Uncil looks to end free welfares deal - Doncaster news. DONCASTER Council is set to stop looking after miners’ welfare sports grounds for free after more than 30 years. The decision was made by the council’s cabinet after the arrangement, thought to date back 30 years, was brought to light in a review as part of the cost-cutting round currently underway. Mayor Peter Davies, said the meeting: “Fourteen cricket and football grounds across the borough currently receive free grounds maintenance, when others have to pay. “Some grounds are better off than others, and it is not fair.” CISWO, the miners’ welfare organisation, owns the land and Mr Davies said it should be responsible for paying for the maintenance.
Mr Davies, said: “Why should the taxpayers pay for it? It should be up to the land owners keep up the land.” Miners’ welfare officials are worried that plans to end the maintenance agreements with the tehe council will result in the demise of bowling greens football and cricket pitches across the borough. Doncaster mayor Peter Davies slams park and ride scheme. 8 June 2011Last updated at 16:22 The Mayor of Doncaster Peter Davies was not in power when the site was commissioned A park and ride scheme in Doncaster which cost £16.2m has been branded a "white elephant" by the town's mayor. Figures obtained by BBC News show that a daily average of only 166 cars use the sites which were built to accommodate 750 vehicles. Mayor Peter Davies said he wanted to "let people travel as they wish" and open the bus lanes to all traffic.
South Yorkshire Passenger Transport Executive (SYPT) said it was not "worried" by the figures. The council introduced two parking areas in Scawthorpe and Rossington, on opposite sides of the town, in 2008 to allow the public to travel into the town centre using bus lanes. 'Closed down' Since the scheme opened three years ago figures from SYPT show that the sites have been underused. David Young, of South Yorkshire Passenger Transport Executive, said: "If I hadn't seen a growth, I would be worried. The beginning of the end for Political Correctness: the counter-revolution has begun in Doncaster.
You do not have to go all the way in supporting the English Democrats party, whose silly proposal for an English parliament would add another superfluous layer to already excessive government, to raise a glass to Peter Davies, the party’s elected Mayor of Doncaster. Davies, the father of Tory MP Philip Davies, is one of just 11 directly elected mayors and he is enjoying increasing media exposure because of his outrageous agenda which, against all the tenets of consensual British politics, consists of doing what the public wants. In his first week in office he cut his own salary from £73,000 to £30,000, which is putting one’s money where one’s mouth is. He also scrapped the mayoral limousine. He is ending Doncaster’s twinning with five towns around the world, an arrangement which he describes as "just for people to fly off and have a binge at the council’s expense".
The "diversity" portfolio has been abolished from the council’s cabinet. Have twin towns had their day? | Mary Griffin. There are 40,000 across Europe and more than 2,000 in the UK alone. Since forming the very first in 1944, Coventry has gone on to collect 25 more, giving it more than any other city. But, other than providing a destination for councillors in need of a holiday, what is the point of twin towns and have they had their day? When Peter Davies was elected mayor of Doncaster two years ago he asked the same question and went on to ditch Doncaster's five town-twinning arrangements, as well as slashing his own salary from £73,000 to £30,000, retiring the mayoral car and scrapping the council's free newspaper. He drew both scorn and adoration and was labelled the "Marmite mayor" for being "Britain's most gloriously un-PC super mayor".
According to Doncaster council, killing formal town-twinning has saved £4,000 a year and the twinning arrangements are continuing informally. There are grassroots community initiatives in Coventry that are living up to the CEMR ideals. Peter Davies – will Doncaster's protest vote now turn against him? | Peter Lazenby. Mayor Peter Davies wants to abolish bus-only lanes in Doncaster, but he may not get the chance if voters choose not to swing to the right again. Photograph: Gabriel Szabo/Guzelian The position of mayor in Britain's towns and cities is usually a ceremonial one. The mayor is appointed by councillors, chairs council meetings, opens garden fetes, supports charities and graces schools and old people's homes with the civic presence, resplendent in chains of office. Peter Davies is different. In 2009, he became mayor of Doncaster in South Yorkshire, and is one Britain's few mayors to be elected by the voters, US-style.
He has power – he appoints his own "cabinet", controls budgets, decides policy. Davies is against political correctness and all that goes with it – out with "community cohesion officers", translation facilities for ethnic minorities who can't speak English, the EU and twinning with foreign towns. One of the surprising things about Davies is that he isn't a Conservative. Mayor wants end to gay bullying - Doncaster news. MAYOR Peter Davies met Doncaster’s gay pride committee to tackle homophobic bullying in the borough’s schools. Mr Davies, who controversially stopped Doncaster Council’s funding of the committee’s annual festival, told the group he was committed to supporting their fight to stop young people being bullied over their sexual orientation.
The meeting came after the committee surveyed the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community in Doncaster about the subject of bullying. A Pride spokesman said: “Pride for us isn’t just about organising a once a year event, we are committed to being a voice for the LGBT community in Doncaster and using this voice to tackle issues that affect members of our community in their daily lives. “The issue of bullying for any reason cannot be tolerated. “We are very pleased the mayor has taken our issues seriously and has committed himself and Doncaster Council officers to supporting our efforts to stamp out homophobic bullying in our schools.”
Doncaster Keepmoat Stadium 'picking' taxpayers' pockets. 27 January 2012Last updated at 14:32 The 15,000-seater Keepmoat Stadium opened in 2006 at a cost of £32m The elected mayor of Doncaster says council tax payers cannot continue to have their pockets "picked" to keep the town's sports stadium running. English Democrat Peter Davies said it was "vitally important" to find a new operator for the £32m Doncaster Council-owned Keepmoat Stadium.
