Partnerships mean we can do more for people

First of all I’d like to wish everyone in Squires Gate and across Blackpool a belated Happy New Year.

There have been many enjoyable things I have been involved with since being elected as the first ever Labour councillor for the Squires Gate ward.

One of those has been the working relationship with the wide variety of small businesses down both Highfield Road and Harrowside.

For the last two years, I have joined our local MP Gordon Marsden and other Labour councillors in celebrating Small Business Saturday.

The day, which is now in its fourth year, is a great opportunity to celebrate some of the small niche businesses we have in Blackpool and for me in the ward I am proud to represent.

These include Blue Diamond, Montagues, Winstons and G&K Mitchel and Son, to name just a few different places.

I hope this is only the beginning and the chance to promote even more businesses and the diversity we have to offer in this part of the town.

It is also incredibly pleasing to see businesses getting together to improve the environment of the streets they are situated on and making shopping and socialising such a pleasurable experience.

The many businesses I have come into contact with are working with me to become a formally constituted group which will try and address many of the social issues that still exist within the area.

By working in partnership I believe we can do a lot more for the residents of Squires Gate.

On the other side of the Squires Gate ward, we have the Blackpool Enterprise Zone, which I believe has the potential to bring thousands of high skilled jobs to the area.

This is a really exciting project and one that I am looking forward to working with the council’s economic development team on to help make it the success we all know it can be.

Road safety is my priority

I intend to dedicate myself to the needs of residents in Squires Gate as wholeheartedly as I did last year and therefore be a part of the forward thinking community that wishes to improve the area.

With this in mind I would like to thank the efforts of Faye Sanderson (pictured) and the Friends of Solaris Park Group, who are trying to obtain a much needed zebra crossing on Clifton Drive adjacent to the Solaris Centre.

This will not only provide safe access for people to cross over to the park but also for the children wanting to use the play area.

Myself and others have been approaching community minded businesses for donations towards such a project and we will continue to pursue this avenue rigorously.

It has also recently come to my attention that residents living on Sandridge Road and Bosworth Place have been experiencing for a considerable number of time an increased volume of traffic, as it is being used as what we more commonly refer to as a “rat run”.

This is unacceptable - not only because no quiet residential area should suffer the blight of increased traffic but also the speed that which they often travel is danger to all whom are crossing the road.

As someone who was injured in a road accident myself just a few years ago, I am committed to the issue of road safety.

It is my firm wish to work closely with the residents in order to bring this situation to a satisfactory end.

If residents wish to contact me about the zebra crossing or the traffic problems on Sandridge Road and Bosworth they can contact me on [email protected] or 07804 029706.

I will also be holding my first ever advice surgery on Saturday February 4 at the Solaris Centre from 10.30am to 12.30pm.

Park fence to deter vandals

One of the places I most enjoy visiting in my role as the councillor for Squires Gate is Louie Horrock’s Park, just off Lytham Road.

Most recently I have been working closely with the brewery Greene King and the park’s friends group to provide a five foot high galvanised fence.

This support is in conjunction with funding from the Squires Gate ward budget for local projects.

Hopefully by installing a fence, this will help to prevent graffiti and deter anti-social activities.

It will also mean added security for neighbouring residents and ensure that local people can continue to enjoy the park.

If anyone is interested in offering any time or skills in gardening and basic maintenance work to support the friends of the park, please again contact me.

This can be done using the details already displayed on this page, and I will put respondents in touch with the relevant people.