Most people think of London when they hear the words "Great Fire" but Warwick was also decimated by fire in 1694. With this history, it is somewhat surprising that the decision was taken to close the Warwick Fire Station.
This week, at the Warwick Area Forum, we discussed the District Council's Local Plan. More information on this can be found at . Within the plan, there are three suggested scenarios which outline low, medium and high growth for Warwick District, which means at least 250 new homes and 4 hectares of land for new business. In the high growth scenario, around 800 new homes would be built and 5 hectares of land would be found for business.
So what does all this mean for Warwick? Well, for a start, what people have told me is that there is a severe lack of affordable housing, and we need more low-cost housing, not expensive new housing. With 3,000 people on the waiting list in the District for council housing, there is a demonstrable need for affordable housing.
One resident remarked at the meeting that it would irresponsible of the council to build more houses in Warwick without a fire station to protect us. She wasn't arguing the case for no development, far from it, but expressing frustration with the consultation process which asks for residents and stakeholders to state preferences for levels of growth without clarity regarding the infrastructure requirements.
After the Great Fire, Warwick was re-built and the designs were declared a "triumph for urban design," and the town planners were praised for their vision. We should aim for the same praise with this Local Plan.
Tuesday 21 June 2011
Sunday 19 June 2011
Warwick Town Council and Twitter
After a long wait, I shall attend my first committees next week as a Town Councillor. I am a member of the Economic and Tourism Committee, which plays an important role in the economic development of the town. From using Twitter, I've had some tweets from local businesses concerned about the number of empty shops in Warwick and @warwicktweeter tweeted me with her fantastic idea to utilise these empty shops to allow local businesses to showcase themselves in our town centre with a series of pop-up shops. I think this is a great idea to bring variety to our town centre and to assist local businesses, so I will raise this next week at the committee to see of this is something our Town Centre Manager can work on.
I am also a member of the Finance and Policy Committee, which scrutinises the expenditure of the Town Council. The town's allotments, crematoria, park benches, war memorial and others are controlled and maintained by the Town Council, as well as a sizeable budget for granting money to voluntary groups in Warwick.
Something that John Holland (fellow Labour Town Councillor and ex District Councillor) and I have noted is the apparent lack of a coherent vision for the Town by the controlling Conservatives, and this is again something we wish to address. We've noted the inequity, for example, in the provision of play areas; Chase Meadow is about to have 3 separate play areas for children whereas the neighbouring Forbes Estate have none. Whilst this isn't something the Town Council can control, it is something that it should certainly seek to influence.
We've already had successes in bringing community grants to Warwick West, by helping members of Racing Club's Boxing Club to access funding and by assisting Westgate School in getting money for their new community kitchen. If you are involved in a community group and would like more information on the Town Council grants, please contact me or John Holland.
I am also a member of the Finance and Policy Committee, which scrutinises the expenditure of the Town Council. The town's allotments, crematoria, park benches, war memorial and others are controlled and maintained by the Town Council, as well as a sizeable budget for granting money to voluntary groups in Warwick.
Something that John Holland (fellow Labour Town Councillor and ex District Councillor) and I have noted is the apparent lack of a coherent vision for the Town by the controlling Conservatives, and this is again something we wish to address. We've noted the inequity, for example, in the provision of play areas; Chase Meadow is about to have 3 separate play areas for children whereas the neighbouring Forbes Estate have none. Whilst this isn't something the Town Council can control, it is something that it should certainly seek to influence.
We've already had successes in bringing community grants to Warwick West, by helping members of Racing Club's Boxing Club to access funding and by assisting Westgate School in getting money for their new community kitchen. If you are involved in a community group and would like more information on the Town Council grants, please contact me or John Holland.
Thursday 16 June 2011
Warwick Area Forum
My ward colleague, John Holland and I attended a meeting of the Warwick Area Forum this evening. The purpose of the meeting (I think)is to allow various councillors, council officers, residents and police the opportunity to discuss and debate priorities and issues about Warwick.
Tonight was fairly well-attended, they said. But given that there are 30,000 people living in Warwick I'd remark that the attendance was very low. Every face was white, over 30 and involved in the community in some way, I'd say. It is open to all but I'd suggest that 6pm is a difficult time for parents sorting out young children, people without transport, older people, people who work, in fact, probably most people. In fairness, the people who were there were asked about this but we were all clearly able to get there!
Anyway, tonight's business was fairly unsurprising. The Sgt for the Community Police Team gave an excellent report on community policing, and pledged to do better at communicating with residents. Issues raised by residents included anti-social behaviour by some young people hanging out by the train station, speeding and theft.
An officer from the Council's Community Safety Team told us about a volunteer community speed watch initiative, which funds a minimum of 6 volunteers to provide speed watches. Like other parts of Dave's Big Society, they have struggled to get enough volunteers to make this work.
There was discussion about 3 grant applications from communitty groups. The forum has £8,000 to allocate and tonight there was an application to fund a youth arts project. It seemed like a deserving, and exciting project for youth in the town. Unsurprisingly, there was a disappointing response from two of the Conservative County Councillors who spoke negatively about the application. Luckily the majority of attendees voted to allocate some money, and we meet next week to decide how much.
