Annual Report 2018-19 Cllr Carole Pattison, Greenhead Ward

This was my fourth 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. 

I’m pleased to say that I was re-elected as a ward councillor this year in May and I look forward to continue to represent the ward and its residents.  I am also pleased to say that I have now been appointed to the Cabinet of the Council with a portfolio responsibility for Learning, Aspiration and Communities.

We have continued to work with local groups in the community, as well as individual residents, and our multi-agency or partnership group, which I Chaired during the last year, has gone from strength to strength.  Some good ideas have come out of the group, ways in which we can improve services locally, and these have begun to bear fruit having attracted small amounts of funding to kick start them.  One such idea was support to small voluntary groups to help them manage in this digital age, helping them to set up web sites or Facebook pages, hosting web sites and providing some training so that in future groups have the skills themselves to develop their digital offer. We continue to support Friends of Greenhead Park, Friends of Norman Park, Friends of TP Woods, Birkby Community Garden, Marsh Forum, we continue to work alongside the Mosques and Churches in the area and in particular we have contributed to the work that Holy Trinity is doing to establish more community facilities for residents.  We have supported Paddock Village Hall Trust, attending many of their local events that they hold not only in Paddock but also in Birkby and Fartown.

We have also been working with the Hillhouse Group. A project was established some years ago to provide solar energy and other carbon neutral facilities in this area, one of the poorest in Kirklees. We are hoping that following further discussions with the community we will see some real progress on this project this year which will benefit all residents in the area.

Through the ward partnership group we meet with and are working the two school hubs and the council’s Community Plus service to ensure that services for those most in need are co-ordinated and provided where ther are most needed with in the ward.. 

The Ward Partnership Group encompasses all these groups above and by working closely with the community we hope to make sure that we are able to either help groups with some funding or point them in the direction of funding as appropriate to ensure that the important work that happens in the community continues to do so despite the ongoing constraints that there are on the councils budget.   

After many years of cuts in local services, and some more cuts to come in future years to services, we are reviewing what has worked well and what has not worked so well and trying to put back some of the services that may have been lost but which have resulted in unnecessary hardship or led to greater problems.  For instance we have lost the youth service as we knew it and possibly as a result we have seen an increase in youth violence and anti-social behaviour.  We are working hard with officers and the police to try to right this and ensure our youth are protected from gang violence and have something positive to contribute to in the community. 

The council is also putting more emphasis on “place” issues or the environment that we live in and placing councillors at the heart of that programme.  This has already meant that we have seen some improvements in the environment that we live in from the resurfacing of Luck Lane to smaller improvements such as white lines and bollards to prevent cars from parking in inappropriate and inconsiderate places.  We hope to tackle this coming year the big problem of parking that we have in our area too.  As a council we have declared a climate emergency and we will do what we can in the ward to contribute to reducing emissions and reversing the emergency. 

Surgeries 

We work as a team and hold mobile surgeries visiting a few streets each weekend as well as making a few individual calls to people that have contacted us during the week by telephone, post or e-mail to ask for help and advice.  Most Saturday’s my ward colleagues and I proactively visit several streets to ask residents if we can provide any advice or assistance. This also helps us to keep in touch with what is going on in particular areas and listen to the feelings of local residents. I also pick up a significant amount of ward work when visiting local groups.  

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  

Council Meetings and Committees
I have had a very high attendance level (almost 100%) at: 

·                  Full Council Meetings

·                  Strategic Planning Committee

·                  Licensing and Safety Committee

·                  Joint Overview and Scrutiny Health Committee

·                  Corporate Governance and Audit Committee

·                  And I also sat of Licensing and Appeals Panels 

I was Chair of the Licensing and Safety Committee and also Chair of the Labour Group of Councillors. 

Outside Bodies
I also represented the council on quite a few outside bodies such as

·                  Kirklees Theatre Trust

·                  Kirklees Music School, now called Musica

·                  Kirklees Community Association

·                  Kirklees Schools Services

I am also active in the community as an individual and I have been 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. 

