Time to have your say on the future direction of the country
BY the time this is printed, it will be polling day, where the people of Tamworth and across the UK will be able to have their say on the future direction of our country.
If you’re reading this on Thursday, I urge you to take the time to vote. Polling stations are open until 10pm, and please remember your ID. I know we all have busy lives, but it is so important to have your say, whichever way you vote.
As I have said in my previous pieces, we have a lot to talk about, but we are consciously waiting until after the conclusion of the general campaign.
However, there are a few things which we’d like to report this week.
We all came together in the Castle grounds to commemorate Armed Forces day on Saturday, which is always an important date in the diary.
It is a chance to show our support for the men and women who make up the Armed Forces community: from currently serving personnel to service families, veterans and cadets.
I also wanted to give Cllr Ben Clarke, cabinet member for housing, homelessness and planning, some space for an important update: “I was happy to see the handover of the former Wilnecote Day Centre to the council as new social housing.
“The developers, Cornerstone Partnership, were fantastic to work with. They engaged with the community and showed real passion in saving and re-purposing the historic schoolhouse, giving it a second history as homes for people in Tamworth.
“This kind of partnership working is exactly what we are looking to replicate across Tamworth. As a council, we are aware of the challenges local government faces, and we know we can’t deliver everything on our own. We must work cooperatively with partners, businesses, and other local authorities.
“This project also brings into sharp focus the scale of the problem we all face to deliver the right amount of housing, in the right place, which meets local needs. Our councillors are getting more and more cases of residents being unable to find suitable accommodation.
“The scale of the problem is huge and we must play our part in Tamworth - building new homes for the future and upgrading our current stock so they are fit for local families.”
Thanks to Cllr Clarke for his hard work on this project and also the late Cllr Michael Greatorex who gave up so much time to ensure that this building was rightly saved and some good came from it and whose involvement has been recognised by the naming one of the roads on the site - Greatorex Close.