Credit where it's not due - redux

Epping Forest BNP has again claimed credit where its not due by saying that its councillors were involved in getting road closure fees waived for the Debden Day celebrations, when they weren't.

Essex County Council had inadvertently charged the organisers of the annual community festivities with a £995 road closure fee. After a letter from the Chairman of the Loughton Broadway Town Centre Partnership Dave Stannard to Councillor Hume, who is in charge of ECC Highways, the West Essex Area Highways manager replied that no charge would be made in respect of the closure. He said that such costs relate to commercial closures and were not intended to cover community events.

In the past, road closure costs were waived by Epping Forest District Council, but responsibility was then passed to ECC in 2008. The £995 road closure charge was simply the result of an administrative error in designating the community event as a commercial operation.

Yet, the BNP is keen to make political capital out of an obvious mistake, although the credit for getting the ECC to realise its mistake belongs to Mr Stannard and volunteers from the community.

The Broadway Partnership and Debden Day are meant to be community activities, devoid of party political arguments. Until now, no councillor has sought to use these activities for their own party's again. But now the BNP shamefully want to politicise it for their own publicity ahead of the county elections and take credit for work they have not done. Debden residents don't want their community festival being caught up in an election campaign.

A few days ago, we revealed that BNP councillor Susan Clapp was trying to claim credit for the resurfacing Jessel Drive, when in fact it was planned months in advance and after campaigns by a number of community activists and councillors from other parties. Instead of claiming credit for others' hard work, why don't BNP councillors actually do something for a change?