July 2026 Full STC Meeting Report
Another Labour councillor has resigned. Ten so far this term… or eleven? I’ve lost count. But the number doesn’t change the facts: in my view, Labour has failed, dragged the town into crisis, and abandoned ship in such numbers that, for the first time in generations, they have lost their mathematical majority on Shirebrook Town Council.
If you’re planning to vote Labour, ask yourself: how much evidence do you need before you change your mind?
SO, WHY IS LABOUR STILL IN CHARGE?
Because Labour know how to play politics, and new councillors don’t. None of them showed any promise in that regard. They all voted to raise your taxes- same as Labour. They all voted for the old-Labour candidate for Chair, even though they knew it was old-Labour that broke STC. They all agreed to breach Standing Orders every time it was more convenient than following the rules. Yeah… I’m getting pessimistic again… But it’s not all that bad.
The new councillors arrived at STC with an ironclad will to fix the town, even I can see that. Yes, they make the odd mistake here and there. Yes, it looks like the job is bigger than they expected, and most of them still don’t know how to use Standing Orders. Yes, they struggle to deliver change and to follow procedure — but I don’t hold that against them. I was there, and I know how hard it is to adapt to the role of a councillor. There’s no course for it. No training can teach you how to ride the wave of new rules, schedules and problems.
But there is one thing I can’t forgive. They have lost their sense of the financial emergency hanging over the town. The scale of the mess left behind by previous administrations, an invisible Town Clerk, a two-year deficit, insane payroll costs, non-existent reserves — apparently none of this is enough to convince them to tighten their belts. At this meeting, STC once again took on another financial commitment it cannot afford. Let me state that clearly: STC need to cut 30% of its workforce and 20% of its costs or raise taxes by double digits. Harsh truth. And then I walk into the STC meeting, and all I see is… new spending and zero cuts.
In fact, new spending ideas appear at every single meeting. Every so often, someone makes an appeal for financial restraint and an attempt to balance the books. Those appeals are ignored. This time, the voice of reason was Cllr Ricky Holland. Isn’t it strange that it’s a Labour councillor talking about “balancing the books”? Oh, what a change that is.
SOLAR PANELS
The solar panel issue is back. I wrote about it years ago, and one of the new councillors have finally noticed that we pay extraordinary charges under what appears, in my view, to be an opaque arrangement. No information on how much we used. No information on how much we produced. No information on the energy sale and purchase price. Nothing. That’s net-zero at its finest: you pay, so that some private companies and the local council can brag about net-zero. If only you could see the invoices… oh, wait — you can. Here:
https://shirebrook247.com/2022/09/19/stc-electricity-bill-yet-another-puzzle/
It would be even better if I could show you the contract. But I can’t. I was refused even a sight of it when I was a councillor. Never mind, eh?
JUNE STC MEETING
It was exactly what I expected: long, focused on the wrong things, and with no resident participation, so no one could ask any questions. The town’s main issues were missing from the agenda — the deficit, the net-zero deals, the Market Square, the Crematorium, HMOs, and the list goes on and on.
Still, if you want to read my report, it’s below. I quote only the relevant agenda items to keep the article a little shorter.
LET’S START — INTRODUCTION AND HOUSEKEEPING ITEMS
With another Labour resignation, the number of councillors dropped to 15 again. Thirteen were present. David Downes and Luke Shorthose were absent.
There were a few guests. Among them were someone from the PALS project, our County Councillor, Sarah Reaney and DCC Chair of the Audit Committee and Vice-Chair of Derbyshire County Council (according to the Derbyshire website here: https://democracy.derbyshire.gov.uk/mgUserInfo.aspx?UID=5381).
The Supervisor of the Leisure Centre was also, for some reason, sitting at the councillors’ bench. There was also one more person sitting at the Councillor’s bench.
Then the big news dropped: STC has already hired a Locum Town Clerk to cover the absence of the perpetually absent Town Clerk.
2026/092 TO APPROVE THE MINUTES OF THE MEETING OF THE TOWN COUNCIL HAVING BEEN HELD ON THE 29TH OF APRIL 2026.
Cllr Yates asked why the minutes don’t record who seconded each motion. The Locum Town Clerk explained that this isn’t usually enforced. At STC, it has never been the practice — and anyone with years of experience knows that perfectly well. So why did this councillor ask? I’ve no idea.
He also pointed out that the minutes don’t record voting outcomes. That’s not quite true. When Labour made a resolution to block the investigation into discrepancies in the pellet supply invoices, it was clearly stated that “the council made a decision.” Sure, the minutes didn’t mention that one councillor voted against that “gag order” — but it’s plainly visible that a decision was made.
Councillors did, however, agree that from this meeting onwards, the voting outcome on each motion will be clearly recorded. A good improvement.
2026/093 TO APPROVE THE MINUTES OF THE ANNUAL TOWN MEETING OF THE TOWN COUNCIL HAVING BEEN HELD ON THE 13TH OF MAY 2026.
The Locum Town Clerk pointed out that this item can only be discussed at an annual meeting. The matter was deferred to the next meeting.
Cllr Martin Barber noted that, a year from now, most people won’t remember the details, so it was decided that councillors’ comments will be recorded now and incorporated into the minutes at the next Annual Meeting.
2026/095 TO REVIEW AND APPROVE FINANCIAL INFORMATION
a. TO REVIEW CASH BOOK ENTRIES SINCE PREVIOUS MEETING AND ADDRESS ANY QUERIES PRIOR TO AUTHORISING – 1ST OF MARCH 2026 TO 31ST OF MARCH 2026.
