I‘m grateful to Bill for his diligence in writing regular reports on his work as a District Councillor in Leek West. Since winning the by election Bill has demonstrated over and over again that hard working Labour Councillors make real differences to individual’s lives. Helping them in adversity and supporting them in fighting for their rights. That’s what you get when you vote Labour.
For the Many, Not the Few.
Leek West Councillors Report March- April
Universal Credit
I am having concerns on the impact on lives the implementation of Universal Credit is having on people’s lives. I have had a number of cases in which the delay in calculating the rate of credit, in most cases several weeks. The delay is driving people into debt and arrears in rents and council tax and people are facing eviction and bailiffs. The five cases I have dealt with are all women in their 40s /50s, single parents or faced a relationship break up/ divorce. Another factor is a health issue. It seems more than a statistical quirk.
Jubilee Terrace
The garage and the shed have now been boarded up after several months of e mails and calls on Mr Bowyer who lives in the street. The empty house in Westwood Grove has been sold so perhaps the new owner will address some of the concerns the residents have about the property
Westwood Park Drive.
Something of a bug bear as I have tried to get the pavement from about 15 to 59 Westwood Park Drive resurfaced. I was first involved in this matter in June and despite messages it remains an intractable case. The County Council has conceded that the pavement needs repair and it waits putting into the work schedule which it was in September. I chased them up again in November and January without a result. We are making a concerted effort to achieve a result as soon as possible.
Frith St/ Alma St/ Angle St
The play area on the corner of Alma and The Larches was placed back in Crown control after the debacle of the community management scheme that never happened. A person in Alma St wanted to buy the land and it was progressing although I think things have stalled. There are also issues with the state of the road in Frith St and Angle ST which I have reported
Big Mill
I received the following message a few weeks ago from SMDC
“The owner has a live planning and listed building consent application for the conversion of Big Mill into apartments (this was part of a larger scheme which included the conversion of Shade Mill which is now complete). The condition of Big Mill has deteriorated since this permission and we have a further planning and listed building consent application submitted which will more accurately reflect what the owner wants to do. Unfortunately, this application is invalid as it is missing a number of key documents such as an updated heritage statement and structural report, and despite correspondence and meetings we have not yet had the information we need.
Alongside this the owner is starting to undertake some urgent works to make the roof of the building weatherproof. Because of the condition of the building and health and safety of the contractors this work has had to be re-appraised. The large-scale sheeting of the roof has had to be dropped and they are now looking at boarding over and asphalt as a temporary measure”.