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Councillor Graham Stokes
Cabinet Member for Corporate Services
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MAY 2004
‘Effective leaders create communities out of words’
Martin Luther King
CASTLEFORD TIGERS
It was a
disappointing occasion to see Castleford lose their 7th consecutive
game against Wakefield, and then for Graham Steadman to have to carry the can
for what has been a poor performance from some of the players, obviously some
change had to be made, as they could not continue as they were, but I have a
lot of time for Graham Steadman, he is an able and knowledgeable coach, and
Castleford’s demise should not be laid at his door, he has done a lot for
the club over the past 15 years, some of the players now really need to take a
long hard look at themselves, it is them that are to blame for Graham’s
departure.
I wish
Graham well and hope it won’t be too long before his talents are recognised
by another Super League Club, we will still see him around.
SAD
It is this time
of the year once the warmer weather and the lighter nights start that I begin
to realise that all winter I have probably suffered from SAD (Seasonal
Affective Disorder), or at least I suddenly feel more alive, I can get my bike
out and ride into the countryside in relative comfort for what is a tortuous
but enjoyable hobby.
I was feeling
particularly enthused on a sunny but windy day recently when I set off to
cycle from Ferrybridge to Fishlake near Doncaster, it is amazing how near we
are to the countryside, between Kirk Smeaton and Askern, rabbits were playing
in the field, pheasants were in evidence, and a fox stepped out into the road
a little way in front of me, not knowing I was there, then seeing me dashed
into the field. I found it wonderful so much countryside and only a
cycle ride away from where we live.
On that same
evening I attended a Five Towns Cycle Forum meeting in Castleford (which
covers our area) and was pleasantly surprised by how much work is going on
within the district around cycling issues. The council have recently appointed
a cycling officer, Claire Bishop, and things are really starting to move, the
cycle forum discussed the plans to create a cycle rout through Pontefract park
to Xscape which will eventually link Pontefract and Castleford.
The Forum and the
council are busy planning events for National Bike Week which takes place
between 12th and 20th June and will include a variety of promotional activities and
events such as cycle training, 'Bike Doctors' and a family fun treasure trail.
Bike to Work day is on Wednesday 19th June. To compliment the
Parliamentary bike ride in London we will be holding our own 'Bike to Work'
event with the Town Hall and/or County Hall being the focal point. A free Bike
Breakfast at the Town Hall will be available to all staff cycling in on that
day.
Other events
planned within our district are: -
Sunday 9 May
An off road bike ride starting at The Buttercross, Market Place Pontefract to
Temple Newsam.
Sunday 16 May
The Prince of Wales Hospice Annual Cyclothon, there are 3 routes available
starting at 9am.
Saturday 12 June
Dales Bus special event with guided bike rides
- Family ride from Kettlewell to Grassington (6 miles), with the afternoon free in
Bolton Abbey
- On-road bike ride from Kettlewell to Bolton Abbey (17 miles)
- Off road ride from Grassington to Bolton Abbey
The bus leaves
Wakefield bus station at 8.15 returning to Wakefield at approximately 6 pm,
Places need to be booked in advance, cost £3 adults £1 Children.
Sunday 13 June
Family Treasure Trail at Wintersett Country Park, alternatively there is an
off road bike ride from The Buttercross Pontefract to Brodsworth (Markham
Grange).
Tuesday 15 June
Employees Fun Bike Ride at Stanley Ferry Mill House, or an on-road bike ride,
Robin Hood’s Barnsdale scenic tour, from The Cornmarket, Pontefract.
Wednesday 16 June
WMDC Ride to work day, this is when I begin to realise I live 14 miles from
the Town Hall, still it is all good fun!
Thursday 17 June
On – road bike ride from The Cornmarket Pontefract, Aire Valley Tour
Sunday 20 June
A twenty mile bike ride from Castleford to Wintersett Country Park, with a
cycling exhibition and marquee.
Sunday 27 June
Horbury Show and Cycling Exhibition at Carr Lodge Park.
So there you are,
no excuse for unfitness now, plenty of activities to get us into shape this
summer.
