Council

As the new chair to newent town council I wanted to take this great opportunity to share what we have done and what we hope to do.

As with all new things there is often change, on this occasion there has been many changes all at once. As a council newent said goodbye to the previous town clerk at the end of April, we also had an election on the 4th of may, which saw 6, all incredibly experienced, councillors not stand for reelection. However 4 experienced councillors did stand for reelection and myself and one other stood as new candidates. As a current council of 6 with a new town clerk we have found ourselves in an exciting position, with fresh eyes, and renewed enthusiasm.

As a new council we have already strongly objected to a large development on the outskirts of newent town itself and have requested a meeting with the town planner and strategic planner to ensure we have knowledge of how we strategically object in the future.

The newent recreation ground trust have continued with the project of the community pavilion on the recreation ground, the build has been incredibly fast paced, and the trust wish to thank the architects and builders for the smooth running of the project, the trust are now looking to set up a user or bookings group to set up the future calendar of the community pavilion. If you or a group you know might be Interested in using the pavilion once completed please contact the newent town council office.

I have also attended a walk around the Haygrove Ell brook community gardens project. This wild meadow has the potential to be a wonderful addition to our community, for groups to enjoy and I encourage you to follow their progress on fb.

On the 19th of June we also invited representatives from the newent branch of the British legion and retired group captain Anny Reid to attend our armed forces flag raising in the town. It was only a small event but the first of its kind for our town for a few years and one we hope to add to our calendar in the future.

Our estates team have recently managed to secure in place two more of the ornate wood carvings around the lake, which a are a lovely asset to that area. The flower displays in the town have also had a seasonal refresh, the colour scheme, decided earlier in the year, of red white and blue is very fitting in the year of the kings coronation. The plants were also chosen carefully to withstand our increasingly dry summers. I wish to say a huge thank you to the hard working estates team, who often don’t get the credit they deserve.

We hope very soon to have more new councillors which will allow us to continue with the committees, enabling us to build on the previous councils great foundations. We hope that through our committees we can welcome more of the community to work with the council, through working groups, using the great knowledge our community have and utilising individuals expertise and passion. We hope together we can build on some of the projects the previous council gifted us, and initiate our own.

I hope to share more plans with you all as time goes on.