09:12 that he wasn't going to give a budget response,
09:13 and then now the official budget response is out.
09:15 He's opposing everything,
09:16 when actually his leader hasn't given any position
09:19 on any of these issues.
09:20 So maybe he's speaking for him,
09:22 but the reality is that the reason why
09:23 a 12.9% increase in revenue
09:25 is because the costs have gone up.
09:26 He initially said that children's services,
09:28 adult social care have gone up,
09:30 statutory costs have gone up.
09:31 And we have seen, as is the case
09:33 with all local authorities around the country,
09:35 whether you take the 91% cut in revenue grant,
09:38 or whatever the grant was called then,
09:39 or the 20 to 30% cut overall,
09:42 if you take into account all figures,
09:44 we have seen a below inflation increase
09:46 over the last 14 years.
09:47 And that is now coming back to bite,
09:48 whether it's potholes in the road,
09:49 as a legacy of Conservative bad decisions,
09:51 whether it's media and culture festivals,
09:55 where we're having to make really tough calls
09:57 on where the attendance is on those.
09:58 - Let me ask you about another set of the cuts,
10:01 because the other side of this
10:02 is where it will affect families, isn't it?
10:03 And when you took power in May,
10:05 one of the things that Vince Maple outlined
10:07 as a priority for Labour was cost of living.
10:09 And you took action straight away on cost of living.
10:11 But now we're talking about free swimming
10:13 for under 16s and over 60s gone.
10:16 We're talking about parking fees,
10:18 which will affect families.
10:19 We're talking about all kinds of things
10:22 that are going to make people's lives
10:23 more expensive in Medway.
10:24 How do you feel, and obviously council tax going up,
10:27 but by potentially, you know, at the moment,
10:29 83 pounds per year, you wanted it to be double that.
10:32 How do you feel about that cut,
10:33 about putting that pressure on families?
10:35 - Well, look, these are difficult decisions
10:36 we're having to make.
10:37 And I know I'm coming here today,
10:39 and we want to take people on that journey with us
10:40 so that we can actually correct
10:42 these judgements in the future.
10:44 So we can look at where our finances are now,
10:46 and in two, three, four years time,
10:47 be in a different position.
10:48 But as I've said, we've come in,
10:50 we've opened the books up to an independent specialist,
10:52 and this is what they've come back with,
10:53 that after 20 years of Conservative patrol
10:56 at the council, after 14 years of Tory government,
10:59 we are now suffering the headwinds of that,
11:01 coupled with the costs of increasing services,
11:04 and the inflationary costs of the trust mini-budget,
11:06 which is impacting people-
11:07 - It's got nothing to do with Liz's trust.
11:08 - It is, because the inflationary-
11:09 - You know it's got nothing to do with Liz's trust.
11:10 - The inflationary increases in costs
11:12 are to do with the state of the economy,
11:15 which has deteriorated,
11:16 which is the reason why people are paying more
11:17 in mortgage prices, and the cost of living has increased.
11:20 And ultimately, that wind is passing through
11:23 all of our services, and all of the things
11:25 that people are paying for in there,
11:26 from shopping, all the way to council tax.
11:29 I'm afraid some of this is the headwinds of inflation
11:31 that we are paying for.
11:33 - I mean, I'm sorry, I've just got to come back on that.
11:34 - Very, very quickly.
11:35 - Yeah, very briefly.
11:36 I mean, look, Rishi Sinhak's got a plan.
11:38 We've over halved inflation in a year,
11:41 we're getting more people into work,
11:43 we've got a plan that Jeremy Hunt is delivering,
11:45 £450 back for the average worker
11:47 through national insurance cuts.
11:49 I'm afraid this being propagated by-
11:51 - We have to end it now, I'm sorry,
11:52 we're taking a break now,
11:53 we'll be back in just a few minutes.
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15:06 - Welcome back to the Chem Politics Show live on KMTV.
15:13 Next tonight, it was supposed to be a thriving business hub
15:17 with tech startups and global names like Netflix,
15:20 bringing jobs to Medway.
15:21 But six years after the innovation park was first marketed,
15:25 the site near Rochester Airport still has no tenants.
15:28 11.6 million pounds has already been spent on it.
15:31 Now Medway Council has put the whole project under review.
15:34 Well, still here with me are Labour's Tris Osborne
15:37 and Conservative George Perfect.
15:39 Welcome back.
15:40 George, this was a Conservative,
15:42 obviously you were in office up until last May.