LIVEABILITY ISSUES AT 'HEART OF LOCAL ECONOMIC GROWTH' SAYS YVETTE COOPER
At a Women’s
and Rural Conference in Manchester the Minister for Liveability at the ODPM,
Yvette Cooper, said the rise in prominence of Liveability is about "more
than just bricks and mortar" but also relates to "community
facilities." She said "public investment is necessary and private
investment is not enough." Linking the issue to communities Yvette said
it’s important to "get people to be proud of their area" and to
create spaces where people are not frightened to use services." I believe this
statement is at the heart of our society today, for us all to be able to live
in an area we are proud of, with no fear of crime, for some at the moment this
is not true, their lives are affected by vandalism and anti social behaviour,
but why should we tolerate it, I don’t know about you but I think
Knottingley is a great place to live, with excellent amenities e.g. sports
centre, library, good schools, canal walks and transport links – we have
easy access to the dales and lakes, east and west coast resorts, and very
friendly people, I would like to see a society where the feeling of wellbeing
is the same for everybody across Knottingley and Ferrybridge, nobody should
feel threatened by the small minority that causes problems, we should all be
working together to eradicate nuisance behaviour, then as a society we will
all benefit.
PONTEFRACT & KNOTTINGLEY PANEL
I attended the
area panel meeting held in Pontefract on 6 April; this is a meeting of
Knottingley and Pontefract Councillors held in public. One of the items
we discussed was that the Neighbourhood Action Team are due in Knottingley mid
May for a 2 week clean up campaign, I think they do a fantastic job, but if
there are any areas you feel would benefit from being cleaned up please
contact any of your local councillors, so that we can add them to the list.
CPA
In April
Wakefield received the results of the Government Comprehensive Performance
Assessment (CPA). We were confirmed
as the fastest improving authority in the country, moving from a poor rating
to fair in just 12 months, we are now only 2 points short of Good, which we
are in a strong position to achieve in 2005.
The CPA
inspectors commented that "politicians and the reshaped senior team have
produced a major change in the culture of the organisation".
"The council
has consulted with local people and now has a set of clear aspirations and
priorities. Plans for what it does next are well developed and link together
under the community strategy".
This is all good
news for the council, the staff and the community, but we now aim to be
classified as an excellent authority.
FIVE TOWNS URBAN RENAISSANCE
This is turning
out to be a very interesting project for Knottingley and Ferrybridge, I
attended a meeting of the Five Towns Team on 5th April, quite a few
people attended from Knottingley which was encouraging to see we were well
represented. It was agreed
that we would have a further meeting in each of the 5 towns.
We are discussing
a 25 year vision here not something that is going to happen overnight, but in
five months time we will be putting together a master plan for the 5 towns
which will be our vision of how we want to see our town develop. Knottingley and
Ferrybridge has a population of 14,200 people, there are 113,000 people living
within the 5 towns, we are almost a city on our own.
Each of the five
towns has held a community planning event, we held one in Knottingley Town
Hall, the meeting discussed some of the outcomes from that meeting, it was
evident that we are well connected to the motorway networks, that we have no
teal town centre and the canal side is a wonderful area just waiting for
development.
The realignment
of the A1 could help us to bring back together the 2 parts of Ferrybridge that
have for years been divided by the A1, as the old A1 will be downgraded. We could look at
creating a separate industrial area away from the town and residential areas;
this would help to alleviate the traffic problems that currently exist on the
A645.
The meeting
agreed to form 3 special interest groups that would consider: -
- Quality and Design
- Economics and education
- Transport Issues
Whilst the Urban
Renaissance does not have funding in itself, we will be looking at working
with funding organisations like Yorkshire Forward, but also making the best
use of resources that already exist, and creating opportunities and value for
the potential for development. We have to
persuade people to invest within our area, we will do that by having plans and
a vision for the way forward and what we as residents want to see. We are part of
the Northern Way, which is a large growth area, a corridor across the M62 and
the A1, people are looking to invest here, we just need to ensure that we get
the correct type of development that we all want to see for the future.
CAB
The Citizens
Advice Bureau will be providing a service every Wednesday at the new Tenants
association Offices 16 Argyle Rd, Ferrybridge.
DOG BINS
New dog bins are
to be provided in Ferrybridge – 2 on Doncaster Road, 2 on Ferrybridge Hill,
2 within the park, 2 in Ferrybridge Square and 2 in Vale Crescent.
