In May, the Conservatives believed that they had taken control of the authority for the first time in twenty years. However, the election of Council members for 4 seats in Totton North was delayed and the recent re-run of the election resulted in four wins for the Lib Dems, making it 10 Conservatives and 10 Lib Dems on the new Council.

The new Conservative administration had made a number of decisions in the early days of the Council that now look like being reversed now that a balance of political power means ever closer scrutiny of committee decisions.

The conservative majority on Amenities Committee had recommended that the authority provide no more new dog mess bins. Tory Councillor Dave Russell, in trying to defend the decision said that the council was already providing too many bins. However, he wasn’t supported by his Council colleagues. Lib Dem Councillor, David Harrison said “The provision of sufficient dog mess bins is a public health issue. I attended a residents meeting earlier in the week and nobody present agreed with the policy or  thought that there were enough bins around the town”. The Council has agreed to re-consider the new policy in the light of members comments.

The Conservatives had to perform a similar U-turn on their new proposals to charge the best commercial rates when charging organisations rent on town council owned facilities, including the letting out of village halls and rooms in community centres.

Lib Dem Councillor, Alan Weeks, successfully argued that the wording of the new policy was not clear and could mean that volunteer groups that carried out good work for the community could be charged rates that they could not afford.

He said “Organisations like the Three Score Club will find themselves at the mercy of annual grant giving by the council if this proposal goes through”. The Council agreed that the new policy not be adopted and that the matter be again reviewed by the Policy & Resources Committee.

Finally, the new Tory Chairman, Di Brooks, was pleased to report that the Heritage Café at Eling had re-opened once again for business.

Lib Dem Councillors welcomed the news but expressed the hope that lessons had been learnt following the closure and bad publicity that had followed.

Councillor Harrison said “I have had a number of calls from local people concerned about the café only being targeted at tourists, with higher prices. The threat of catering for tourists is that locals are squeezed out, either because they are not made to feel welcome or by higher prices”.

He sought assurances that local people, who were funding the facility through local taxes, would be as welcome as ever.