15:43 This was built by Alan Jarrett's administration
15:48 as a big plank of Medway's regeneration.
15:50 3,000 jobs were supposed to be created by this place.
15:53 Are you worried that that's now turned
15:55 into a huge white elephant for Medway?
15:57 - Well, absolutely.
15:58 I mean, we're concerned.
15:59 I mean, what have the administration been doing?
16:00 I mean, we asked a question at the last full council.
16:02 - Well, there were no tenants in May when you gave it.
16:04 - No, but we've made significant progress.
16:06 The previous administration made significant progress
16:08 in terms of that outreach and marketing work.
16:11 And we want to know what the administration have been doing.
16:12 I mean, they've just spent the past 10 months in office
16:15 telling us that they've got a highly ambitious
16:17 regeneration agenda, saying they're pro-business
16:20 and everything else.
16:21 Well, what have they been doing?
16:22 I mean, if it's taken them 10 months to get to this point
16:25 and they're telling us there's been zero progress
16:26 they've made since May on this,
16:28 and they're now saying they're going to put the whole
16:30 project under review, well, maybe Councillor Osborne
16:33 can tell us what they've been doing for 10 months
16:35 with this project.
16:36 Because when we were running the council,
16:38 we were making good progress.
16:39 It was since from the time it was reported
16:41 by the Kent Messenger, we'd secured a first tenant.
16:44 We've seen no progress since May.
16:46 - A first tenant who was only going to move in
16:47 if the council paid for the building.
16:49 - Well, we can receive an update from Councillor Osborne
16:52 in terms of his engagement with the tenants.
16:54 - I think what you've just heard there is the reason
16:56 why they can't do the budgets.
16:57 I mean, the reality is, is they had 12 years
16:59 and we've had, we've got one tenant on the proviso
17:02 that we build the building for them.
17:03 And the project, quite frankly,
17:05 I think most people driving past it can see
17:07 that it wasn't adding up.
17:08 And I think this now needs to be put to a review
17:11 and we need to identify where there are weaknesses.
17:13 And it doesn't take too much to put together.
17:16 We don't have the business interest.
17:18 The market has changed around commercial premises,
17:21 COVID, the increasing technologies that we've had.
17:23 And I think it's only fair now that we say after 11 years
17:26 of actually quite aggressive advertising
17:28 that didn't work, that we say, actually,
17:30 could this be used for something else?
17:31 So what we've asked for is we've commissioned a piece of work
17:34 to say, is this site viable for commercial premises?
17:37 Is part of it, could we look at alternative uses for this?
17:40 Maybe health services, maybe recreation,
17:43 maybe doing something else with the sites.
17:45 And look-
17:45 - You know what people who live near there are going to be saying?
17:47 They're going to be adding on the end of that list, don't you?
17:49 They're going to be saying, could it be housing?
17:51 And of course, we know that that has been
17:53 an enormously controversial option
17:55 in that part of Medway before.
17:56 Could it be housing?
17:57 - Well, look, we have, I don't know the answer
17:59 because I'm waiting for the review to come back.
18:01 But the reality is under Michael Gove,
18:03 we have significantly high housing targets
18:06 that we have to maintain.
18:07 And obviously at the moment,
18:08 because we don't have a local plan,
18:09 that means predatory development is sadly happening
18:11 across Medway.
18:12 So I absolutely hear people's concerns around that.
18:15 But what we're saying with this proposal is,
18:17 we want to get the specialist team in to have a look at it.
18:20 It's clearly not worked, despite all of the sort of deflections
18:23 that we're hearing here.
18:24 - Why has it taken you 10 months to work that out?
18:26 - Well, it took you 11 years.
18:27 And now we've actually done what we had to do,
18:29 which is to admit that this project needs to be looked at
18:32 much more deeply.
18:33 And actually, I'll await the conclusions from this
18:36 because I'm not a specialist in commercial real estate,
18:38 but it's quite clear there hasn't been the business interest.
18:41 If there had been, we probably wouldn't be sitting here
18:43 discussing the review now, would we?
18:45 - Well, this is interesting because obviously,
18:47 this is about an area which was set aside
18:50 for regeneration investment businesses moving into Medway.
18:55 It's not alone in that respect.
18:56 There is plans for Chatham Docks,
18:58 which again is about creating business opportunities.
19:02 Does this now undermine potentially what's happening there as well?
19:05 What do you think, George?
19:06 Does this show that that's potentially another white elephant for Medway?
