Leader of the Council New Year Message

Cllr Andy Tree, Leader of the Council, New Year Message

 

It has been another year of ups and downs! The Covid situation thankfully became much better but we have seen national issues such as War in Ukraine, inflation and ‘cost of living crisis’ directly affecting local matters. I remain cautiously optimistic that the new Morrisons will start being built this year but still fighting for adequate Health Facility proposals to come forward, as we understand having excellent Health Services is a number one priority for residents and I will continue to lobby those in power to deliver.

 

I am proud that we as a town council made some real ‘grassroots’ community differences this year, such as funding the Platinum Jubilee Festival at Mill Chase Recreation Ground and creating ‘Woody’s Walk’ in honour of Brian Wood MC.

 

I am pleased to say that we have frozen our share of council tax per household for the second year running for 2023-24, whilst supporting valuable local organisations that benefit residents with grants, including: Phoenix Theatre, Citizens Advice, Community Association (Town Partnership) and Homestart. We also continue to protect the Greenspaces we control including Bordon Inclosure and Deadwater Valley Nature Reserve, where a new ten-year service contact awarded to Deadwater Valley Trust to manage them has started positively.

 

The Death of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II was a very strange time, given the continuity of her reign for the vast majority of us. I went to Buckingham Palace and laid flowers on behalf of Whitehill & Bordon residents in our parish.

 

I see regular posts on social media asking for help or advice, with many kind offers of assistance that follow. I still speak regularly to the police about vandalism and anti-social behaviour, but the positive thoughtfulness of our community far outweighs the negatives and I love living here.

 

I thank all fifteen town councillors who have served and all our council employees, who implement the policies of the council on a day-to-day basis as the backbone of our operation! My friend and colleague Councillor Leeroy Scott has been a superb Town Mayor, representing our Council and Community and I very much look forward to his Charity Valentine Gala is on Thursday 16 February 2023 at the Forest Community Centre. Tickets can be booked using this link: https://bit.ly/leeroygala

 

I remain committed to representing our community, trying to work with third party decision-makers to achieve results but never shying away from robustly standing up for you when required!

Best wishes to all residents for 2023!