The cuts which were well predicted prior to the election are gradually being announced and are starting to hit our area. Today we had the news that North Tees & Hartlepool Hospital won't get the new building that had been planned and almost promised. The need/desire for a new building was on the agenda when I was first elected to SBC 7 years ago and it's never been satisfactorily resolved. This project was going to be a huge building at Wynyard, requiring some major road improvements before it could open. It wouldn't have been easy to reach by public transport without some big changes to the timetables and routes. However, now it's back to the drawing board. How to deliver modern medical care in the area? Will we still get the health centre that's planned for Billingham? We wait to see.
I had a meeting this afternoon to consider the next review being undertaken by the Environment select committee. We'll be considering whether we can deliver services like car parking, blue badge administration, urban design etc more efficiently or even if we need to deliver them at all! I think I know what the answer to that last question will be, but efficiencies - that's another matter. It will have to look at the situation round car parking in Yarm as well as all the other town centres - no easy task! Still, this committee never gets the easy jobs.