Over the last few days I have had a lot of calls about parking, speed limits, street lighting and pot holes.
I am pleased to say that the Head of Service in Warrington who deals with these issues has agreed to visit Lymm between Christmas and the New Year to see for himself. I will be showing him some of the problems, though there isn’t that much he may be able to do given the very tight budget we have for next year.
What is really galling is the fact the Helen Jones, Labour MP for Warrington North, constantly accuses the three Lymm Councillors, all of whom are on the Executive Board, of neglecting the deprived areas of Warrington to favour Lymm. Fat chance!
Even if we could do that, Ian Marks and I were elected on a platform of One Warrington, reducing inequalities. The recent very harsh assessment of Warrington’s administration has criticised us for failing to improve employment prospects and health in the deprived areas fast enough. We are doing our best to be fair to the wards south of the ship canal, Lymm in particular, while not neglecting the areas that really need help.
Unfortunately Warrington is funded as a prosperous area rather, than an area of contrasts. This means that business rates raised in Warrington are taken away and distributed mainly to other parts of the country. This has made it very difficult for both the Labour administration before us, and the current LibDem and Conservative led Council, to deal with the needs of areas like Lymm.
So I will be pressing the Head of Service to ensure that Lymm is getting its fair share of resources and that these are applied to the problems that residents tell me are most important to them. I am also working on the South Neighbourhood Board to ensure that even smaller bodies, such as the Parish Councils, can direct services to where they are most needed.
By improving efficiency and directing services better we will be able to resolve some of the issues that residents are calling me about. Unfortunately money is going to be very tight over the next few years so we do need to look at more inventive ways of solving some of these problems.
Dear Bob,
Thanks for your warm welcome on your blog. I’m quite happy to be described as a “serious policy wonk”. I’ve spent 8 years working in business and I have done lots of youth and community work, but I think my political and policy experience in London would be useful to local residents. Given the serious, well-documented failings of your Tory/LibDem administration in Warrington, it seems an odd criticism for you to make. Hey ho.
As to my background, I was born in Altrincham and grew up in that area. I’ve had a Warrington postcode for half my life and will have one again from next week.
Altrincham is just a few miles from Lymm, and in the next-door constituency to Warrington South, so I’m not exactly an alien to these parts. My family and I have been regular visitors to Lymm for years, and we love the place. And next week I’m moving to the constituency (Great Sankey).
I’ve been to a number of events in Lymm the last few weeks, including a meeting of the management committee of Lymm Youth Club last week. I find the attitude of your Administration, and of the Lymm Councillors, to this wonderful group of people quite disturbing. What is your real agenda in relation to that Club and that land, please?
I think WBC should give the Club a new 10 year lease immediately, at a very reasonable rent. I see no reason why this should not be granted, and I believe thousands of Lymm residents will share this view.
Finally, just after I was selected on January 9th, I rang David Mowat’s office and Jo Crotty’s office to say hello and introduce myself, just to be friendly and courteous. David rang me back within 5 minutes and we had a good chat. I’m still waiting to hear from Jo. Do please ask her to give me a ring.
Regards,
Nick
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Nick Bent, Labour PPC for Warrington South