19:10 - Well, I mean, getting businesses into Medway is vitally important.
19:13 We've got BAE Systems very close to the site,
19:15 which is very important and a strategic partner of Medway
19:18 in terms of our commercial agenda.
19:21 I think we just heard from Councillor Osborne
19:23 that his business engagement clearly isn't working
19:25 because he's not attracting anybody to an evasion park Medway.
19:28 He hasn't answered any of the questions you just asked him, Rob, there
19:30 about what he's doing in terms of attracting inward investment.
19:33 And I'm afraid it's the same from this administration.
19:36 They have no answers to any of these questions.
19:38 Keep saying there are lots of problems,
19:39 but there's no answers to any of these problems
19:41 that they keep raising, unfortunately.
19:42 - Could I just talk about Chatham Docks?
19:43 So you did raise that.
19:44 So that actually is a private development under Peel.
19:47 So Peel does have significant expertise actually.
19:49 Look at Manchester and some of the successful arena projects
19:51 they've done around the country.
19:53 So it's not quite the same.
19:54 This one was council led.
19:56 And after 11 years, as you've correctly highlighted,
19:59 there were barely any interest.
20:01 So yeah, we've given it a bit more time to secure that interest.
20:04 Expensive advertising companies have been out there soliciting people's views.
20:08 And the reality is it didn't work.
20:11 And I think it's only fair now, people driving past it,
20:13 we look at other opportunities, maybe health services,
20:16 maybe recreation and other types of things can be considered too.
20:19 And I think after 11 years, do we continue to sink more and more money
20:23 into this project as they would do, squabbling in the local newspaper
20:26 about whether it was a good or bad idea?
20:28 Or do we actually consider the review and actually say,
20:32 is it now time that we look at alternatives?
20:34 And I think let that review come to its conclusion.
20:37 And let's see where we are in a year's time around that.
20:39 Because I suspect they might conclude something different.
20:41 But I'm waiting to see what they have to say.
20:44 - Well, let's move on then.
20:45 Finally tonight, street businesses are bracing themselves for 100 days
20:49 of road chaos when Frinsbury Road is closed.
20:52 Diversions will be in place while access to a new secondary school is built.
20:56 But shop owners warned the disruption could lead to job losses.
21:00 - We do get quite a lot of clientele coming from the Medway City Estate area.
21:04 And obviously with the traffic that's already there as it is anyway,
21:07 it's obviously going to be building up more traffic
21:09 and we're possibly going to be losing a bit of clientele.
21:13 If we're not getting the money to pay the bills,
21:15 then we're going to be struggling ourselves not to pay only bills here,
21:19 but to pay bills at home as well.
21:20 Everybody, everywhere. It's going to be blockage.
21:23 There's going to be jam everywhere. Nobody able to move.
21:25 You know, customers won't be able to come to the restaurant on time, you know,
21:29 and we won't be able to take the food to their house on time.
21:31 That's going to be difficult.
21:33 - We're just losing, constantly losing trade.
21:35 But three months, that will cripple us.
21:38 We've got part-time staff.
21:39 We might even have to let the girls in the mornings not come in.
21:43 - We really don't know anything.
21:44 And we feel that Medway Council need to call a meeting
21:47 with all us residents that own properties and businesses
21:51 so that we can discuss and see what the infrastructure is going to be on the whole thing.
21:56 - Trish, we're hearing businesses there outlining
21:59 that they're possibly cutting back on casual work,
22:01 fear of losing passing trade, and they're demanding a meeting.
22:05 What can you offer them?
22:06 - Well, first of all, I hear what they have to say.
22:09 I'm very sympathetic to this. The context of this, of course,
22:11 that building, the initial site for the Maritime Academy,
22:14 was opposed by us in opposition.
22:17 We made it very clear we had concerns about accessibility in that location,
22:20 and we supported the resident campaign at the time.
22:22 But now where we are, we have just written an open letter, actually,
22:26 which is published on our Twitter account, Medway Labour,
22:29 which makes it very clear that we've engaged with the Conservative Department for Education.
22:33 And we say that they need to now engage with their contractors to work with us
22:37 so that we can actually look at a time frame which suits local residents better.
22:41 So, for instance, maybe a 7pm to 7am working schedule,
22:44 maybe an extension of the period so that we can get more traffic along the road.
22:48 So we are out there calling for what these people want,
22:51 which is to get access onto that road.