I have taken part in an officer/member shadowing opportunity which gives both parties a chance to learn about one another roles and how this can benefit mutual relationships.

Annual Report 2018-19 Cllr Mohan Sokhal Greenhead Ward

Annual Report Year May 2018 to May 2019

Cllr Mohan Sokhal MBE JP Greenhead Ward

 On 20^th April 2019 I have completed 30 years as an elected member on Kirklees Council to represent the Residents of formerly Paddock Ward and now Greenhead Ward. So it’s a great honour for me to continue to serve my Residents across the boundaries’ of Greenhead Ward and see people as individuals and Groups in all areas from Paddock, Marsh, Edgerton, Springwood, Gledholt , Birkby, Fartown , Hillhouse Lane, Cowcliffe and Norwood Estate.

Surgeries-

I work full time as a Councillor alongside my colleagues Councillor Sheikh Ullah and Councillor Carole Pattison With them I have spent almost every weekend out in the Ward knocking on doors, offering help and getting to know the issues that faces residents on a daily basis

I have dealt with numerous cases of individual enquires such as immigration cases, writing letters of support. I have signed several passport Applications and Driving and Licensing applications during this year.

I have alongside with my Ward colleagues carried out Mobile and Street Surgeries every Saturday mornings and Home visits on Sundays. Dealt with missed Bin collections, dog fouling, yellow/ white lines Fly Tipping, pot holes and planning applications issue

Areas of Focus

As a Council we are facing tough financial challenges. The amount of money we receive from central Government is decreasing every year. This means we have to reshape our services and make changes to what we do and the way we do it.

Crime and Anti-Social Behaviour-

Some parts of our Ward such as Birkby/Fartown have seen an increase in crime such as Gun shooting, robberies, drug dealing and Ant- Social behaviour. We the three Ward Councillors have worked closely with the Police and Safer Kirklees, speaking to them on a regular basis as well as meeting with the Huddersfield Chief Inspector. Council officers had intensive engagement with local residents. As a result there has been much improvement in Birkby/ Fatown and other parts of our Ward.

New Primary School Edgerton- Although Building work has been delayed but

 Reception Classes have been started to improve the over scribed School admissions in other Schools

Birkby & Fartown Library—As the Birkby/ Fartown Community Centre building has been taken over by the Birkby Junior School for the expansion of other four class rooms, we are working hard with the Community and Council officers to relocate these facilities within the walking distance of Library. Feasibility study is underway with regard to scale, design and cost, discussions are going on and I am confident this will take place in the very near future.

Hill Community Fund— we are extremely pleased that Hill house one of the most deprived area of our Ward have some investment to install green measures and energy efficacy to homes. This has been generated from the feed in tariff of solar panels. We are working with residents, Housing officers to ensure each houses was surveyed and presented with a number of options to make their homes warmer.

Fly tipping- this is a major problem not only in our Ward but all over Kirklees. We have worked with Council officers and local residents and successfully caught and prosecuted a number of people through a combination of CCTV and other evidence from the scene.

Business Manager (Chief Whip)

I have been appointed Business Manager of Labour Group in the year of2018/19.

My role in brief was to ensure that Labour Group Members were aware of the Group Policies and that Group Members vote in accordance with the Group policies when required. Liaise between the Group Leadership and Group Members, ensuring the comments and information were fed back from members to the Leadership.

I have been monitoring the attendance levels of Labour members at Labour Group, Full Council and Committees meetings.

Also I prepared the Whip reports for sitting Councillors who wished to stand again in Local Elections.

Also I taken disciplinary actions against members who failed to pay Council Taxes and dealt with some complaints from members of public and of the Labour Party.

Attendance- Local community groups and Organisations

I attended the Local communities Group and Organisations meetings such as Sikh Leisure centre, Marsh Forum, BIRKBY and Far town activities events, Friends of Greenhead Park, Norman Park, Ward and NMG, Hillhouse Greening Gap, Greenhead Ward Branch Labour Party and Huddersfield CLP meetings.

