Local issues matter

I spent yesterday evening at two very interesting meetings. I first attended Cawston Parish Council which is a new Council, holding only its fourth meeting having been established to serve the residents of the new Cawston housing estate. The matters they considered were very local to the estate: dog fouling and bins; overgrown hedges on a footpath; thoughtless parking; youth disturbances; illegal riding of mini motorcycles; availability of community facilities; relationships with the consortium of developers building the estate; preparing a newsletter. These are the kind of issues I became very familiar with during my five years as a Borough Councillor, attending meetings of the seven Parish Councils in my ward. I was reminded just how important these kind of issues are to local people and what an impact they can have on people’s quality of life. Big national issues are important, but often making a change on a small local matter can be the most important difference for many people. With a new Council, full of enthusiasm and ably led by Mike Stokes, the residents of Cawston can be confident that local issues that concern them will be dealt with swiftly and competently.

I then went on to the quarterly meeting of Dunchurch Divisional Panel. This is a meeting I am very familiar with having attended while I was a Borough Councillor. I caught the end of the meeting and again the issues discussed were very local: road maintenance; village policing; temporary closure of the local tip. However I was there for a discussion on the possible threat to St Cross Hospital with this group taking a lead in preparing a campaign should such action become necessary. There was a real determination to defend an asset hugely valued by the people of Rugby and I was left in no doubt about how effective and organised that campaign will be.