Dog waste bins, street lights, daffodils

Just a few of the things which we ward councillors discussed today. We have a small budget for such things to be spent in the ward and this month we need to make firm decisions on how to allocate the funds. Some things are easy - a dozen or more people have asked for a dog waste bin on one footpath so as long as we can establish a suitable location that's an obvious contender. Others have asked for more flowers along the roadside verges - another obvious contender. There are also proposals for extra street lighting, CCTV coverage of potential areas of anti-social behaviour and for tree planting. There are more ideas than we can possibly fund but we're looking at how to make the best possible use of the money available. We'll be consulting on the detail of some schemes in the not too distant future.
Children in the care of the local authority were the subject of this afternoon's meeting with some very positive news on some aspects of their care, and the very welcome addition to the partnership of one young person in care. Getting the best possible results for our young people is one of the most important jobs the council does, and our role as "corporate parents" to young people whose birth families can't do that parenting job is so vital to those youngsters.