Also I attended Colne Valley Constituents meetings regularly and updated Council Businesses.

Full Council and Committees Meetings

From May 2018 to May 2019 I attended all the Full Council meetings- attendance record 100% and Labour Group meetings attendance record 100%

The following Committees and Sub Committees and Panels attended-

Standards Committee and Assessment Panels

Huddersfield Planning Sub Committees

Heavy Woollen Planning Sub Committee

Strategic Planning Committee

Licensing and Safety Committee

Kirklees Active Leisure

Business Managers Meetings

As a Sub. I attended many Corporate Governance Audit committee and strategic planning committee meetings

Overview Scrutiny and Management Committee Call in meeting

West Yorkshire Pension Funds as a Sub.

Also I attended and took part in LDF Sessions

Training and learning sessions

I have attended many training events and updates-

2018/9

LGA your Leadership offer.

Representing in a digital     

LGA New Demands             

Councillor and the third

Sector                                    

2018/19

Licensing and Safety committee Training

Planning Committees training

Early intervention and prevention

Business Manager Training January

Child and sexual exploitation.

Effective Member officer Relationship

Labour Group Development Seminars-

   

Mohan

12^th September 2019

Annual Report 2018-19 Cllr Sheikh Ullah Greenhead

2018/19 has been my third year representing the Greenhead Ward as Councillor. I have continue to support the ward by working closely with community groups, and other third sector organisations. I would personally like to thank all the amazing groups within the ward that are doing some brilliant work supporting communities and individuals in such difficult circumstances.

It has been a very challenging year and I have dealt with a number of individual pieces of casework and enquiries. We have worked hard on issues such as Community Safety, Road and Pavement Repairs, Fly tipping and the removal of rubbish.

Surgeries

Most weekends my ward colleagues and I proactively visit several street and speak to residents about any concerns and issues they may have. This also helps us to keep in touch with what is going on within particular areas. I also pick up a significant amount of individual casework when visiting local groups.

 

Areas of Focus

As a council we are facing tough financial challenges. The amount of money we receive is decreasing, services are having to become reshaped, this means we need to make changes to what we do and the way we do it.

• Crime  and Anti-social behaviour - some parts of the ward have seen an increase in crime over the last 12 months. I have worked closely with the Police and Safer Kirklees, speaking to them on a regular basis as well as meeting with the Huddersfield Chief Inspector. I am pleased a 40 week project called "Intensive Engagement" has been launched within the ward. The area that has been identified  is the Birkby/Fartown area of Huddersfield. Intensive engagement is a systematic approach to community engagement that builds organisational capability, releases capacity and invests in skills of front line practitioners. The objective of Intensive Engagement is to build organisational capacity that enhances community safety and welfare through a targeted, lean and highly efficient public agency involvement that maximises the opportunities and capabilities of communities and stakeholders to tackle crime  and deprivation in vulnerable communities.
• Birkby and Fartown Library - With the recent closure of the library we have worked hard with the community and officers to try and relocate this vital service. We have located a number of possible venues all within walking distance of the old library. A feasibility study is currently underway with regards to scale, design and cost, discussions are ongoing, however I am confident this will take place in the very near future.
• Fly tipping - fly tipping is always a challenge to tackle, however within the ward we have caught and successfully prosecuted aa number of people through a combination of CCTV  and other evidence from the scene.
• Community Development - One of my key priorities is to continue supporting local groups ensuring joined up working and skills are shared. We have funded a number of groups  and projects within the ward this includes local parks, Faith Groups, and individual community groups.

ACHIEVEMENTS

Hillhouse Community Fund - we are extremely pleased that Hillhouse, one of the most deprived parts of the ward have some investment to install green measures  and energy efficiency to homes, this has been generated from the feed in tariff of solar panels. We have worked with residents, officers, Housing to ensure each house was surveyed  and presented with a number of options to make their homes warmer.

Democracy - We have delivered democracy sessions within schools to help children with decision making, talk about our role as Councillors, and inform them of what the council do.

