Talk about a great investment.

Last Saturday saw the official opening of the new and vastly improved Newbold Comyn Leisure Centre Leamington

WOW, now It is fair to say Cllr Redford and I could not be regarded as sporty, but this facility will blow your socks off!

Its great for absolutely everyone no matter what you like to do and with over its 3000 members already a great success and investment for the future.

The official ribbon cutting and revealing of a plaque was undertaken by the Chairman Cllr Stephen Cross & Cllr Michael Coker and there were a number of speeches and presentations, all of which was sometimes eclipsed by the screams of children enjoying themselves in the sports hall (which is how it should be)
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If you haven't been you should.  More details here 

WE would love you to come and spend your money so much so that you can park for free.....

Warwick District Council is hoping to give Leamington town centre’s retailers an added boost in the run up to Christmas by once again offering free parking in Covent Garden to support Thursday late night shopping and by opening up their HQ car park at Riverside House at weekends.

From this Saturday 17th November until Christmas Eve shoppers will be able to park for free at the Warwick District Council offices on Milverton Hill between 8am and 6pm on Saturdays and Sundays.

Late night shoppers can also park for free after 3pm in the Covent Garden Multi-Storey and surface car parks on Thursday 6th, 13th and 20th December.
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 Service of Celebration and Remembrance
by the Stoneleigh Historical Society & Stoneleigh Male voice Choir on 16th November 2018.

I had the pleasure and fortune to attend the Service of Celebration and Remembrance planned and arranged by the Stoneleigh Historical Society & Stoneleigh Male voice Choir on the 16th November 2018.

Nothing unusual you may be thinking, but it really was, as it looked to bring this dark period of history absolutely to life in real terms. 

What I mean by that is, it focused on those local people who gave their life along with those who’s previous sedate and normal life were so badly affected, and this ranged from “who can repair our boots and shoes” to those who were needed to support all of the critical agricultural elements and of course the estate that was Stoneligh & Ashow.

A difficult thing to imagine currently, yet , to hear someone read the letters and share the thoughts of those of that time in character made the whole thing real and thought provoking.

As the evening progressed the enormity of how this small community was affected became more and more apparent particularly towards the end when the focus was on “and when they ask us what it was it like” then culminating in a speech by Lloyd George at the end.

However, this wasn’t the end , The Stoneligh Historical Society has worked hard over the years to identify all those who gave the ultimate sacrifice not just by name but where they fell and where they are forever immortalised across the world.
This was not a normal remembrance event it was a proud and thoughtful history lesson of the area that will forever immortalise those affected, how they were affected and how they coped with it all something that we can only imagine .

​And for those like me who never lived through such a conflict a much-increased understanding as to how our community and its people were affected directly and if I dare say it how they “continued to get on with life” before, during and after.

Following up on the latest events with regards to the WDC HQ plans and following last nights council meeting which Cllr Redford & I both attended we would like to share an update with you.

Please see below a statement from the Leader of Warwick District Council Cllr Andrew Mobbs with regard to our HQ relocation project.

As you may already know the current timetable for the HQ project is for councillors to consider a report on the final decision on whether to proceed with the HQ relocation project at Executive on 28 November and that a subsequent Council meeting will be held on either 19 December or 3 January, to make any final decisions on funding the project.

If you attended the public meeting at the Spa Centre on Monday night, or watched online, you will have heard Councillor Peter Whiting, Finance Portfolio Holder, explain that the role of the 3 members of the Executive who are on the Limited Liability Partnership (LLP) Board is to ensure that the project not only delivers our objectives for new offices, a new larger car park and new housing but we get the best possible financial deal for our taxpayers.

At our meeting with officers on Monday, Executive heard that the extremely thorough due diligence process that they are following has not yet been completed, that discussions are still underway with Public Sector Plc to finalise the precise structure of the Stage Two financial and legal agreements and the necessary legal, technical and commercial advice cannot be obtained until this has been fixed.

Rather than ask officers to rush things to bring the report to November Executive at all costs, we decided that the prudent and proper approach is to defer the consideration of the final report by Executive, and we are now aiming for a date in January with a full Council, at a date to be agreed, in February.

I also gave a commitment to local businesses at the breakfast meeting we held on Tuesday, that we will not close the car parks until the car park displacement plan is finalised, has been widely communicated and all the practical support arrangements like new signage and Rangers on the ground to direct people to alternative parking are in place.

As the consequence of deferring the report will be that Covent Garden car park is now more likely to close in March 2019 than at the end of January, this allows us time to ensure we have completed the work at the new car parks we are creating and have communicated widely and effectively on all the alternative parking options available to shoppers, visitors and commuters. To that end I am pleased to advise that we are commissioning a local marketing business to assist us in getting the message out that Leamington will firmly remain “Open for Business” throughout the closure period and remains the vibrant and exciting destination that we all know it is.

​You will also be aware that a motion was put forward at last night’s meeting of Full Council by Councillor Quinney (Labour) and Councillor Gallagher (Independent) “That Council recommends to Executive that it defers taking final decisions on the Council Offices Relocation project to proceed to phase 2, And seeks public approval at a District-wide referendum to be held on May 2nd 2019.” This motion was debated at length during the meeting but on being put to the vote was not supported and therefore will not be taken forward.
Andrew Mobbs
Leader, Warwick District Council