Friday 27 September 2013

Pavement politics!

During my time as Leader I have been fortunate in having a hand in some major developments and investment in the Town which will be good to look back on in years to come. But as a local councillor nothing beats the thrill of intervening on behalf of residents who feel aggrieved and delivering for them. Sometimes the action taken can, in the general scheme of things, seem quite insignificant but it really does make the hours in the council chamber worth while. Many of these interventions involve the personal affairs of residents which I would not dream of airing on this blog but last week threw up a good example of the difference a ward councillor can make. At the end of last week I was notified by residents living in Cottesmore Gardens that council workers had started to take up the existing paving slabs to replace with black tarmac. Now whilst there are situations where tarmac is unavoidable it does not in my view enhance the street scene and in common with many residents I prefer slabs. No prior notice of this work had been given to ward councillors and residents were of the view that the general quality of the slabs was reasonable. Fortunately the work was at an early stage and having checked for myself that the existing slabs were generally of good condition I was able to persuade officers to reverse the decision and reinstate the short stretch were work had started. This has pleased the residents and me and leaves the funding available for a more deserving area.

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