My first six months as ward councillor (From Swindon Advertiser)

My first six months as ward councillor

10:04am Thursday 20th November 2008 in

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I can hardly believe that six months have gone by already since I was elected as a Councillor for the Dorcan Ward. Earlier this year, I spent the two months prior to the election, knocking on doors, meeting so many wonderful people and listening to their concerns. The election night was wonderful and a very proud moment for me.

Having listened to the residents, the big issues were litter, Anti-Social Behaviour and lack of Police presence.

Within two weeks, I had met with the beat officer to talk about the problems that residents faced. We agreed that we should work together to tackle the problems of the Ward. I felt the best way for me to understand what they do, was to go out with the Police. That Saturday, I went out with them on patrol. Many residents complained that they never saw the Police to tell them their problems, so I arranged for a Police Officer / PCSO to attend our Ward Councillors’ Surgery each month. I also extended the opening times to give residents enough time to see us.

I said that I felt residents should be able to go to the shops day or night and feel safe. Cllrs Bluh, Albinson and I have worked hard over the past few months to tackle Anti-Social Behaviour, obtaining a dispersal order and increased Police presence.

‘Green Day’ was an idea that I had discussed with Robert Buckland to highlight the problems with litter. We decided it would be a great opportunity for us to not only clean up the area but also to build on Community spirit. We ran the Green Day in July in Eldene, inviting the residents to join us, a great way to get the local residents and Councillors together. This went really well and we hope to run more next year in Liden and Eldene.

The children’s play parks are an issue that is close to my heart, being a parent whose young children have often been upset when visiting the local parks by the litter and vandalism. I have worked with the parks officers at Swindon Borough Council and have arranged for the play park in Eldene by Shaftesbury Lake to be refurbished in the near future.

Hewitt Close is a street that should have been resurfaced two years ago. I have pushed for the street to be resurfaced and it is now due to be done shortly.

Parking bays in the Meads were in a very poor state of repair. I managed to secure the money to repair many of these road surfaces, which I know many residents have campaigned for years for.

I have attended some wonderful events over the last six months. Swindon Parachallenge which was held at Dorcan Recreation Complex and was a fantastic event.

Veteran’s Awareness week to honour all Veterans saw STEAM host a great family event on the Saturday at which I was helping out. On the Sunday, my family and I attended a parade and Church service in honour of all Veterans. The Mayor was present.

The Youth Festival was another great day out in Town Gardens. The sun was shining and we enjoyed a top performance of bands made up of local Youths.

I have also been extremely busy with lots of case work for local residents. I feel that I have managed to help many people with their problems and am glad that they have given me the opportunity by electing me to be their Ward Councillor.

I hope that residents can see that we have make improvements in a short time and that if we, Councillors, the Police and residents all work together, we can make the Ward a better and more enjoyable place to live.