Attendance
Duties and Activities:
Cabinet Member for Transportation Planning Regeneration and Skills
·
Full Council every 6 weeks
·
Cabinet fortnightly
·
Scrutiny Regeneration Panel 5 meetings
Transport Committee
·
West Yorkshire Combined Authority – 6 meetings
·
Investment Committee WYCA- 6 meetings
·
Planning Committee WYCA- 6 Meetings
·
Huddersfield Area Committee- 5 meetings
In The
Dalton Ward:
·
Rawthorpe Community Association Meetings
·
Yetton Together Kirkheaton 7meetings,
·
Meetings of HDI Town Ave 4
·
Chaired Dalton Ward Communities 5 meetings
As Cabinet Member: Personal briefing meeting weekly jointly
every other week. Leadership Management Team twice weekly. Other meetings Asset
Board, Personnel Committee. Substitute for Leader at WYCA Leaders meeting twice
Activities
in Council:
My Cabinet post involves regular meetings Of the Combined
Authority West Yorkshire as member of a number of committees. It involves
decision making with regard to strategic investments across the City Region. WYCA
is currently managing a £1billion Growth Fund which is the source of all
regional support for Business and Infrastructure. Within Kirklees I am
responsible for Strategic Investment and Planning and representing Kirklees
Stake in this at Regional level. Members of Cabinet are conjointly responsible
for all key decision made by Council other than a few limited solely to full
Council eg the budget and Local Plan and here Cabinet proposes to Council.
My particular concerns are development of the Local Plan,
The Skills Strategy and Major road and rail planning and funding. Plus town
Centre regeneration.
With regard to the
above I can report that we as a Council have retained all essential Services
Despite cuts in government funding of £200 million with a proportionate cut in
staffing.
With regard to long term
capital expenditure we are almost entirely dependent on government
allocation which comes via City Region. In Kirklees its most immediate
manifestation will be work starting soon on the A629 part of the £ 175million
to be spent in Kirklees in the next 10 years
Our Local Plan has progressed to the Examination in public
stage. Future special priorities re housing, industry, commerce green areas and
infrastructure linkages are all in the plan. We expect the prolonged process of
approval to be completed within the next year.
Our Skills Strategy is being developed with City Region
partners and major providers within Kirklees particularly The College And
University .we are proud in the part we have played in ensuring the magnificent
new facilities enjoyed by the college in Huddersfield and those almost complete
in Dewsbury, meanwhile the University is
adding significantly to its courses and services not least the architectural
contribution to the town landscape. The development of the learning village in
Dewsbury is having a transformational impact on the town’s economy whilst
ensuring that all our communities get the opportunities for development and
employment
At the Local Ward
Level we 3 Councillors provide a mobile advice surgery every Saturday morning
by knocking on 200 doors to see if people have problems with which we might
help. Additionally we publish the Dalton Rose to keep residents aware of
Council and ward activities which they might find useful.
A big part of this activity relates to provision and
services provided by community groups which we encourage and support. Thus we
work along with Yetton in Kirkheaton HD1 at Town Avenue and support Rawthorpe
Community Association in their activities. We try to coordinate the work of all
groups via the Dalton ward Committee to encourage exchange of views and inter
group activities. Thus there is joint raffle and planning a number of joint
activities. Dalton Ward now has a community plan, details of what is going on
currently and what we hope to put in place. Our groups now include United Reform
Church, Greenfield Family Centre, Christ the King at Moldgreen. We also include
the activities at the DRAM Centre, we spend a good deal of time trying to
revive and activities in the former Children’s Centre to keep its activities
alive. The Yetton Group is thriving with an amazing group of volunteers but
other groups are struggling to make ends meet and retain services, vital to
local communities. Together via the Dalton Ward and the uniquely generous
support of Syngenta, all are kept afloat.
I can go on but this hopefully gives a flavour of my
activities and priorities this year.
