what have we been up to in 2020/21

Click2020 has been a very difficult year for everyone and like all of us we have had to review and adjust the way we work and interact with all of the organisations we need to, the Council officers, our constituents and the Parish Councils as almost all of our meeting have had to be virtual.
The pandemic and lock down have increased or involvement in many areas and we have some of the most significant major developments in the area we represent.
We have also seen our work load and case activities increase substantially during the lock down in the following areas.

• Planning
• Waste Management
• Grant Support
• Covid testing/planning and support
• General issues around HS2, New Build developments, A45/A46 plans, Coventry Gateway and the recently proposed Gigafactory at Coventry Airport.

As many of you know we have 5 Parish Councils which meet on average every 6 weeks.
In addition to this we both serve on 3 Committees each and as with PC meetings they meet every 6 weeks.
On Average we spend 25 hours a week of District Council Activities for our Constituents. 
Hs2 Activity
As you know Hs2 has increased its activity in the area as the progarmme gathers more pace, in the past year we have continued to work with all of the local organisations involved including Jeremy Wright MP and the Hs2 Commissioner to minimise the impact in our area and where possible secure funding for specific areas affected by the disruption.
This has been both challenging and painful and we expect this to continue, however we can positively report that we have secured significant grants for various community improvements including new playground equipment.
Coventry Gateway South
Like Hs2 the activity has increased in the past year and whilst there have been issues, we have continued to work and liaise between the community and contractors to minimise any issues raised.
Kings Hill Development
There have been ongoing concerns about the ONS population numbers which drive the housing requirement for the area along with that of the published traffic data. Both Cllr Pam Redford and Cllr Trevor Wright have continued to challenge the plans for the number of houses identified in the local plan and working with others including Jeremy Wright MP to have these numbers reviewed. It has been acknowledged by the ONS that the data provided may not be robust as a consequence they are now under review.
Gigafactory (at Coventry Airport)
Cllr Pam Redford and Cllr Trevor Wright have been very active since this project broke and will continue to work with all the developers and the local community to minimise any local impact
We are also opposing any move to remove Coventry Airport from the Green Belt.
Council Activities
Within the council we have continued to ensure that the rural areas have not been ignored and left behind, we know there has been frustrations with certain services and we have worked on individual cases to resolve these issues many of which were as a result of lock down and necessary working restrictions.
We have worked and campaigned hard in terms of controlling any council tax increases and the introduction of any unfair policies that may be discriminatory to our rural community.
In 2020 The Climate Emergency Policy was adopted which has resulted in the development of a number of policies and activities part of which was provided via a “Peoples Forum” more details are available at
https://www.warwickdc.gov.uk/info/20468/sustainability_and_climate_change
You may also be aware that there is ongoing work with Stratford Town Council focusing on looking at any clear benefits in terms of shared services etc to maintain quality whilst controlling costs for the residents of the WDC Area.
Grant and support have been a major and key element this year and at WDC we took the view to encourage people to apply for all of the grants becoming available, this included setting up a team to contact local businesses in order to help them apply for anything they were eligible for rather than just waiting for them to apply.
We have recently secured a high street development grant of over £2.5M from the government which will help our local businesses recovery.
More information on WDC activities in the past year is attached.
 
Finally, it’s been a tough year for everyone and hopefully we are through the worst, Cllr Pam Redford & Cllr Trevor Wright have continued to support the residents often in very difficult and frustrating times, we know the next year will be just a challenging particularly in terms of finance and major developments locally and you can be assured our activities will continue to remain focused on getting the best outcomes for our residents.
 
 
 

Cllr Pam Redford                                                                                                          Cllr Trevor Wright
Cubbington & Leek Wootton (Inc Ashow, Bagington, Bubbenhall, Guys Cliffe & Stoneleigh)
 

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