Annual Report 2013-2014: Cllr Paul Kane

The year has been mostly taken up with my work as Chair of Dewsbury Regeneration Board working to ensure Dewsbury is vibrant and well maintained, we successfully completed the reshaping of the old market place in Dewsbury town centre, this was criticised initially but has proven to be a success.

I have been working very closely with Businesses in the town centre to maximise the income for the Council through Business rates but also offering support to new businesses by getting rate relief for “start up” retailers, this was supported by Dewsbury Area Committee and the Local Authority

Work continues on the Greenway which offers cyclist and ramblers the opportunity to travel between Dewsbury and Ossett, work will commence soon to link this and the Spen Valley greenway at the Waterfront in Dewsbury, over £100,000 is secured for this last phase.

The successful bid of £2.4Million to the Heritage lottery fund continues to attract retailers who want to improve the look of their outlets, this work is due to commence in the Autumn of 2014

The battle continues with the  Mid Yorkshire Health Trust.  I cannot support the proposals to reduce  services at Dewsbury Hospital, it is my intention to hold the Trust to account over the next year in the promises that they made prior to the Government accepting their proposals.

Dewsbury now has its own Design Guide which ensures that developers know where and what design is acceptable within the Town Centre

 

Participation at Full Council and Committees

I have participated in many debates at the Council, regarding health, welfare reform, regeneration and many others.

I continue to be the Chair of Heavy Woollen which takes up a tremendous amount of my time, dealing with ward and area based applications, meeting developers and driving policy changes on things like consultation, procedural issues at committee, regeneration targets and housing

I attend many Tenants and residents groups.

As a member of Dewsbury Area Committee and Dewsbury Endowed Trust I have been successful in gaining financial support for many groups in my Ward.

It was nice to be able to support the local individuals and groups, one of which was the Dewsbury and Batley Society for the Blind. I fronted a campaign to secure the future of this group.

 

Participation on Outside Bodies

I continue to be a member of Dewsbury Endowed Trust, Greenwood Homes Trust and Locala which is a community Health Trust.

 

Ward Work

- I have dealt with many individual cases in my role as Councillor, including:

- Traveller issues, I am happy to say that most of our areas now have some form of barrier to stop access by the Travellers

- I fought against the closure and moving to Huddersfield of Dewsbury Magistrates Court, this is a disgrace and offers nothing but stress to people using the Courts

- I have been continuing to use Enforcement legislation to ensure old and dilapidated buildings are either demolished or regenerated within our area

- I have worked tirelessly with developers of the Dewsbury Rams stadium to maximise community gain within the possible development at the Stadium

Achievements during the year

There has been many achievement this year, completion of the bandstand in the Town, the money spent on environmental improvements in Chickenley which has turned around a jaded estate but by far my proudest achievement is the work carried out to improve the Town Hall, which now looks magnificent and is used by many people who use the register office or have weddings in the Town Hall

Members Surgeries

We continue to hold surgeries at Dewsbury Town Hall the first Friday in the month, street surgeries are also carried out.

We also ensure the residents of Dewsbury East are informed of many major changes within the Council to ensure they are aware of Governmental changes and cuts

We also attend many action committees and pressure groups.

Training

I continue to attend training on Planning, benefit changes, finance and other subjects which assists me in making knowledgeable decisions in line with Government changes.