22:53 And lastly, it is now the responsibility of the Member of Parliament now
22:57 to engage with the Department for Education.
22:58 I've said that publicly, that she needs to use her political capital now
23:02 to work with the DfE to actually see if we can manage this.
23:05 But this situation is, this project is years late.
23:08 This academy should have opened years ago.
23:10 It's been beset with delays.
23:12 But the idea that people didn't know this was coming,
23:15 that it wasn't programmed,
23:17 and that people can be holding placards at roundabouts complaining about this,
23:21 well, actually, I'm afraid that isn't believable.
23:23 Some of these people attended the opening ceremony for this school,
23:26 and it was a Tory-led council and a Tory-led planning committee
23:29 that allowed them to pass this proposal.
23:31 So we will work with the residents as much as we can.
23:34 Our letter is in the public domain,
23:36 and I asked for the Conservatives and the MP to put their letter in the public domain as well
23:40 so that people can see real transparency on this issue.
23:43 Well, we already have. I mean, it's an answer, Rob.
23:44 I mean, immediately, I spoke to the Member of Parliament,
23:47 actually, Kelly Tolhurst, earlier on today.
23:49 We've put out, she's already been calling very publicly for the administration to do more.
23:53 This isn't, and I've seen the letter that they're talking about,
23:55 this isn't the responsibility of Baroness Barron,
23:58 who's the Minister for the academy's system, to be getting involved in this.
24:01 They are the highways authority. What are they doing about this?
24:04 It's the same, but it's the same all over Medway.
24:06 So this is not the first time we've had roadwork chaos under Medway Labour.
24:10 We've got the same problem we've had in Reynham, in my ward, beset with roadworks.
24:14 The administration don't really care.
24:16 We've now got the same problem here. We've got further roadworks.
24:19 Medway Council is the highways authority.
24:21 They should be the ones leading and proactively engaging in this,
24:23 rather than sending letters to ministers and letters to members of Parliament with sarcastic comments,
24:29 which are all about driving, playing politics and playing really what they do all the time,
24:34 which is this playing politics at the expense of residents.
24:37 They need to get on. They need to get out there and engage with those residents.
24:41 Go and meet with those businesses. Go and talk to them this weekend
24:44 and come up with a serious plan that they can take to the Department for Education
24:48 and look for a way forward, because this is clearly not going to work.
24:52 And the way in which they have spoken and treated some of my colleagues about raising this very serious issue,
24:57 very disrespectful and unbecoming of a serious unitary authority
25:01 that Councillor Osborne is part of the executive leadership team of.
25:05 OK, so he just blamed us for all roadworks in Medway. Of course, City Fibre is the reason why Raynham has been done.
25:10 That's a private organisation which was commissioned and they celebrated when they were in administration.
25:15 And we do have roadworks because the state of our roads is very poor.
25:18 Under 14 years, we've got potholes that need to be repaired.
25:22 And also we have utility work. So look, whilst we can accept blame for some of the roadworks in Medway,
25:27 some of these are utilities works. And I think people are clever enough to note that.
25:31 Just on this particular issue, absolutely in that letter, we have actually said that because the Department for Education has commissioned this project,
25:38 they have they have the ability to leverage contractors.
25:40 We've seen this elsewhere in the country and we have negotiated some changes.
25:44 So it was originally a 19 week proposal. We've reduced that to 15 weeks.
25:48 As a highway authority, we've also opened up Canal Road, which is a bus lane.
25:51 We've opened that out to exit from the Medway City Estate.
25:54 So we have made accommodations. But the programme for this was confirmed when it went through planning
25:59 and in engagement with our highway authorities.
26:02 And I'm afraid without making a party political point,
26:05 if you went to the opening ceremony with a spade and smiled with everyone saying this is the great programme for local people.
26:10 We're not against the school. No one said anything against the school.
26:13 It needs to open in September. It's two years late. Maybe you can explain why it's two years late.
26:17 Because the reality is, it's because of this situation is we need to get the school open in September.
26:23 That is the reason why these works are having to be programmed now in the way that they are.
26:27 And I absolutely hear what people have to say. But it is in the courts now,
26:31 the MP working with us to try and reduce the scope.
26:35 That's where we need to leave things for tonight. It's all we've got time for.
26:38 Thanks to both of my guests for joining me. We'll be back soon.
26:41 There's more political news analysis and opinion under the politics tab at Kent Online.
26:45 And stay with us because Kent Tonight's coming up with all today's news.
26:49 Good night.