Annual Report 2018-19 Cllr Harpreet Uppal, Ashbrow
I am so proud to represent Ashbrow ward where I grew up, went to
school and live. I work closely with my ward colleagues, Cllr Amanda Pinnock
and Cllr James Homewood for the best interests of our local residents.
I have enjoyed my first year as a Councillor, although at times
frustrating, it is a great opportunity to make a difference and campaign for
the ideas and actions that will lead to change.
Ashbrow Ward Work
Community concerns
meetings
With my colleagues James and Amanda, we have been
working closely with our local partners to tackle the issues that our area is
facing on community safety. We have been meeting with local head teachers,
youth groups and community organisations to develop a local plan to tackle some
of the issues we are facing. This has involved developing a community strategy,
exploring pooled funding options and improving integrated partnership working.
We have definitely seen improvements since we first and we look forward to
continuing to work together.
The Big Local
Conversation
As
Local Cllrs in Ashbrow Ward we are conducting an engagement exercise with our
local residents. We are asking residents some
questions about how they feel about life in Deighton, Sheepridge, Fartown,
Bradley, Cowcliffe and Fixby. We are using a tool called the Place Standard
(which was developed in Scotland) to ask people about the place they live. We
will use what we learn to help create a ward plan for whole of the Ashbrow
ward. This will say what people think about the area now, recognising strengths
and successes, and will make some suggestions for the future, based on the key
priorities of people who take part. The results will be available in the New
Year. Find out more here.
Ward Forums
As local Cllrs we hold
ward and neighbourhood forms on a regular basis throughout the year. This
includes a monthly Bradley neighbourhood forum and a bi-monthly Ashbrow ward
forum. This is a great opportunity for us to meet with residents on a regular
basis to tackle issues in the ward and neighbourhoods and ask residents about
their views on council polices. We will continue with these in the coming year
and plan to do some more focused work on communicating the meetings to our
residents.
Casework and door knocking activities
As
a Cllr, I deal with a large number of casework queries from local residents.
These can vary from litter and traffic to adult social care and schools. I
won’t always be able to get a satisfactory response for all residents but I
always do my upmost to follow up their queries and represent their views as
best I can. I have also organised a number of street surgery door knocking
sessions across the ward as well as partner walkabouts with Safer Kirklees and
local police officers. This helps as assess issues on the ground and tackle
problems quickly.
Environmental projects
Some parts of our ward face real problems with fly
tipping and littering. To try and tackle some of these issues we have worked
closely with our green space action team and Safer Kirklees to highlight the
problems and develop additional activities on intensive engagement and a number
of community clean ups. The green space action team have also carried out
focused work in our local area. There is still more to do and we will continue
to work closely with residents, local environmental groups and council
officers. We all have a responsibility to make sure that we look after the area
we live in.
Council
Meetings and Council Committees
Full Council meetings
This
is where all councillors come to together on a monthly basis to debate council
policies. I have delivered speeches on housing and homelessness, the Council’s
budgetary process, social security and local government finance and austerity.
I also introduced a motion on Universal Credit, a national policy, which
impacts many residents in Kirklees.
Economy and Neighbourhood Scrutiny
Panel
I
chair the economy and neighbourhood scrutiny panel. With panel members we
scrutinise Kirklees council policies on the economy, skills, environment,
neighbourhoods and waste. The meetings also help to refine and develop policy.
Planning committee and licensing
committee
I
also sit on Huddersfield planning committee and the Kirklees licensing
committee. At these committee we decide on planning and licensing applications.
Climate Change Emergency Working Group
I
am delighted to sit on the Kirklees climate change emergency working group.
Following a motion being approved by councillors, a working group was
established under the chair, Cllr Richard Murgatroyd. As a working group we are
establishing what we can do to tackle climate change. Our recommendations will
be presented to the Full Council before the end of the year.
