Wednesday, January 27, 2010

Area Action Plan

The Preston Park saga rumbled on through the day with contributions on radio from the Conservative Parliamentary candidate and an IBIS councillor this morning then an item on the local TV news tonight.
Meanwhile I'd a meeting this morning to discuss issues around safeguarding children and vulnerable adults in the borough in the light of recent inspections. I'm reasonably confident that the vast majority of people are as safe as can be in Stockton but we can never say "it'll never happen here" and these things have to be looked at and scrutinised carefully always.
Tonight was the "stakeholder" meeting to discuss options for the Yarm & Eaglescliffe Area Action Plan. Back in July 2007 we had the first meeting and expected the document to work its way through the system quite quickly. How wrong can you be? Pressures of work in the department meant it waited until now to get to the next stage. But just like last night it was important to put acrimony and history to one side and work to get a suitable solution for the future. This time the questions are round how to define the character of the area, how to conserve the good while encouraging the economic growth areas like Durham Lane Industrial Estate and Preston Farm, how to keep the open spacious feel but have some affordable housing for the young and the elderly. Again, it was good to be able to share our thoughts and concerns without it being an election issue or us against them in any way.

No comments: