Community spirit is alive and well in Waltham Crescent

Congratulations to local residents in Waltham Crescent and to the members of the Four Walls Tenants and Residents Association who spent yesterday planting daffodil bulbs on the grass verges around the close.

I am looking forward to seeing the area in bloom come the spring!

Lottery Boost For St. James' Park

St. James' Park in Shirley

St. James' Park has received a £65,000 cash boost from the Heritage Lottery Fund. This will allow detailed plans to be drawn up for the full £1.5million park improvement scheme.

The lottery funding awarded will enable work on the detailed designs to progress over the next 6 months and is a key step towards converting the vision of park users into a reality.

The Friends of St James’ Park have been working with local people on ideas for the park. Plans for the park include:

- fully refurbishing the WW2 building with a café and community room,

- creating two new entrances to the park,

- refurbishing the tennis courts,

- improving play facilities with something for both young and old!

Lord's Hill Academy

At the launch of the Lord's Hill Academy

On Monday I went to the inaugural meeting of the council of the newly opened Lord's Hill Academy. I have just been appointed to the school council as the local authority's representative.

There have been some big improvements made to both the Oaklands and the Millbrook site, with the buildings freshly painted and with new signs. The new school has had to make huge changes in to prepare for the new term in a very short space of time and it is a tribute to the new headmaster and his team that everything has gone so smoothly.

A Two Year Council Tax Freeze

Southampton along with the rest of the South East is chronically underfunded by central Government, with a disproportionate amount of the taxes we pay being transferred to the North of England.

Locally whilst Southampton’s Labour MPs have defended the situation and refused to stand up to Gordon Brown, the Conservatives have campaigned for a fairer deal for the city.

Council Tax has more than doubled under Labour in the last 11 years. Locally we all remember the 18% hike of the last Labour City Council administration.

I was therefore delighted to hear the announcement at our October party conference, that an incoming Conservative government would freeze council tax for 2 years, saving families in Southampton around £200 and providing an extra £4m of government funding for the city.


Other Conservative policies to help with the rising cost of living:

HELP AT THE PUMPS
We will introduce a Fair Fuel Stabiliser - when fuel prices go up, fuel duty would fall.

HELP FOR FAMILIES
As we save money on wasteful welfare, we will abolish Labour's couple penalty in the tax credits sysetem - giving 1.8 million couples an extra £2,000 a year.

HELP FOR FIRST TIME-BUYERS
We will permanently abolish Stamp Duty for first-time buyers on purchases up to £250,000 - nine out of ten first-time buyers will pay no Stamp Duty at all, saving an average of £2,000 each.

HELP WITH YOUR BILLS
We will cut the energy and gas bills of up to four million people by £100 by reforming Post Office Accounts to allow families without bank accounts to access cheaper tariffs.

HELP FOR MOTORISTS
We will oppose Labour's new tax on family cars, which will hit 1 million owners of family cars bought up to 7 years ago with tax rises of up to £250.

Hill Lane Crossing Works Underway

Work on the junction of Hill Lane and Raymond Road is now well underway.

Southampton City Council is installing a new pedestrian and cycle crossing. The pavement has also been widened on Hill Lane to improve visibility for cars turning right from Raymond Road. Click HERE for further details.

Plan For Change

Back From Conference

I have just got back from Conservative Party Conference in Birmingham.

We have had an excellent few days, capped by David Cameron's leader's speech this afternoon. In his speech he pledged to rebuild our battered economy, renew our bureaucratised NHS and repair our broken society. David Cameron stressed that in these difficult times, Britain needs leadership, character and judgement.

I have attached the full speech below: