Once again I am standing for election to Great Aycliffe Town Council, this time in the newly established ward of Aycliffe Central. Having lived for 36 years in the heart of the new ward I am familiar with all its aspects and with the problems of many constituents.
With over 10 years continuous service on the Council and a member of all major committee’s my focus has always been on finance and I have chaired the best value and audit committee’s set up to ensure prudent handling of Council spending.
This close control of spending has established us to freeze the Council Tax for the last four years and to achieve un -qualified approval of our Financial position from the Audit commission which investigates all Council functions on an annual basis.
I believe we already have a lot to be proud of in Newton Aycliffe with an abundance of open green spaces, play areas throughout the town, well maintained and well used parks together with good schools and a vibrant youth centre.
However I am in no way complacent and will continue to strive for improvement to the Town Centre, which is privately owned, by co-operating with the centre management and urging them to provide a comprehensive range of shops and facilities which Newton Aycliffe residents deserve particularly young families with limited means who should not have the expense of travelling to other towns to meet their shopping needs.
Having ran a business on the industrial estate for more than 20 years I am acutely aware of my responsibility to continue the campaign to bring more companies to Aycliffe and to help with the expansion of those already here.
With Hitachi development now going ahead all Council members must do everything they can not only to support Hitachi but also encourage companies in the supply chain to make Aycliffe their base.
The lack of affordable housing is also of great concern and as in the past I will always be prepared to work with Livin or any other housing providers to drive forward viable building programmes.
If you decide to re-elect me on May 2nd you will be ensuring you have experienced and continuous representation with the assurance that I will always be available to listen to your concerns and resolve any problems if at all possible.
