January 22, 2023 in Essex County Council
On Thursday, I attended Essex County Council, to try and save the funding cut of £860,000 for the Highways Rangers service.
As you may have read here, I believe the Highways Rangers service is crucial to our residents and has been valued hugely in our semi-rural district.
I was very greatful for the support by a fantastic local resident, Penny, who works for Guidedogs UK, Cllr Michael Hoy (Independent) who is the ECC Councillor for Rochford West and my Lib Dem colleague, Cllr Mike Mackrory.
Despite our best efforts, the Conservatives were determined to remove the funding for this service and have now 'passed the buck' to District Councils to fund the service (if they can afford it) otherwise the reports of overgrown vegetation will be generally ignored unless it is a safety concern.
In Rochford, I have been told that the service will be funded for a further 12 months. Beyond the next 12 months the funding for the service has no guarantee.
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