Walcot

Over the past four years many of you have asked what it means to be a Councillor and for quite a while we have pondered on this question. Looking back over what we have achieved over this time, we are able to give a well thought out answer with a number of examples.

Being a local Councillor means serving your local community, bringing together different interest groups to improve neighbourhoods, and being able to drive forward continuous improvements.

Local Progress

As Walcot ward Councillors we have seen local improvements to youth services. Two years ago the Riverside Youth and Community Centre was under threat of closure, but with involvement from both local Councillors we brought together a small group under the chairmanship of Councillor David Dixon which kept the spirit of the centre alive long enough to see renewed investment of £130,000 and the youth club back once a week at the Community Centre.

We successfully implemented a residents parking scheme and have worked with the local residents' association to get new trees in the Bathwick Estate.

Working with Somer Housing, we now have two new play areas in Snow Hill, new pedestrian crossings and new football facilities on Kensington Meadows.

Bringing together local residents, London Road and Snow Hill Partnership and the Council's Parks Department we now see an improved open space in Kensington Gardens and many more smaller issues which affect people on a local level.

Future plans

Since our re-election in May 2007, we plan to continue to build on these local relationships, bringing communities and local interest groups closer together to look at continuous improvements to what matters to people the most - what happens outside of their front door.

We are also working to bring back into use empty buildings along the London Road, such as the old Longacre Secondhand Shop, which have stood empty for far too long in this area which is designated as a local shopping area. We believe that retail use should continue at this location.

We still need to look at improving the congestion and resulting pollution along the London Road and Bathwick Street. We still have the threat of a ill-placed Park and Ride at Lambridge which would have devastating effects for those who live near to it. Kensington Meadows now has a developing friends group who are looking at ways to bring this fantastic piece of open space and nature reserve into use. We need to bring the Southbourne Gardens former allotments back into usable allotment land to save it from future development. We need to work more closely with the police to bring about safer and stronger communities.

Along Camden and down to the London Road we have one of the closest places to the city centre without residents parking, placing a strain on parking for those that live there.

All of these are initiatives that as your local Councillors we have been actively involved with. We now have the threat of losing the 20mph zone along Camden Road, thanks to local Conservatives in charge of Transport removing road safety measures along this stretch of very busy road, officially naming it the alternative route to the ever congested London Road.

Our record on recycling in Bath and North East Somerset is great, but we cannot stand still; there are still decisions to be made over the long-term future of our waste. Traffic and congestion in Bath is worse than it has ever been, we need to work more closely with our public transport providers to make it a real alternative to using the motor vehicle.

We are keen to see younger people get involved in local decision making, making it relevant to how they live their lives. We need to continue developing the city's offer to create a healthy mix of jobs, with decent office facilities which are flexible enough to tempt more businesses to Bath.

We need to have a healthier balance of employment sectors so that we are not heavily reliant on service industries such as leisure and tourism.

Contact your local councillors:

Find out what the Walcot Lib Dems have been doing via their Blog!

Cllr David Dixon

email: [email protected]

38 Hillcrest Drive, Southdown, Bath, BA2 1HE

Tel: 07900 974975 / 01225 462590

Cllr Colin Daracott

email: [email protected]

c/o The Guildhall, High Street, Bath, BA1 5AW

Tel: 07976 732 840