This was my second year as a Councillor representing Greenhead Ward and I work full time as a councillor alongside my colleagues Councillors Sokhal and Ullah. With them I have spent almost every weekend out in the ward knocking on doors, offering help and getting to know the issues that face people on a daily basis. We work very hard as a team together. It has been a busy year and our ward work kept us very busy.
There were no local elections this year but during the year we have had both the European Referendum and a general election which also kept us busy.
As usual we have worked with local groups in the community and this year we have established a multi-agency group, which I Chair, formed from groups who are working in our community. This has meant that we have focussed on the work and issues affecting Greenhead Park, Paddock Village Hall and schools in the area.
We have supported Marsh Forum and worked with them to help fund and site a defibrillator in Marsh shopping Centre.
We have supported Paddock Village Hall Trust, attending many of their local events, and helped them to achieve a new training kitchen in the Hall. We are working with the Friends of Greenhead Park and Norman Park to help ensure that users of the parks get the best use possible from them.
We have also been working with the Hillhouse Group, holding family fun days, clean up campaigns and looking to improve the fabric of the houses in the area. We have also worked with TRAs and in particular the Greenhead and Trinity Street TRA.
The Children Centres in the ward have closed now but we are working with the Royds Hall Community School Hub and the Council’s EIP hub to make sure that the loss of these centres is replaced for those most in need.
The challenges this coming year will be to ensure that our communities are protected as much as possible from the cuts in service that we are being forced to make by the government cuts that are being handed down to local government. Already we have seen a reduction or changes in the way services are provided. The highways budget has been slashed which has meant that road repairs are taking longer to implement, there has been changes to the way waste collections are organised and grass cutting and weed control has been reduced. Thank fully Greenhead Park remains a priority for maintenance but other areas in the ward are now no longer maintained as well as they were. But more is to come in cuts to Children’s Services and the Libraries and Museums Service. As a resident and a councillor I abhor these cuts that we are being forced to make and take no pleasure from it.
But on a positive note the new Primary School on Luck Lane will be joined by a new school in Highfields which will benefit many of the children in the ward.
Local Community Group and Organisations
I have attended the meetings of the following groups when invited and when able:
- Friends of Greenhead Park
- Friends of Norman Park
- Marsh Community Forum
- Paddock Village Hall Trust
- Trinity And Greenhead TRA
- Hillhouse Community Group
There are only so many evenings in a week and we often find that meetings of community groups clash and we can only attend one.
Council Meetings and Committees
I have had a very high attendance level at:
- Full Council Meetings
- Strategic Planning Committee
- Huddersfield District Committee
- And I also sat of Licensing and Appeals Panels
Outside Bodies
I also represented the council on quite a few outside bodies such as
- Kirklees Theatre Trust
- Kirklees Music School
- Kirklees Community Association
- Kirklees Schools Services
I am also active in the community as an individual and I am a governor of Royds Hall Community School, Vice Chair of Fusion Housing and involved with Discover Huddersfield and Huddersfield Creative Arts Network.
Training or learning I have undertaken
I have also undertaken most if not all modules of the New Council training provided for us.
I also attended Planning and Licensing training which is required for members of those committees
I have attended training sessions provided by the Labour Group on Budgets and Finance and the New Council.