Community Clean-Ups - I have taken part in a number of clean ups across the ward. Community groups are doing some wonderful work to keep green spaces tidy, and as councillors we are more than happy to help and advise, we have a great team within Kirklees  that can help groups turn disused areas into beautiful green spaces.

 Council and Committee Meetings

 Annual Council

 Full Council

 Children's Scrutiny

 Huddersfield Planning Committee

 Appeals Panel

 New Homes Bonus Cross Party Working Group

 Labour Group

 Training and Development

 Planning Training - update

 LGA Training - various

Annual Report 2017-2018: Cllr Carole Pattison

This was my third 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.

I’m pleased to say that Mohan Sokhal was re-elected as a ward councillor this year in May.

We have continued to work with local groups in the community, as well as individual residents, and our multi-agency or partnership group, which I Chair, has gone from strength to strength.  Some good ideas have come out of the group, ways in which we can improve services locally, and these have begun to bear fruit having attracted small amounts of funding to kick start them.  One such idea was support to small voluntary groups to help them manage in this digital age, helping them to set up web sites or Facebook pages, hosting web sites and providing some training so that in future groups have the skills themselves to develop their digital offer. 

We continue to support Friends of Greenhead Park, Friends of Norman Park, Friends of TP Woods, Birkby Community Garden, Marsh Forum, we continue to work alongside the Mosques and Churches in the area and in particular we have contributed to the work that Holy Trinity is doing to establish more community facilities for residents.  We have supported Paddock Village Hall Trust, attending many of their local events that they hold not only in Paddock but also in Birkby and Fartown.

We have also been working with the Hillhouse Group. A project was established some years ago to provide solar energy and other carbon neutral facilities in this area, one of the poorest in Kirklees. We are hoping that following further discussions with the community we will see some real progress on this project this year which will benefit all residents in the area.

The Children Centres in the ward have closed now but we are working the school hubs and the council’s Community Plus service to ensure that services lost because of the closure these centres is replaced for those most in need.

The Ward Partnership Group that I spoke about encompasses all these groups above and by working closely with the community we hope to make sure that we are able to either help groups with some funding or point them in the direction of funding as appropriate to ensure that the important work that happens in the community continues to do so despite the ongoing constraints that there are on the councils budget. 

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.  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 has now been joined by a new school in Highfields, Brambles Academy, which will benefit many of the children in the ward. The council is also putting more emphasis on “place” issues or the environment that we live in and placing councillors at the heart of that programme.  This has already meant that we have seen some improvements in the environment that we live in from the resurfacing of Luck Lane to smaller improvements such as white lines and bollards to prevent cars from parking in inappropriate and inconsiderate places.  We hope to tackle this coming year the big problem of parking that we have in our area too.

Surgeries

We work as a team and hold mobile surgeries visiting a few streets each weekend as well as making a few individual calls to people that have contacted us during the week by telephone, post or e-mail to ask for help and advice.  Most Saturday’s my ward colleagues and I proactively visit several streets to ask residents if we can provide any advice or assistance. This also helps us to keep in touch with what is going on in particular areas and listen to the feelings of local residents. I also pick up a significant amount of ward work when visiting local groups.

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

We helped Friends of Greenhead Park to fund raise to successfully get the new play train in the toddlers play area.

Council Meetings and Committees
I have had a very high attendance level at:

• Full Council Meetings
• Strategic Planning Committee
  
  
• Licensing and Safety Committee
• Joint Overview and Scrutiny Health Committee
• Corporate Governance and Audit Committee
• Corporate Resources Scrutiny Panel
• And I also sat of Licensing and Appeals Panels

I am Chair of the Licensing and Safety Committee and also Chair of the Labour Group of Councillors.

Outside Bodies
I also represented the council on quite a few outside bodies such as

• Kirklees Theatre Trust
• Kirklees Music School, now called Musica
• Kirklees Community Association
• Kirklees Schools Services

I am also active in the community as an individual and I have been 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.

