I have represented the Forest Ward as a Labour councillor since boundary changes in 2003. The ward covers Heronridge, Highbury Vale, Rise Park, Southglade Park and . I previously represented Byron Ward from 1988.

I am the Executive Member for Neighbourhood Regeneration. This involves me in all the policy issues around Housing and Planning. I am the key policy link with City Homes, whilst three councillor colleagues sit on the Board. I also serve on the Executive Board and the Development Control Committee.

My strategic housing and planning roles involve working with surrounding authorities on joint boards looking at planning and housing land supply across the whole county, and on regional bodies dealing with housing, planning and transport.

The last year has seen key challenges in the housing sector. The economic downturn has not altered the requirements of families and others for housing. So, housing demand remains the same (or may even be increasing) whilst many residents’ abilities to pay for their housing has been severely limited.

That is why I have been working on various new projects that will get housing moving again, whether it be the market or social sector. These schemes are to include shared equity on existing sites and bringing forward surplus public sector sites for mixed housing developments.

2008 also saw the council taking even more seriously important principles of good housing estate design through the Design 08 programme. This has involved critical reviews of previous schemes (in all sectors) and will continue with Design 09.

I am also concerned about empty homes as needs build up. This is a particular problem now that the “buy to let” market has dried up and ordinary families are struggling to get a mortgage. I also keep a close eye on void properties in the social rented sector, though vacants here are less common.

An essential part of any councillor’s role in Local Government in and Wales is our election to represent a particular ward. This grounds us in the reality of real people in real communities facing problems and looking to us, as we represent their area, to help.

I am actively engaged with individuals and groups across the ward. I carry out regular estate inspections alongside Nottingham City Homes and ward walks in other areas to which I bring key city council officers.

I regularly visit the flats blocks on Colston Road and St Alban’s Road, and was particularly pleased to see major improvements made to the decorations on my last visit. I reported back how pleased we were to the Chief Executive of Nottingham City Homes prior to the inspection.

With my colleague, Councillor Eunice Campbell, I hold three advice surgeries a month, on the first Saturday at Bulwell Library, on the second at The Church On Rise Park, and on the fourth at Top Valley Library. All of these run from 11 a.m. to noon.

Increasingly, local residents get hold of us through email or telephone rather than waiting for the next advice surgery.

Even though I have twenty years experience as a member of the Development Control Committee in the city, I still make sure I keep up to date and have recently attended training (particularly on legislative matters) for Planning Committee members. I also attend the Chartered Institute of Housing to keep up to date with Housing issues.

Local councillors are given small devolved budgets to tackle local problems where other funding is hard to come by. I have used some of mine to imrove and redirect lighting on Highbury Avenue following the formation of a Neighbourhood Watch Scheme. I have also invested in a footpath closure behind Bakewell Drive, and in the production of a “what’s on” guide of local groups and activities.

Local highlights of 2008 included a great “Fun Day” in Bulwell Town Centre to celebrate the improvements to the Market Place, that include new market stalls, an improved layout and refurbished toilets.

I have also made sure that I get regular briefings from Bulwell Academy about their plans. I was pleased to see a model of their new school building and the new school uniform. It will do much to ensure our local young people - encouraged by their parents - achieve good qualifications for jobs in an uncertain future.

I attended the “Bringing Unity to the Community” event organised by Bulwell United Reformed Church, at which I heard about plans for Bulwell’s Joint Service Centre and chatted to the neighbourhood Community Safety Officers and groups from St Mary’s Church and the football club. This helped to recruit some new participants in the Local Action Group that discusses every couple of months the local crime and anti-social behaviour hotspots.

I have consistently worked through the year with various Housing Officers to ensure a new substantial phase of the boundary treatments of walls and fences in Top Valley. The various phases of this scheme have made an important contribution to the appearance of the area and to the better location of cars.

I am also pleased with the ShopLink bus service with Tescos contributing to what has become a much wider set of bus services to all the major supermarkets. There is also a ShopLink bus service along Highbury Road, Brooklyn Road and part of Piccadilly twice a week to Morrison’s, on a Tuesday and a Friday, and I am pressing for this to be publicized more widely.

