We have your interests at heart (From Congleton Guardian)

We have your interests at heart

2:45pm Monday 15th October 2007

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THEY say Rome wasn't built in a day - well it's fair to say it wasn't built in 150 days either, but the fact is following careful planning and swift delivery, much of what was built back then still stands strong today!

150 days is the length of time that has passed since residents took to the polls and voted, overwhelmingly, for a new administration to run Staffordshire Moorlands District Council.

Since then we have been actively planning and arranging how we will implement the promises we made as part of our election manifesto.

I was proud to be nominated Leader of the Council and I realised early on it would take some time to review the policies and decisions of the previous elected representatives.

It's fair to say it is the view of the new political leadership here, that there were some decisions made during the last administration that, in our opinion, could have been better thought through, and other things that Councillors might have done differently.

I guess that's what local politics is all about.

Our council is a representative democracy where councillors listen to peoples' views and take decisions, based on professional recommendations, which will maintain and deliver a high quality of life for Moorlands residents.

Clearly, the previous administration delivered policies to the best of their ability.

Now, however, is a new era, and we are exploring how we address areas of concern highlighted in a recent customer satisfaction survey.

The Government might have given us the rating of "excellent", but it will be you, the people of the Staffordshire Moorlands who will decide whether or not you are receiving the services you want, need and quite rightly, expect.

With the support of some exceptional staff, we have been and are continuing to assess a whole range of services.

Some issues you want us to tackle are straightforward, some are not, but we will get there.

It would be very easy for us to be critical of some issues which we have inherited.

However we believe it is important to be positive and to look forward - concentrating on issues that are in the best interests of the people we serve - you the residents who elected us.

We know that time and time again we will be criticised, we accept that.

You will read letters in the local press that are politically motivated by those people who didn't make it into office at the May elections, or individuals who have a specific axe to grind with the council, with me, and/or the councillors and officers.

We understand and accept that this is a fact of life in local Government.

However, if the criticism is positive and justified, we will listen and act accordingly.

One of our headline priorities is around continuing to improve community safety.

The CCTV system we have inherited we always knew would be problematic.

We looked at the plans for the future of CCTV in the Moorlands, which the previous administration intended to put into place, and found them to be totally unacceptable.

Therefore the present system will continue to operate, whilst we work to deliver a sustainable solution that will help to protect the people of Staffordshire Moorlands from harm associated with a modern society.

With the help of our community partners, we are working on delivering this as quickly as we possibly can.

Another emotive subject for many people is Council Tax.

We have inherited a £280,000 deficit from the Ratepayer/Liberal Democrat administration, and to add to that we are now being told to expect government funding this year to be the lowest settlement for 10 years.

But despite this, by concentrating on providing sound fiscal management we will be able to not only maintain service levels, but also improve services where necessary.

At the same time we intend to keep Council Tax as low as we possibly can.

We are now working on our pre-election promise to review all council spending, and concentrate on achieving value for money and effective use of council resources.

We are the tax collectors for Staffordshire County Council, the Fire and Rescue Service, and the Police.

They take the lion's share of the tax we collect, and legislation demands that we pass on their monies to them on demand.

This is why it is so very important that those people, who pay their Council Tax other than by direct debit, pay their Council Tax on time.

We intend to build a stronger economy in the Staffordshire Moorlands, and by working with our business and community partners, we will help to create local jobs for local people.

We do not want our towns to become dormitory towns to Stoke-on-Trent.

Therefore, regeneration of our three market towns, Leek, Cheadle and Biddulph, is another of our top priorities, and work has already started on this.

In addition, we are currently working with developers to deliver well-designed affordable homes, not just in the urban areas, but in our rural villages too where young people are being priced out of the housing market.

If they want to remain in the village where they were born and raised, we will do all that we can to help them.

We have started work on the formulation of policies for effective health improvements here in the Moorlands.

We are actively working on objectives that will result in increased participation in leisure, sport and physical activity at all levels, ages and abilities.

Sport is high on our list of priorities, and we intend to create centres for sporting excellence in Leek and Cheadle.

We are working with our partners in terms of making sure that other areas of work, not directly under our control, continue to improve.

As a local authority, we look forward to working with the County Council, PCT and other organisations, so as to effect positive outcomes for our District, such as improving health levels, provision of out of hours services, public transport, particularly in the rural areas, residential nursing care for elderly people, respite and day care for people with dementia,primary and secondary education in rural areas, further education in the towns,prevention of crime, tackling domestic violence and crime detection.

In the last 150 days we have rolled out both the new waste collection service, and the decriminalised parking regulations.

Work is soon to commence on Hales Hall Pool, Cheadle, and on reinstating the football pitch at Thorley Drive, Cheadle.

Public consultation in the form of public meetings is taking place regarding the new local plan, or Local Development Framework as it is now called.

I urge the public to attend these meetings, which are taking place across the Moorlands.

A parking review is underway in Leek, which will include identifying a suitable site for a multi-storey car park.

In response to public concern regarding public nuisance at the old Ambulance Station on Ball Haye Green, we intend to demolish the building.

Again, in response to those people who have expressed concern about the unacceptable state of the public toilets in our three market towns, a programme of refurbishment and redecoration has been decided upon - this will shortly go before Cabinet, and it is also intended that the town toilets will in future be manned seven days a week.

We have established the first of the so-called Cold Calling Zones' which deters uninvited and unwelcome visitors to the homes of many of our most vulnerable residents.

These are just a few of the projects which so far we have put in place.

I intend to lead an authority that is both open and accountable.

If there is anything that you want to know about services or Council procedures, please contact me, or your Ward Member, or one of the Council's Officers directly.

If you have a concern or grievance, we will investigate, and where we can we will take preventative measures or action that is in the interest of the majority.

Where we can't, we will explain why and we will explore alternatives.

What we want to deliver is what you have been telling us is important to you - cost effective, good quality public services.

Please be assured we have these objectives and your very best interests at heart.

Everyone, members and officers at your council, is committed to delivering services that will make Staffordshire Moorlands a better place in which to live, work, visit and invest.

During my time as your leader, this is where my efforts will be focused.

Sybil Ralphs - Leader of Staffordshire Moorlands District Council.

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