I have taken part in an officer/member shadowing opportunity which gives both parties a chance to learn about one another roles and how this can benefit mutual relationships.

Annual Report 2017-2018: Cllr Mohan Sokhal

I would like to thank the residents of Greenhead Ward for re-electing me as a Ward Councillor this year in the May Local Elections. So it’s a great honour for me to continue to serve my residents across the boundaries of Greenhead Ward and see people as individuals and Groups in all areas from Paddock, Marsh, Edgerton, Springwood, Gledholt, Birkby, Fartown, Hillhouse Lane, Cowcliffe and Norwood Estate.

Surgeries-

I work full time as a Councillor alongside my colleagues Councillor Sheikh Ullah and Councillor Carole Pattison With them I have spent almost every weekend out in the Ward knocking on doors, offering help and getting to know the issues that faces residents on a daily basis

I have dealt with numerous cases of individual enquiries such as immigration cases, writing letters of support. I have signed several passport applications and driving and licensing applications during this year.

I have alongside with my ward colleagues carried out Mobile and Street Surgeries every Saturday mornings and Home visits on Sundays. Dealt with missed bin collections, dog fouling, yellow/white lines fly tipping, pot holes and planning applications issues.

We are facing challenges in Greenhead Ward as follows-

School admissions are oversubscribed. But we are going to have a new primary school at Edgerton in our Ward. Although school building is not started due to planning application delayed but reception classes have been stated in a temporary porta-cabin build from September this year.

We are facing biggest challenge in our ward closure of Birkby and Fartown Community Centre as the Birkby Junior School would like to take over the building for the expansion of other four class rooms there. We the ward councillors are trying our best to keep the library in the area.

Under the drastic budget cuts by the central Government we as a Council are doing our best to keep the essential services going on.

Business Manager (Chief Whip)

I have been appointed Business Manager of Labour Group in for the year of 2017/18. My role in brief was to ensure that Labour Group Members were aware of the group policies and that Group members vote in accordance with the Group policies when required. Liaise between the group leadership and group members, ensuring the comments and information were fed back from the members to the Leadership.

I have been monitoring the attendance levels of Labour members at Labour Group, Full Council and committee meetings.

Also I prepared the Whip’s reports for sitting councillors who wished to stand again in Local Elections.

Also I taken disciplinary action again members who failed to pay Council Taxes and dealt with some complains from members of the Labour Party.

Attendance- Local community groups and Organisations

I attended the Local communities Group and Organisations meetings such as Sikh Leisure Centre, Marsh Forum, Birkby and Fartown activities events, Friends of Greenhead Park, Norman Park, Ward and NMG, Hillhouse Greening Gap, Greenhead Ward Branch Labour Party and Huddersfield CLP meetings.

Also I attended Colne Valley constituents meetings regularly and updated council businesses.

Full Council and committee meetings

From May 2017 to May 2018 I attended all the Full Council meetings- attendance record 100% and Labour Group meetings attendance record 100%

The following Committees and Sub Committees and Panels attended-

• Standards Committee and Assessment Panels
• Huddersfield Planning Sub Committees
• Heavy Woollen Planning Sub Committee
• Strategic Planning Committee
• Licensing and Safety Committee
• Kirklees Active Leisure
• Business Managers Meetings

As a substitute member I attended many Corporate Governance Audit committee and strategic planning committee meetings.

• Overview Scrutiny and Management Committee Call in meeting
• West Yorkshire Pension Funds as a Sub.
• Also I attended and took part in LDF Sessions

Training and learning sessions

I have attended many training events and updates- 

• LGA your Leadership offer.
• Representing in a digital     
• LGA New Demands             
• Councillor and the third
• Sector                                    

2017/18 

• Licensing and Safety committee Training
• Planning Committees training
• Early intervention and prevention
• Business Manager Training January 2017
• Child and sexual exploitation.
•  
• Councillor Officer Relationships 2.2.2017
• Effective Member officer Relationship 6.3.2017
• Labour Group Development Seminars- 21.1. 2017 and 1.4.2017