I attended the very successful “Your Choice, Your Voice” event at Top Valley Community Centre. After much careful planning, we decided that the type of community engagement wanted by residents was not the old-style public meeting on a cold evening with councillors on a platform being harangued.

So, with the co-operation of the key staff, we organised a much more informal event on a Saturday morning, at which we invited local community groups to have stalls; these varied from bell-ringers to the Territorial Army to the Art Group. At the same time, a number of key speakers were available in the side room for a briefing and questions. These included police and the youth service. Our approach was so successful, in attracting 140 local residents, that the pattern is being considered for other wards in the city.

I have held various meetings with the developers in the Bakewell Drive area, Lovells, to ensure good site security and encouraging the occupation of the houses and bungalows. The new through road, suitably traffic calmed, has been completed.

Every couple of months, I attend the regular Local Action Groups, one for each Police Beat. One covers the Rise Park and Top Valley beat, the other the “Bulwell Forest” beat for Highbury Vale. These discuss the local crime and anti-social behaviour hotspots. This is the way that the city council and partners like the Police listen to local people to set their priorities.

I encourage the work of our various tenants and residents groups, having been the Secretary of one in the 1980s. So, I am a regular at the meetings of Deptford Crescent T&R, Rise Park Action Group and Top Valley T&R.

When the three wheelie bin system was introduced to two further collection routes in Bulwell Forest Ward, Councillor Eunice Campbell and I walked down the whole routes with two recycling officers looking out for any potential problems and pitfalls.

I chaired several meetings at Bulwell United Reformed Church hosted by Nottingham City Homes to talk about the remaining wood-framed houses in the New Highbury Vale area. There was a good turn out and everyone heard about possible schemes to use modern cladding with a high insulation factor. Nottingham City Homes have arranged for some affected tenants to see a similar scheme in Birmingham.

In June, Councillor Eunice Campbell and I helped at an information stall at the Summer Fair organised at The Church on Rise Park.

Summer was also a time when two public meetings were held at Stanstead School with local residents to talk about the car parking problems. Some new signage and active co- operation from the school meant the news at the second meeting in November was all good.

I was please to see two planting schemes, one at the Rise Park island outside the shops and the other at Top Valley Way near Tescos.

In November, I attended the Christmas Fair at the Rise Park Community Centre, and heard more about the Craft Club that now works alongside the Art Club.

The replacement of a whole number of pavements has been taking place over the last couple of months, and we are pressing for this to be finished.

The single biggest issue that Rise Park people raise with me is the state of decline there has been at the shops. Much of this is beyond the control of the city council, as buildings like the former Kwik Save and Charles II are in private ownership. I have regularly reported dumping through Environmental Health asking for private owners to be recharged for works. We even had the contractors checked out when they came to strip the inside of the Kwik Save building. We were concerned that they did not turn up with the keys to access the car park properly.

There has been some recent good news that a business man from Coventry has purchased the Charles II and has had a planning application approved to turn it into a convenience store with apartment above.

In 2009, we need to think about the use of the Henry Mellish site when its education uses are finished in 2010. There is much practical planning still to be done or the new Joint Service Centre on Main Street that will bring together city council and health services on a 3.5 acre site. The existing poor quality buildings used by the city council as family centre, youth centre and the fitness club will all be demolished. The new centre will be home to a new play centre, a youth club with outdoor and indoor sports, and a new library. Health services will include community health servicea and up to eight doctors.

The coming year should also see the start of work on a Tesco store in Bulwell. I believe this will help ensure the future of Bulwell as a shopping area, and provide local jobs. I insisted that Tesco works closely with the local residential and business interests so it is a real partner for Bulwell.

In 2009, I will be pressing for better pedestrian crossing facilities on Ridgeway. There is an excellent facility on Southglade Park, particularly for football and swimming and a new children’s playground. This is being enhanced in the new year by the building of a new skateboard park, on which local young people have been consulted. If, however, children and adults alike feel unsafe crossing Ridgeway, this is a real barrier.

There is also the need for regeneration at Knight’s Close where the previous community centre was.

I want to have a positive dialogue about a successful outcome for the site of the former bus depot on Piccadilly as a residential development.

As 2009 brings its own challenges, I shall be there supporting the needs of residents of Bulwell Forest Ward.