I picked up strong feelings about the closure of the fire station, and this, and other Conservative cuts, were raised in connection with the Local Plan. Whichever option for growth is decided for Warwick, we need to make sure that the current infrastructure improves, as even the option for low growth involves additional housing and development. Oddly, some of the Conservatives spoke against the decisions made by their own groups. Bit misleading for folk, I think.
Tonight was fairly well-attended, they said. But given that there are 30,000 people living in Warwick I'd remark that the attendance was very low. Every face was white, over 30 and involved in the community in some way, I'd say. It is open to all but I'd suggest that 6pm is a difficult time for parents sorting out young children, people without transport, older people, people who work, in fact, probably most people. In fairness, the people who were there were asked about this but we were all clearly able to get there!
Anyway, tonight's business was fairly unsurprising. The Sgt for the Community Police Team gave an excellent report on community policing, and pledged to do better at communicating with residents. Issues raised by residents included anti-social behaviour by some young people hanging out by the train station, speeding and theft.
An officer from the Council's Community Safety Team told us about a volunteer community speed watch initiative, which funds a minimum of 6 volunteers to provide speed watches. Like other parts of Dave's Big Society, they have struggled to get enough volunteers to make this work.
There was discussion about 3 grant applications from communitty groups. The forum has £8,000 to allocate and tonight there was an application to fund a youth arts project. It seemed like a deserving, and exciting project for youth in the town. Unsurprisingly, there was a disappointing response from two of the Conservative County Councillors who spoke negatively about the application. Luckily the majority of attendees voted to allocate some money, and we meet next week to decide how much.
I picked up strong feelings about the closure of the fire station, and this, and other Conservative cuts, were raised in connection with the Local Plan. Whichever option for growth is decided for Warwick, we need to make sure that the current infrastructure improves, as even the option for low growth involves additional housing and development. Oddly, some of the Conservatives spoke against the decisions made by their own groups. Bit misleading for folk, I think.
Thursday 9 June 2011
What are we up to?
From time to time over the last few weeks I have intended to write a blog post about what we are up to as Town Councillors. When I agreed to stand for the Town Council I had no idea what the time commitment would be; as a District Councillor, I'd heard that I could expect a commitment of around 20 hours a week.
I've posted previously on my attendance at Mayor-Making at the beginning of May. Since then, the Labour Group have been allocated places on the various committees. I'm very pleased to sit on two committees: Economic and Tourism and Finance and Policy. Both of these committees meet for the first time in mid-June.
I attended an Open Day at The Old Court House at which the plans for Unlocking Warwick were unveiled. I spoke to various people involved in the project and I put forward a few ideas of my own about how the pubic space can be used by the community. My 4 year old son put forward an idea of his own: a corner with a few books and toys for children. I'm looking forward to seeing the building transformed and public use increasing.
This week, Councillor John Holland and I met with the Community Workers at The Packmores Centre in Warwick. It was very interesting to see the range of services that are delivered from there. So, we are getting around the town and finding out what the current issues facing residents are. Clearly, the loss of the evening bus service in Warwick is going to have a detrimental impact on the town, with people unable to get home from work, access services in the evening and access public transport.
I've also been asked to try and sort out the grass-cutting on Chase Meadow verges. Some are maintained well by the District Council, but some areas were looking incredibly neglected. It appears that the difference in standards is due to the fact that some roads are unadopted and are therefore maintained by the developers. I've been asked to write a piece for the Residents Association on this issue, and outline who residents should contact with complaints. Happily, the area in question has now been cut and I am hoping that this is due to my intervention! Who knows, it could just be a coincidence.
Next week, we are off to the Warwick Community Forum so I shall blog about that next week. I've finally got onto the invitation list for these meetings, having missed out on an invitation to one this evening. I couldn't get childcare at such short notice, but it is quite concerning that the elected representatives aren't invited to these things!
I've posted previously on my attendance at Mayor-Making at the beginning of May. Since then, the Labour Group have been allocated places on the various committees. I'm very pleased to sit on two committees: Economic and Tourism and Finance and Policy. Both of these committees meet for the first time in mid-June.
I attended an Open Day at The Old Court House at which the plans for Unlocking Warwick were unveiled. I spoke to various people involved in the project and I put forward a few ideas of my own about how the pubic space can be used by the community. My 4 year old son put forward an idea of his own: a corner with a few books and toys for children. I'm looking forward to seeing the building transformed and public use increasing.
This week, Councillor John Holland and I met with the Community Workers at The Packmores Centre in Warwick. It was very interesting to see the range of services that are delivered from there. So, we are getting around the town and finding out what the current issues facing residents are. Clearly, the loss of the evening bus service in Warwick is going to have a detrimental impact on the town, with people unable to get home from work, access services in the evening and access public transport.
I've also been asked to try and sort out the grass-cutting on Chase Meadow verges. Some are maintained well by the District Council, but some areas were looking incredibly neglected. It appears that the difference in standards is due to the fact that some roads are unadopted and are therefore maintained by the developers. I've been asked to write a piece for the Residents Association on this issue, and outline who residents should contact with complaints. Happily, the area in question has now been cut and I am hoping that this is due to my intervention! Who knows, it could just be a coincidence.
Next week, we are off to the Warwick Community Forum so I shall blog about that next week. I've finally got onto the invitation list for these meetings, having missed out on an invitation to one this evening. I couldn't get childcare at such short notice, but it is quite concerning that the elected representatives aren't invited to these things!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)