To receive any announcements from the Leader.
Minutes:
The Leader made the following announcements:
I am pleased to have this opportunity to tell you some good news about recent Council successes.
Shepperton has been named as the most courteous town in the UK by officials from the National Campaign for Courtesy, a UK registered charity that stands for and promotes good manners, respect and courtesy for all. The award will be presented to Cllr Sider at a ceremony on 21 October.
In line with our ongoing programme of investment in properties which generate sustainable revenue streams, I am pleased to announce the purchase of two further commercial properties since our last Council meeting: an office development in Stockley Park, Uxbridge; and the ‘World Business Centre 4’ office development at Heathrow. We also completed the purchase of Benwell House in Sunbury, a site outside the Green Belt, which is set to be converted into much needed housing for the Borough.
Improvements have been made to Edinburgh Drive in Staines-upon-Thames as part of a £200,000 project, jointly funded by Spelthorne and Surrey County Council, to improve four shopping parades in the Borough. We think the changes help demonstrate our commitment to invest in Spelthorne and support the small businesses that residents rely on.
Events that have taken place include the annual Junior Citizen Event attended by 1000 year-6 pupils; ‘Living Well Week’ promoting the activities and services available to help older people improve their health; ‘Spelthorne Skills and Careers Fair opened by Kwasi Kwarteng MP, the biggest we’ve ever held; and Spelthorne Sports Awards where awards were presented to sporting stars in recognition of their efforts and dedication to sport in our Borough.
Each year Spelthorne donates a proportion of the money raised from the textiles collection service to charity. The chosen charity for this year was the Manna Food Bank, based in Staines-upon-Thames, which received a cheque for £800 this month.
We know that anti-social behaviour can blight communities, so on 10th October Spelthorne’s Community Safety Partnership held a public meeting at the Council Offices to outline the work undertaken by the Council, Surrey Police and other local agencies to tackle crime and anti-social behaviour. Chaired by Cllr Gething, the Council’s Cabinet Member for Environment and Compliance, the meeting featured a number of presentations and a question and answer session for residents to raise issues of concern.
As evidence that Spelthorne Means Business when it comes to law enforcement, the Council has recently secured the conviction of a Stanwell resident who dumped unsightly rubbish in the Borough and was illegally trading in waste and scrap metal, and a Hounslow resident who was found guilty of accepting cash donations and selling trinkets in the Borough without the necessary charity collection and street trading consents. Well done to the JET and Licensing teams.
Finally I would like to again put on record my gratitude for all those that helped with the two counter-terrorism incidents which occurred over the weekend of 16th and 17th of September. I would like to thank the Metropolitan and Surrey Police forces for their decisive action in dealing with these incidents. I would also like to commend the residents whose lives were disrupted for their patience and support during what must have been a very difficult time for them. The Council is also indebted to the Staines Rugby Club and our own Greeno Community Centre staff, who opened their facilities at short notice to provide residents with a warm and safe refuge. This was an incredible team effort which also involved councillors and staff from a number of our other services, which I believe demonstrates all that is good with our Borough.