Richard Church

The founder of Carphone Warehouse, David Ross has won the competition to take over Unity College as an academy.

Andrew and Richard have both spoken against the plans pushed through by Conservative County councillors at the first opportunity since they were re-elected. ’The Conservatives have shown little interest in the views of parents, pupils or teachers at the school’ said Richard Church.  Mr Ross already runs one school in Grimsby which is performing little better than Unity. How can we have any confidence that he knows as much about running a school as selling mobile phones?

Richard Church was re-elected as the County Councillor for Kingsley on June 4th. The full result was-

Richard Church (Liberal Democrat) 709

Eamon Fitzpatrick (Independent) 493

Labour 463

Conservative 457

Green 284

Thank You to everyone who voted in this election

I attended a meeting of Kingsthorpe Hollow Residents Association on Thursday evening. Residents were particularly concerned that a number of new tenants in the flats were causing a nuisance, particularly where there were elderly neighbours in sheltered accomodation. I am also taking up a request from residents of Monarch Rd for the cul-de-sac sign to be replaced to stop lorries turning in.

There was a lively discussion about the town centre, and agreement on the need to redevelop the bus station and expand the Grosvenor centre to provide better facilities for bus passengers and a better selection of shops.

Pot holes and unsafe pavements have got worse after four years of Conservative control of the County Council. Streets in Northampton have been neglected while money has been spent elsewhere.

This year Lib Dem County councillors proposed an additional £3 million to tackle potholes and broken pavements. Our proposal was voted down by the ruling County Tories.

Sadly, it looks as if last year’s Balloon Festival may have been the last. It has been a popular event for nearly 20 years, but since the sponsorship for shaped balloons ended a few years ago it has been more and more difficult to make the festival pay for itself. Even with the charge, to hold it again would have cost the equivalent of £3 for every council tax payer, at a time when the Council is having to find over £8 million in savings due to the recession and lack of government funding.

To continue the balloon festival there would have had to be more severe cuts in other council services. With many other difficult decisions to take we do not believe that could have been justified.

New road signs have been put up at the junction of Kingsley Road and Abington Grove. It’s a long time since Abington Grove had any street signs, many people didn’t even know it was there!

Tree planting throughout Kingsley has started. New trees have been planted in Kingsley Rd, Park Avenue North,  The Drive, The Vale, Milton St. North, Kenmuir Avenue and Kenmuir Crescent. The trres have funded by my County Council budget for Kingsley.

Trees have been selected based on the mature size appropriate to each site, and are well protected against vandalism. Let’s hope they flourish.

Despite overwhelming opposition from pupils, parents, teachers; governors and the local community at Unity College, the County Council are going ahead with the next stage of fast tracking Unity to become an academy.

I attended the meeting, together with parents, pupils and teachers, where the Council’s cabinet member for schools, Conservative Councillor Joan Kirkbride made the decision to go ahead. There were many excellent conributions from those who spoke, and no-one had a good word to say about the proposal, or the botched consultation that has happened so far.

With the support of at least 7 other councillors, I am going to ask that the decision is ‘called in’ for examination by the councils scrutiny committee.

With a new head and new buildings, Unity desperately needs a period of stability in which it can work to improve. Now is not the time to be fast tracked into another organisational shake up with little evidence that it will achieve anything that cannot be done under the current arrangements.

The Council have declared Barrack Rd and the Park Avenue North/Kettering Rd roundabout as designated air quality management areas. Some other busy junctions, such as the Cock Hotel, have already been AQMA’s for a while.

Both of these areas have been tested over recent months for Nitrogen Dioxide, one of the main pollutants from traffic, and they are above the government targets, requiring that they are designated as air quality management areas (AQMA).

Both areas will continue to be monitored, and if the level of pollution does not fall then a management plan has to be prepared to show how the pollution may be tackled. This is particularly a matter for the County Council as the Highways Authority to show how traffic levels may be reduced. Ultimately though, it’s up to all of us. The more people use public transport, bike or walk into town, the less traffic and the less pollution particularly for people who live in the immediate vicinity of these roads.

Andrew Simpson and I attended a meeting for parents and residents about plans to turn Unity College into an academy. This means the school would close as a Church of England Secondary School funded through the County Council and re-open as a Church of England Academy.

There was strong opposition to the plan from the parents present, who spoke in support of the existing head teacher, who has been in post for less than a year, but would be replaced under this proposal. There were also concerns (voiced by both Andrew and Richard) that the proposal would weaken the schools links with the local community , and that it was being proposed only to tackle a large defecit in the schools budget.

See my earlier post for more info.