By this point in the year, the AGAR is usually already available — but not at STC, not this year. STC is running out of time to finalise this crucial step in the local council calendar, though it was confirmed that the year-end has been reconciled. Cllr Steve Singleton pointed out that the council must meet before 30 June to accept the financial documentation before sending it to the national auditor. The meeting was set for Monday the 29th.
My impression? STC will do it on the very last available day. And if anything “odd” comes up, it will be swept under the carpet just to meet the deadline.
Cllr Martin Barber asked about a very large payment to a company called Raindrops. That’s the solar panel installation on the roof of the Leisure Centre. I’ve written about it before. No one seems to care when residents’ money goes into arrangements like this — so, keep paying those taxes, and keep voting Labour.
Cllr Shelley Arapi again pointed out that every payment should state whether it is monthly, quarterly or annual. That appears to be beyond the capabilities of our Town Clerk’s office.
2026/096 TO CONSIDER RESPONSES AS NECESSARY TO LISTED CORRESPONDENCE.
The Locum Town Clerk said that someone needs to seek advice from the ICO, because something was published that shouldn’t have been. The ICO, in my experience, is a toothless institution that few people take seriously. Someone broke the rules? At STC? Historically, there’s only ever been one response to that: moving on.
a. GRAZYNA WISNIEWSKA – REQUEST FOR ENCLOSED SAFE SPACE FOR DOGS.
A long discussion on this one. I don’t have access to the documents, so I don’t know the details, but in essence, a resident asked whether it would be possible to create a special area where dogs can be let off the lead.
Cllr Yates proposed nominating two councillors to look into it and report back to the council on the costs. STC approved the idea.
My own 2023 election leaflet included a pledge to support building a dog park. I even did the research on what it would cost and found potential funding sources. But people who tell the truth don’t have the support of councillors, so I lost three co-options… moving on.
b. MICHAEL MOORE – REQUEST FOR FORTNIGHTLY GRASS CUT.
A very long discussion, during which Standing Orders were suspended to allow ex-councillor Tony Burns to provide some background from the past.
Basically, privete enterprise want STC to cut grass for them, as far as I understand- for free. STC reaction? “Yeah! For free? That’s our way! Taxpayer will pay for it!” But then problems arose.
The STC Chair summarised it: we want to help (pay for someone), we have the machinery, but we don’t have trained people to operate it. We’re training people now, but it will take time. So for now, we can’t, but…
Cllr Neil Bradbury offered to do the work on a voluntary basis, as he has experience in maintenance work and did exactly this kind of job just a few months ago. STC voted to accept Cllr Bradbury’s offer, and he will help with the grass cutting until STC staff complete the course, qualifying them to use the grass cutter. For free (I mean free work of Cllr Bradbury, plus equipment and maintenance paid by the taxpayer).
A few days later, I saw a Facebook post showing that Cllr Singleton had also helped with the project.
2026/098 TO CONSIDER AND APPROVE DEVELOPMENT OF A 3 YEAR PARISH PLAN – CLLR. STEVE SINGLETON.
From what I could glimpse over the councillors’ shoulders, they’d been given some sort of spreadsheet outlining this three-year plan. Interestingly, Cllr Singleton seemed to think he had three years of his term left — and took the news that he has eleven months as something of a surprise.
From my point of view, it’s an interesting idea for the current STC to leave behind an outline plan for the coming years. It could serve as a legacy for the next council, which wouldn’t have to start from scratch but would, on day one, have an outline of what was planned, what progress has been made, and what was never touched despite being discussed.
Cllr Arapi noted that she likes the plan and supports it, but spotted a complete absence of anything relating to crime, antisocial behaviour and the like.
2026/099 TO CONSIDER AND APPROVE THAT THE MARKET SUB-COMMITTEE WILL HAVE DELEGATED POWERS ON THE FOLLOWING – CLLR. SHELLEY ARAPI & CLLR. KERRY KIRK (check agenda on STC website for details)
Approved. In addition, the Locum Town Clerk suggested putting STC in contact with the National Market Traders Federation, an organisation that helps with this kind of initiative.
2026/100 THAT SHIREBROOK TOWN COUNCIL RECEIVES AND FORMALLY DISCUSSES THE PROPOSED BUSINESS PLAN FOR THE DELIVERY AND COST IMPLEMENTATION OF A…….(looooooong chapter name- read agenda on town website if you want to know more).
The discussion was opened by the Supervisor of the Leisure Centre. After her, the councillors spoke, mainly Cllr Singleton. Once the councillors had finished, the person representing the scheme took the seat at the top of the room. He wants your money to run his project. You can already assume STC reaction.
I listened to the discussion, and the longer I listened, the more convinced I became that this was, in my view, a piece of bureaucracy trying to justify the existence of bureaucracy. Demand for the service appears to be close to zero. The cost falls on STC, while any income goes to BDC. The whole thing is funded by DCC (you).
What for? Supposedly, to encourage people to be more physically active. The cost? On top of what they already spend, they need another half a post on the backs of Shirebrook taxpayers. As if nearly 30 staff weren’t already enough.
2026/101 CONFIDENTIAL ITEM/S – EXCLUSION OF THE PRESS & PUBLIC.
Confidential items. We were excused from the room.
THE END
For lack of time, this week there will be no summary and no closing comic, and the whole text has been edited by AI only once.
I’ll publish just one more article, which is already in preparation, and after that, I’ll pause work on S247 for personal reasons. Thank you for your time and good luck in all your endeavours.
Sylwester Zwierzynki info@shirebrook247.com
Lead photo: made with Midjourney
