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Notes:
WYRE FOREST DISTRICT COUNCIL
ANNUAL REPORT OF ACTIVITIES 2009/10
COUNCILLOR: Douglas Godwin
WARD: Rock
Section 1: Ward Activities (including Surgeries)
I am Chairman of Rock Parish Council – I attend monthly meetings and deal with various parish problems, which are inevitably linked, to the District. I have also attended Parish Council meetings in Bayton on matters of concern to both parishes.
I attend the annual Remembrance service and other church services and events held at the five churches within my Ward including the St Georges Day Service for the Scouts and funeral services for residents of the Ward.
I attend the Rock Church fetes and the village show along with the Clows Top and District garden show, the Callow Hill Horticultural Show and school fetes at Far Forest Primary School. I also attend meetings with the Police and Community Support Officers and local Partners and Communities Together (PACT) meeting on community safety.
I make sure that I am seen meeting and greeting residents every weekend. I also visit those I know are in the more isolated places, or have special needs.
I re-started the Management Committee for the Bliss Gate Playing Field Charity and was involved with the refurbishment of the playground equipment. I also assisted in the raising of funds for the upkeep and repair of the playing fields.
I have regular contact with the Scout and Guides and was able this year to arrange grants for them as well as for Far Forest Village Hall to help groups such as the Mother and Toddler Group and the Far Forest Friends Group.
I write a regular column in the local news magazine the Rock & District News, “Douglas's District Diary”, which keeps people in touch with what I am doing. I also help produce and edit the Conservative Party News letter “Rock Matters” which is posted and delivered by hand throughout the Ward.
I provide advice via telephone, e-mail and letters on matters including; planning, highways and rights of way, environmental concerns including drainage and sewer problems, farming and agricultural problems, waste disposal and fly tipping, recycling and refuse collection, health problems and access to services at District and County level, dealing with abandoned cars, police and security issues and some matters are referred to County Council, the Housing Association, NHS Trusts, or Central Government Departments or the MP, Mr Billy Wiggin MP.
Section 2: Council Meetings
I sit on the following Committees: Community & Regeneration Scrutiny Committee, Council, Ethics & Standards, Kidderminster Educational Foundation, Local Development Framework Core Strategy Review Panel, Planning, Renewable Energy and Efficiency Review Panel. These committees take up a lot of time in the evening reading agendas. Planning sometimes involves site meetings to look at a specific problem. I have difficulty in attending these in the week, but often look at the site at the weekend.
Most committee meetings are in the evening and I attend them after work. The Planning Committee is often very time consuming but is one of the District Council's most important functions.
I have also attended meetings on the new Kidderminster railway station and the proposed Incinerator Development at Hartlebury Trading Estate. I am involved in meetings on developments in the Ward and District concerning the better use of energy and the potential for small-scale power generation.
Section 3: Achievements
I spent a great deal of time working on the Bliss Gate Playing Field Charity project, finding out who was and is still a trustee and forming a new management committee arranging help with insurance and future funding of the project.
I assisted in the placement of speed warning signs on the A456, which are now expected shortly.
I have dealt with the removal of fly tipping and tyres that are dumped on the roadside and abandoned cars.
I have obtained replacement grit bins for those damaged in the past and new bins within the Ward.
I have dealt with planning enforcement matters.
I help in the “Big Tidy Up” in the ward clearing up rubbish from the roadside twice a year.
I have been involved in having road drainage repairs done and maintenance of safety barriers after pursing this for six year, and the clearing of blocked roadside drains again after pursuing this for three years.
Section 4: Special Knowledge
I am a property solicitor and practice in Bridgnorth and so have a wide experience in planning matters. I was born in Mamble and brought up in the ward, I have a vast knowledge of my area and its residents and an understanding of rural way of life particularly from a farming perspective. I come from a local farming family so residents know I know what I am talking about and I can relate to their concerns both on a business and personal level. My training as a lawyer means I have an insight into the many aspects of the law, which results in me being able to advise my constituents on various problems, which may not be Council related, e.g. boundary disputes or matrimonial matters.
My previously held seat on Malvern District Council means I have a good understanding of Local Government management and of the running of such an institution also who the movers and shakers are in my neighbouring Wards – people who can often help with a problem and advise on matters arising from this unique rural nature and area which is on the boarder with Malvern Hill District Council and the now unitary Shropshire Council.
I have served on the Rock Parish Council for six years. I have been the Chairman for three years and a School Governor for six years for a primary school in Kidderminster. I have also been active with the Churches in Mamble and Rock. (I helped with the refurbishment of the bells of Mamble Church.) I maintain contacts with our MP, Billy Wiggin (Leominster) and the sitting MP in Wyre Forest Ward, Dr. Richard Taylor.
This situation will be changing at the next general election with the Ward returning to the Wyre Forest Constituency. The residents of this Ward know I care about our Ward and its communities.
Section 5: Attendance Percentage for 2009/10
73%.
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