Lib Dem Leader Nick Clegg has sent a message of congratulations to Liberal Democrats in Northampton celebrating a year of success in turning round Northampton Borough Council.

“It has been a fantastic year and I am very proud of the achievements of our councillors” writes Nick Clegg “The Council has made enormous progress in the last 12 months.”

A year since the Liberal Democrats took control of Northampton has been described as a year of solid achievement by Leader Cllr. Tony Woods “We inherited a council in a mess. A year ago Government inspectors had rated the council as one of the worst in the country, with weak political leadership and failure to deliver services people have a right to expect.”

“Three things stand out from our first year” said Tony Woods.

(1) The Council’s finances are under firmer control, with no cuts in this year’s budget.

(2) Day to day services such as planning, revenues and benefits, and housing management are at last showing real signs of improvement.

(3) We are setting in place firm foundations for the long term with progress on the Grosvenor centre and other key town centre projects.”

“We still have a long way to go” said Tony Woods. “We have more to do to persuade the people of Northampton that the council is improving. That will be our task in the year ahead.”

‘Putting the Pride back in Northampton -A year of Achievement’ A full briefing on the first year of Lib Dem run Northampton Borough Council can be downloaded from www.northamptonlibdems.org.uk

The Council have announced plans to resurface Kettering Rd from the White Elephant to Chaucer St. Work is due to start in July, depending on the weather and progress on other work. It is expected that the work will be done over three weekends, Fridays, Sundays and Mondays (not Saturdays). On mid-week days work will be done on resufacing the road in Milton St.

Traffic will be diverted at certain times while work is underway. Northbound traffic will be sent via Kingsley Rd, Fairway and Kenmuir Avenue, southbound via Park Avenue, Abington Avenue and Abington Grove. It is expected that the restrictions will be lifted outside working hours.

The masterplan prepared for the Friends of the Racecourse Healthy living Hub group has been launched. It will now go to Northampton Borough Council for further discussion. If fully implemented, over £5 million would be spent on the park. The plans include new footpaths, a cafe, better parking, better play facilities, and excersise circuit and more.

Full details of the plan can be seen at www.healthylivinghub.org.uk

Funding for the proposals will need to be found, and there will be an opportunity for more comments and changes.

The County Council are reconstructing the kerbs and footways in Milton St, in a similar way to the work done in Oliver St. last year.

Work is due to start in April and is likely to take eight weeks. The council have requested that drivers move their cars when requested to allow access, and there is bound to be some temporary inconvenience. Any queries before work begins, contact Stephen Goss on 01604 883449. One work has started contact Tony Gale on 01604 654644.

There are also plans to resurface the road after work on the footpaths are complete, but more information will follow.

Despite public opposition it has been confirmed that Queens Park Post Office will close.

Clearly by announcing these closures earlier than originally planned the Post Office has ignored the case put by local people to keep these offices open. The whole consultation process appears to have been a sham – less than a month has been taken to look at people’s responses and decide which looks suspiciously like a decision that had already been made.

It seems that the Post Office was simply running a ‘numbers game’ where people don’t matter. How hollow their current advertising slogan now sounds.

The Labour Government clearly wanted to close 2,500 across the Country and that means closing offices in Northampton despite the strong cases made to keep them open. Labour MP Sally Keeble has supported her Governments plans for the Post Office in Parliament yet campaigned against the closures in Northampton. Clearly she has misled people by making them think there was a chance to change her Government’s plans – when there was not. She needs to explain her position.

Local Lib Dem Councillors will continue to do all we can to fight these closure plans.

At the request of local residents the Council are looking to put a recycling facility in Arthur St for people who live in the flats. This is good news, and I hope it will be used by people who live in the Webbs factory too. When the site has been agreed, the council will inform residents by leaflet.

The pavement in Kingsley Rd is to be resurfaced on the odd numbered side from No. 33 to No. 125 (from Murray Avenue to the end). Work will start in the new year and is expected to take six weeks, depending on the weather. Cotact Stephen Cross at Atkins (the contractors) for any information before the work starts on 01604 883449 and Tony Gale on 01604 654644 for detailed information regarding progress on site or access when work has started.

It’s good news that at last some work is being done on the Kingsley Rd pavements, but there is much more to be done, and what a shame elderly people will no longer need it to get to the Queens Park post office once it has closed.

Happy New Year

This seems like a suitable point to review 2007 - a successful year for Northampton Liberal Democrats - and look forward to some of the challenges that face us.

The 2007 local elections saw us achieve control of Northampton Borough Council for the first time – making gains from both Labour and Conservatives with 26 Councillors. A truly magnificent result.

But now we have to prove ourselves running the Council. A council that has many long-standing problems – that under both Labour and Conservatives had been rated one of the worst in the Country. It is a heavy responsibility for us Liberal Democrats to take this on – in many respects we hold the hopes of Northampton people in our hands – and a challenge to restore their faith in politics by proving that we are able to make a difference.

It will take time and involve us making unpopular but necessary decisions but in the longer term our town will be a better place to live in and Northampton should take its place rightfully as one of the Britain’s leading locations.

What we have done since May:

· Appointed a new Chief Executive

· Strengthened the Council’s Democracy with enhanced Scrutiny and increased accountability of the Cabinet

· Put the Finances onto a sounder footing whilst working within a restricted budget inherited from the Conservatives

· Kept open some public toilets previously planned for closure by the Conservatives

· Restored funding to provide some Christmas lights

· Cut Sunday car parking charges, introduced pay on foot in two car parks and free Sunday parking in two others

· Signed Heads of Agreement on the Grosvenor Centre/Greyfriars development

· Commenced work on plans for the Market Square and Abington Street.

2008 sees further challenges to improve the Council

· Agreeing the first Liberal Democrat Budget in February in a situation where Government funding has only increased by 1.2%

· Putting the Balloon Festival onto a sounder footing and agreeing long-term strategy

· Getting a further report from the Audit Commission in March 2008, which we expect, will show how things have improved.

· Improve the Council’s services across the board, making them more ‘customer focused’ and responsive to the needs of residents.

Turning round a poorly performing council will take time. We have made a start. However, it will take two or three years to put in place all of the changes and improvements that are necessary.

We have an excellent team in place to deliver the changes required and above all we will make sure the residents of Northampton are fully involved in that progress.

Have a happy 2008.

Cllr Tony Woods

Liberal Democrat Leader

Northampton Borough Council