A very busy month, but I am slowly catching up with my emails and ongoing case work. There may be a longer than usual wait for responses, but I am working hard on this. I have also picked up several issues as I have been out campaigning and talking to residents, I will be following this work up as well.
Further restrictions have also been relaxed but please take care. If you are offered a vaccination, please take up the offer. We have a new variant in circulation and the data so far suggests that vaccinated people will be more protected from this variant than unvaccinated people. We need to enjoy meeting up with our families and friends but please be cautious about mixing too much until we have further data on the spread of this new variant of Covid-19 and until you are fully vaccinated.
Local Elections
I just wanted to start by saying thank you for everyone that came out on election day and voted for me. It was great to see so many friendly residents outside the polling stations across my divisions on the day and during the campaign period. The polling stations ran amazingly well in a Covid safe manner and everyone I have spoken to since felt very safe coming out to vote. The election count was a little different, with a lot less people present but, nevertheless, ran extremely well and a lot quicker than I thought. I want to say another thank you to all the staff at the polling stations and at the count for their hard work.
I was delighted to be re-elected to represent the Bradgate Division at County Hall. It is an honour and a privilege, and I look forward to the next four years. I will be available to support all residents, whether you voted for me or not.
Following the elections, I also decided to put myself forward for the role of Deputy Leader of Leicestershire County Council. Again, I was delighted to be supported by Conservative colleagues at County Hall and was elected as Deputy Leader. This is a huge honour and over the next few weeks, I will be on a steep learning curve, getting to grips with the role. To give this role the full attention that it needs and deserves, I have taken a step back from some of my roles at Charnwood Borough Council. I have stood down from my role as Community Safety Partnership Chair and will now sit on one of the scrutiny committees.
I have retained my role as Lead Member for Children and Families and Community Safety at County Hall. I have also gained another area of work into my portfolio, Regulation Services. This includes:
- Trading Standards
- Registration Services (birth, marriages, deaths, citizenship)
- North Leicestershire and Rutland Coroner’s Office.
I am looking forward to learning more about the above areas in the coming weeks.
Police and Crime Commissioner Elections
The Police and Crime Commissioner elections were delayed by a year, due to the pandemic. They were then held on the same day as the County Council elections, with the votes being counted on Saturday 8th May. I was delighted that the Conservative candidate, Rupert Matthews, was duly elected with a majority of 39,354 votes. I look forward to working closely with Rupert over the next four years. The focus will be on rural crime and making rural villages safer.
Woodhouse Airman
I was delighted to see the new Aircrew memorial bench and plaque in situ which commemorates the tragic loss of life when a Wellington aircraft, on a training mission, crashed in a nearby field in Woodhouse during the Second World War. The plaque holds the names of the three young airmen who were killed in the tragedy– Warrant Officer Donald Anthony Gee, Flight Sergeant Albert Valentine Barkel and Flight Sergeant Leslie Jones. Having the memorial seat and plaque in such a prominent position, in the centre of Woodhouse, will be a constant reminder of the sacrifices made by both servicemen and civilians during this war. On the side of the plaque is a QR code that you can scan, and this downloads a commemorative book with further information about the crash and the airmen. It’s well worth a read.
Foster Carers
An appeal has been launched to find additional foster carers for teenagers. There are almost 700 children in the care of Leicestershire County Council and of this number more than half - 398 - are aged between ten and seventeen years old.
The call for people to come forward and offer their care has been made by the County Council as Foster Care Fortnight got underway on 10th May.
Leicestershire County Council hopes to recruit mainstream foster carers and supported lodgings providers for teenagers, as well as specialist foster carers to care for some of Leicestershire’s most vulnerable young people.
To find out more, visit www.fosteringleicestershire.com or call the Fostering Team for an informal chat on 0116 305 05 05.
Updates
Newtown Linford Lining – As per the sealed order, the double yellow lining will be put in place on the whole of Main Street as published. I am now working with the County Council highway department to look at an alternative area for on-street parking on upper Main Street to help residents in this area that have limited off street parking.
Cropston Lining – The comments received during the consultation have been reviewed. The majority of the comments submitted were against the scheme so the highway department at the County Council has decided to not make any changes to the on-street parking restriction already in place.
Causeway Lane, Cropston – There are still concerns over the parking in this area and I am looking into what options might be available.
Gorse Hill, Anstey – I have received complaints from residents in this area, regarding the continued noise from the A46. There is no noise bunding in the area (i.e. use of mounds of soil to reduce the sound carried). I am in correspondence with Highways England (who are responsible for the A46) but I would be keen to hear from other residents in this area regarding noise levels.