The stadium, currently run by a management company, is estimated to have lost £2m since opening in 2006. Doncaster Rovers football club said it was interested in doing a deal. 'Doing deal' Mr Davies said it was "complete idiocy" that Doncaster Council had built the Keepmoat Stadium in the first place and he wanted to find a new operator for the arena as soon as possible.
Doncaster Council recently approved a grant of £170,000 to help keep the 15,000-seater stadium afloat. He said he was "fairly confident" that the football club would take over the running of the stadium within a year. Town backing out of 'eco-vision' plan under green-sceptic mayor - Local stories. PLANS to create an "eco-vision" for the Dearne Valley may have to continue without support from one of the three councils involved after doubt was cast on the project's long-term benefits.
Barnsley, Rotherham and Doncaster councils signed up to the eco-vision scheme in late 2007, and consultants were engaged to draw up blueprints for the former industrial and mining area. Work is being overseen by the Dearne Valley Special Board – chaired by Wentworth MP and Housing Minister John Healey – and aims to make the valley a "pioneer" in low-carbon living. But Doncaster's English Democrat Mayor Peter Davies is sceptical of environmentalism and has described climate change as a "scam".
Since his election interest in the scheme has waned and now support could be withdrawn altogether after a meeting later this week. According to those behind the Dearne Valley eco-vision, the project will see the area transformed from "carbon production to carbon reduction" over a period of two to three decades. Britain 'could learn from Taliban family values', says Doncaster's mayor. He said: "The one thing to be said about the Taliban is that they do have an ordered society of some sort and that they don't have hundreds of cases of children under threat of abuse from violent parents, as we have in Doncaster. " Mr Davies, a former teacher who was voted in to head Doncaster Council in June, insisted his comments about the Taliban were merely "hyperbole" to make a point about the way the welfare system failed to support the family.
He stressed that he "detested" the Taliban, but added: "The point I was making was that even a regime as hideous as the Taliban at least appear to have sort of decent sort of family affairs. In fact probably...they have an ordered society. "We in this country have created mayhem through lax social policies of disregard for marriage and the family and we have created mayhem in society. " Mr Davies, a member of the English Democrats, promised in his acceptance speech to be a "new brush" to sweep away problems of the previous decade. Yorkshire Mayor suffers double vote blow - Local stories. A CONTROVERSIAL Yorkshire Mayor suffered a double blow yesterday, when his proposals for a three per cent council tax cut were opposed and a vote of no confidence against him was carried.
Doncaster's elected Mayor Peter Davies and his Cabinet were severely criticised for lack of political leadership during a meeting of the full council in Doncaster, and his budget for 2010-11 was slammed as "irresponsible". Inspectors from the Audit Commission moved into Doncaster Council's offices yesterday morning as part of a snap inspection into services. This piled more pressure on the Mayor as he attempted to persuade councillors to support him in his bid to reduce council tax in what he called "difficult times" for the town's electorate. Introducing the three per cent cut, Mr Davies said: "We will work smarter to deliver better services for less money. Councillors rounded on the plans, claiming they would leave public services in "jeopardy" and accusing the Mayor of a "populist" move. Troubled history of Doncaster Council.
After years of criticism and controversy, the Audit Commission has recommended government intervention in "failing" Doncaster Council after finding it was incapable of making improvements. The move follows a number of high-profile events in the council's history, including damning criticism of its social services department following the deaths of seven children in the district and the brutal attack on two boys by two young brothers in Edlington. The Audit Commission announced in January that it was starting an investigation into the council's management and leadership. A report published on Monday said it was a matter for Communities Secretary John Denham to decide what action to take. But it added that he may wish to consider the "immediate suspension" of some or all of the functions currently undertaken by the council. Political controversies in Doncaster go back more than a decade. Children's services 'inadequate' As a result of the findings, Mr Winter said he would not seek re-election.
Mayor's code of conduct breach - Features. MAYOR of Doncaster Peter Davies has been disciplined by his own council for failing to declare an interest in a pressure group. Mr Davies did not reveal his membership of the Campaign Against Political Correctness when he filled in forms put in place to ensure transparent government. But he later invited the group to act as advisers to him at the council. A hearing called to look at the matter yesterday confirmed he had breached the council's code of conduct and officially censured him over the matter. But the Standards Determination Sub Committee stopped short of suspending him - a move which is within its powers.
The hearing follows a legal investigation into the matter. Mr Davies declined to attend the hearing at Mansion House yesterday. He included his membership of the English Democrats on the form. Mr Davies had told the investigation there was no payment to the Campaign Against Political Correctness for its involvement with Doncaster Council. Got a view? Join the Star reader panel. ROBERT HARDMAN: The un-PC supermayor who has slashed public spending, axed pointless jobs and banned the word 'diversity'
By Robert Hardman Updated: 07:11 GMT, 31 August 2009 Outspoken: Peter Davies doesn't believe in 'diversity' By his own admission, Peter Davies would make a dreadful Foreign Secretary. Aside from the fact that he has never been in a plane and has been abroad only once (a four-day break to Paris in 1988), diplomacy is not his forte. This is, after all, a man who proudly proclaims his contempt for 'diversity'. So the week after next it is going to be interesting when Mr Davies welcomes a delegation of German VIPs on an all-expenses-paid visit to his home town - and tells them not to bother coming back. 'I have only two words of German: "Auf" and "Wiedersehen", ' he says.
And no one is going to stop this proud Yorkshireman. To make things worse, he did so while a member of one of its tiniest parties, the English Democrats. Executive mayors were a Blairite wheeze to rejuvenate clapped-out, inner-city town halls by creating all-powerful civic superstars (preferably cronies of Tony). 'Boris?