FERRYBRIDGE TENANTS ASSOCIATION
The tenants
association have now moved into their new premises at 16 Argyle Road,
Ferrybridge the office will be open from 10am to 3pm on Wednesdays and
Thursdays, call in for a drink or a chat. The next tenants
meeting will be held on June 7th, at 5.30pm, all welcome.
FREEDOM OF INFORMATION
On the 16th
April, I chaired and spoke at a seminar organised for authorities and other
affected organisations, on the Freedom of Information Act, which comes into
force in January 2005. Twenty local
authorities from the North of England took advantage of Wakefield Council's
invitation to the seminar at the National Coal Mining Museum. The impressive
list of speakers included Phil Boyd, Assistant Information Commissioner,
Ibrahim Hasan, from ActNow, Stuart Abraham from the National Archives, Jon
Hoare, Policy Adviser, Department for Constitutional Affairs, David Kinnaird,
BT Open Access, and Maurice Frankel, Director of the Campaign for Freedom of
Information.
Wakefield is
leading the way in its preparation for January 2005 when the Act becomes law
and organised the seminar to share best practice with colleagues in other
councils and partner organisations in the Yorkshire & Humber region, as
well as councillors and staff from within the Council who wanted to find out
more about the challenges the new legislation will bring.
The Freedom of
Information Act will have a significant impact not just on our procedures but
also on our culture and our relationship with our citizens. We are looking
upon it as an opportunity to be more open, transparent and accountable in our
work and to build up further trust with our stakeholders.
Feedback from the
seminar was extremely positive and it was a really useful exercise in meeting
colleagues from other authorities and our partners, so that we can recognise
the potential benefits, share good practice and foster closer working
relationships. We have compiled
a Publication scheme, which is available on the council’s Web site and gives
classes of information that the Council publish along with contact points for
the public.
HOUSING STOCK TRANSFER
We have now
received the result of the stock transfer ballot, as follows:
Yes: 74%
No: 26%
Turnout: 65%
Wakefield Council
is celebrating the result of its housing ballot in which tenants voted
overwhelmingly in favour of transferring to a new, not-for-profit housing
organisation - the largest yes vote to a single new housing organisation ever. The result means
that early in 2005 management of the Council's 34,500 housing stock will come
under Wakefield and District Housing, where tenants make up a third of the
seats on the management board and five local management committees run homes
at a local level. Our own resources
are limited but this new organisation will be investing over £700 million in
delivering improvements such as new windows, new bathrooms, and making estates
pleasant and safer places to live."
The ‘yes’
vote means Wakefield and District Housing can embark on a substantial
improvement programme for tenants’ homes up to and beyond the Government's
minimum standards. Tenants’ key
rights and entitlements will be protected and tenants will have a bigger say
in how their homes and housing services are run.
Cllr Graham
Isherwood, Wakefield Council's Cabinet Member for Housing, said: "The
Council has believed from day one that any decision to transfer should
entirely rest with the tenants. This ‘Yes’ vote shows that tenants have
listened to the proposals and made an informed decision to transfer.
We are delighted
with the result. The Council has worked hard to give tenants decent homes but,
with the vote to transfer, more money will be available for the repairs and
modernisation the homes need to bring them up to the standards tenants deserve
and keep them that way in the future.
The Council will
now continue to work hard to ensure a smooth transfer to Wakefield and
District Housing. Now the hard work really begins. The next few months will be
spent preparing to ensure everything is in place for when the transfer takes
place.
Tenants should be
congratulated for taking such a momentous decision. Now it is up to us to
deliver the brighter future they voted for."
FLOOD ALLEVIATION SCHEME
A new flood
defence bank is to be created in the Gander Haven area, the contract has been
awarded to Volker Stevin, work will commence during the week commencing 19th
April, 2004 and will be completed by the end of summer, but planting will
continue into the autumn. After completion
the local community will benefit from a new defence which will significantly
reduce the risk of flooding to 244 properties, a wetland wildlife area will be
created, and the footpath will be re-routed along the top of the new bank,
with additional access points.
Should anyone
wish to contact me about any issue I am available on Email at Gstokes@wakefield.gov.uk
or telephone 01977 675110, I will always be pleased to hear from you. We are
all here to help make Knottingley and Ferrybridge a better place, if you think
I can help please contact me.
Graham Stokes
Cabinet Member for Corporate Services
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