Dear Editor As West Ward County Councillors, may we share how proud we are of the work we have done in the past four years, and of the projects we have funded or helped-to-fund. Most of the projects have been achieved in partnership with the other County Councillors on the town, and by working with an amazing list of local groups and clubs.

In cooperation with them, we have been able to achieve great things for the residents.

• A lot of money has gone to funding West Ward projects and Community Groups – for instance agreement to replace the pedestrian footbridge at Whinlatter Place; the Silverdale ‘Hub of Wishes’ ICT Suite; the St Joseph’s School playhouse; the ACORN community group excursions; and the Cutting Loose community carnival.

• Other funding has been directed towards helping our needy residents – ROCSOLID; 1:1 Disability Health Training; Advice Workers; and the GAMP Employability Fund.

• We have made an especial effort to deal with some of the traffic, parking and accessibility issues in the Ward, with improvements at Lightfoot Road, Lee Green, Castlereagh Close, Simpasture Gate, School Aycliffe, Councillors Proud of Their Achievements Oakfield, Silkin Way and Bewick Crescent.

• And we have been delighted to have supported with the other Aycliffe County Councillors whole-town initiatives which will benefit West Ward residents – projects such as the Greenfield School 3G Pitch and Tennis Courts; the Leisure Centre gymnastic floor; the Youth Centre refurb; and the Cricket and Youth Football Clubs.

You can see a list of ALL our Neighbourhood Budget grants online here:  bit.ly/EAKHAL In addition, we have made 88 smaller grants, which you can see online at DCC: bit.ly/AdamMIF1317.  Of course this is not *our* money!  It is how we have spent County Councillor Neighbourhood Budget moneys.  But we would point out that many councils in the country do not have ‘Neighbourhood Budgets’, which are a DCC Labour Group policy … and might well disappear if ever Labour was not the controlling group on the County Council.

As well as providing funding to local organisations:

• We consult and seek the views of the community on how public money is spent (notably over the Whinlatter footbridge).  Our recent leaflet included a ‘Tell us your views’ tear off slip.

• We have regularly distributed informative leaflets and reported in the Newton News on the positive work we are doing in the community.

• In addition there have been a multitude of times we have conducted walkabouts and responded to residents’ complaints and suggestions, as well as to their personal needs and crises. Publishing this is part of our accountability to our residents.  We believe it is an impressive achievement and trust that you will agree.

Cllrs Eddy Adam and Kate Hopper