19th December 2007, 07/444
Christmas and New Year message from the
Leader
Another year has almost come to an end and what a fantastic 2007
it has been with lots of good news stories for West Lancashire
District Council.
I think it's fair to say that we can all start the festive season
in high spirits knowing that we are 'excellent' - as rated by the
government's Audit Commission in the summer during our review of
services and performance. We are not complacent however and will be
looking to continue to improve.
We've also got a string of awards under our belts for everything
from customer services, planning, legal and human resources to
leisure and effective leadership.
Over the last 12 months we have enjoyed many other successes that
will benefit our residents.
Progress has been made on a wide range of key initiatives including
the Skelmersdale Vision partnership with St. Modwen, one of the
biggest regeneration projects for Skelmersdale. The Market Towns
Initiative to revitalise Ormskirk and Burscough is also making good
progress.
We have attracted lots of external funding to the district, notably
£314,000 from the 'Investing in Business Regeneration Programme'
and businesses are being supported as a result.
Recycling rates continue to climb, with the roll out of textiles
and cardboard recycling over the last year. And there have also
been dramatic improvements in the cleanliness of the
district.
Combating crime and the fear of crime remains a top priority and we
have invested in many initiatives. We launched a Domestic Violence
Strategy with partners earlier this year and CCTV is being
expanded. We have also made significant improvements in Digmoor,
Moorside and parts of Tanhouse, as a result of our £3.7m Safer
Stronger Communities scheme.
We have continued to target investment in order to reduce homes
failing the decent homes standard. We have also undertaken a review
of affordable housing and will be putting together an action plan
to address this issue in the New Year.
Customer services are stronger than ever and our Customer Service
Point in Skelmersdale was named 'Front-Line Customer Service Team
of the Year' in the recent National Customer Awards. Whilst our
website was named best district council website in the
country.
Beacon Country Park scooped the National Green Flag award in July
and usage of leisure and cultural facilities has continued to
increase with over one million visitors in the past 12 months. Our
partnership with West Lancashire Community Leisure Trust is also
paying off with more investment than ever before at the leisure
centres - the most recent being £100,000 for new all weather sports
pitches at Banks Leisure Centre.
For 2008 we have set ourselves an even more challenging programme
to benefit our residents.
So on that note I would like to wish everyone a very merry
Christmas and a prosperous New Year.
Cllr Geoff Roberts
Leader of West Lancashire District Council
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