Anthony has taken a keen interest in Combined Authorty policy areas, incuding transport projects
A majority of residents say they don’t want the mayoral precept, according to Anthony’s latest monthly survey.
In a survey of just under 500 subscribers to Anthony’s newsletter, 78 per cent were against the proposed £12 increase in council tax to subsidise local bus services.
More worryingly for the Combined Authority, who this month appointed its sixth Chief Executive during the current Mayor’s tenure, a staggering 88% of residents do not feel their views are listened to by the Authority.
The survey also showed residents did not feel they got good value for money from the Authority, to the tune of 55%. A further 46% were unsure what the Combined Authority is here to accomplish, while 54% were concerned by reports of high staff turnover. There was also wide dissatisfaction in key policy areas, with the majority concerns that there was not enough affordable housing (52%) or bus services (55%) in their local area.
Furthermore, only 38% at most were aware of any of Combined Authority projects. When asked if they were familiar with a list of 8 Combined Authority workstreams, 42% of respondents hadn’t heard of a single one. Transport projects were the most understood, with 38% having heard of the Bus Strategy and 30% of the Local Travel plan, while economic packages such as the Shared Prosperity Fund and the Business Growth Service were the lowest, at 2% and 3% respectively.
Anthony has since written to the Mayor to ask how he intends to restore confidence in the
Commenting when the precept was issued, Anthony said: “The Mayor needs to get his own house in order, not tax ours.
“I’m sorry to say the Combined Authority is failing. Under the weight of multiple investigations, damning auditors’ reports, and significant staffing problems from top to bottom, they are now asking residents to pay for their mistakes. I can understand why the government feels the Authority is not providing the best value to our community.
“At this rate, South Cambridgeshire will end up paying increasing amounts to one authority to subsidise buses, while shelling out a congestion charge to another for the same purpose. Rather than digging its way out of the hole they are in with the money of hardworking residents, the Combined Authority needs to get together with our various transport authorities and find a workable solution that won’t leave residents reaching for their wallets.”
