Leader is confident about challenges

Councillor James Jamieson is confident he can tackle the issues brought about by the economic climate, and wants to bring to light the many aspects of the council’s work that the public do not always pick up on.

He said: “From knocking on people’s doors in the run-up to the local elections the most pressing issues for a lot of people are potholes in the roads, waste and other everyday matters which will of course always be important to people.

“But while these are of course aspects of life that Central Bedfordshire Council is responsible for, there is so much more to what we do, and I don’t think residents always appreciate quite how many areas of life we are involved in.”

A recent awards ceremony held for outstanding foster parents emphasised this, Mr Jamieson said.

He added: “The awards night brought home how many important people there are who care for vulnerable children, and this is just one of many key areas that is so vital to the community.

“Potholes for example do affect a lot of people and we understand this, but there are people in the community who depend on the services we provide to care for and protect vulnerable children and indeed adults.”

While Mr Jamieson is planning to introduce change to the council, this will be done gradually.

He said: “There will be changes but I would prefer for them to be made in gradual, incremental steps rather than try to do too much too soon.”

For the full story see the Biggleswade Chronicle of Friday, May 27.