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“It has been only 2 months since taking office officially but I have no idea where the time has gone !
We have started to implement our manifesto, including our plans to make Bexley a Value for Money Council and have taken action have teamed up with The Mayor of London to take legal action in respect of the Belvedere Incinerator.
Our first and overriding priority is to being the Council’s finances under control. We have been hit by two things.
1) The Government’s grant settlement to the Council was reduced this year and will be reduced for the next two years
2) The previous administration spent more money than was coming in every year for 4 years. We have to get this under control and avoid the massive council tax rises we have seen recently. To do this, we need to save some half a million pounds a month for the next two years. It is going to be hard be and difficult decisions will need to be made but unless the financial situation is brought under control a 10 % increase in Council is a realistic possibility.
The Bus Lane in Welling has now been scrapped, as we promised. This 800 metre bus lane was enforced by 5 CCTV cameras and did nothing to increase bus journey times. We have also made changes to the planned development on the site of the fomer North Cray School so people can buy houses on the site if they wish. Forcing everyone who wants to live there to rent the property is not a good way to create a sustainable community. Housing policy and how we can deliver for the people of Bexley, especiallly those who want to get on the first rung of the housing ladder will be one area where will be looking at in the next few months.
The new Cabinet is getting on top of their departments and they will all begin implementing the rest of our manifesto in the coming months and across the next four years.”
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What do Coldplay, the Rolling Stones and Tutankhamun have in common? Answer: They could all be appearing at the Dome. To read the newspapers you might believe that the Dome was being turned into a giant Casino. It is not. The Dome is to become Britain’s largest indoor seated venue for concerts with an urban village of shops, restaurants and bars, an exhibition hall and a smaller venue for jazz concerts etc. Some of the biggest names in popular music will be playing there and next year it will probably house the Tutankhamun exhibition – the last opportunity to see it in Europe before it goes to its new permanent museum in Cairo. And the Dome is being prepared to be a sports venue for the 2012 Olympic Games. And there will be a major international hotel on an adjacent site and – yes – possibly a casino.
The redevelopment of the Dome will undoubtedly bring many jobs in the leisure, entertainment and catering industries as well as in construction which will be of great benefit to Bexley and Greenwich residents. I have been in touch with local education and training providers to ensure that local people have the training and skills to be able to access these jobs.
More good news is the announcement by the Chair of the House of Commons Committee dealing with Cross Rail that he is convinced of the need for an additional station at Woolwich. The main interchange with the North Kent Line will be at Abbey Wood but it makes sense to have an intermediate station at Woolwich after the line crosses the River Thames. Woolwich is a transport hub, easily accessible by public transport from many parts of Bexley and Greenwich and could be used by thousands of passengers who otherwise would have made a difficult journey by public transport or driven to Abbey Wood.
The bad news locally is, of course, the approval to build a waste incinerator in Belvedere. As soon as the decision was announced, I contacted the Mayor of London, Ken Livingstone, to see if it might be possible to mount a legal challenge and I met Ken on 4 July to urge him to do so. My local councillor, Daniel Francis also put down a motion calling on Bexley Council to mount a Judicial Review. I am pleased to see that the Mayor and the Council have agreed to jointly seek a Judicial Review. It is a long shot, but our only hope.
I recently heard that funding is being discontinued for the specialist nurse for Parkinson’s disease in Bexley. The post had previously been paid for by the Parkinson’s Society but is not being picked up by the local Trust. They say they will make adequate alternative arrangements. I am not happy with this and I am urging discussions between the Trust and the Parkinson’s Society to ensure patients get a first class service. The specialist nurse plays a vital role, not only for those suffering with Parkinson’s but also for their carers.
It’s August and Parliament is in Recess. A number of people have commented on MPs’ long holidays. Parliament may not be sitting but that does not mean we are on holiday. My office will be working as usual during August and I will be on holiday for a fortnight in September. In the meantime I will be catching up on outstanding correspondence, meeting local agencies such as the police, health trusts and local voluntary groups and holding advice surgeries for constituents.
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