Lancaster East is a varied and vibrant area, containing communities such as Newton, the Ridge, Freehold, Primrose, Moorlands, Standen Park and the area around Regent Street. The division also includes a large part of the city centre of Lancaster, Lansil Industrial Estate, Williamson Park, Scotch Quarry Urban Park, Ridge Woods, Ridge Lea Hospital, Lancaster Moor Hospital and Lancaster Farms Young Offenders Institution. Two complete electoral wards of the City Council - Bulk and Dukes - are included in Lancaster East, along with around half of John o'Gaunt. My patch includes much of the housing surrounding the University of Cumbria, although the University buildings themselves form part of the division of Lancaster South East.
At present the Lancaster East division is served by five Green Party councillors on Lancaster City Council (plus two Labour councillors who share responsibility for the part of the John o'Gaunt ward). This means that I have a great team of colleagues to work with when residents are having problems. The County and City Councils have responsibility for different kinds of issues, but if you are unsure who to approach about an issue in Lancaster East just contact me or your ward councillor as you prefer - we are in frequent touch and are happy to help to resolve issues as far as we are able.
The Green City Councillors and I are working closely on a number of issues at present, such as road safety, especially around the area of East Road, Wyresdale Road, Moor Lane and Quernmore Road. This area is particularly important due to the very high number of road crossings made by school pupils each day - there are five schools within half a mile of the road junction. Other important issues include the proposed residents' parking scheme for the Regent Street area, which is currently under consultation, and the proposal to close down Ridge Lea hospital. We are also working on issues arising from the legal requirement to store wheelie bins and recycling boxes in back yards - which can often be very small, especially in terraced housing - and we are also monitoring concerns about the new traffic calming measures in Newton.
The other big news story in Lancaster East is the outcome of the recent Public Inquiry into the proposed Centros development of the Canal Corridor North site. On 22nd December 2009 we were delighted to receive the Secretary of State's decision a whole month before we expected the Inspector's report. The Secretary of State decided to reject all the Centros planning applications for the canal corridor site on the basis of the Inspector's report. City Councillor John Whitelegg, who is to be nominated for the Councillor of the Year Awards in part for his tireless work on this issue, said, 'We now need to move on and produce a plan that delivers a community vision for this site, celebrates our distinctive buildings and places and does not set out to make us a carbon copy of Basingstoke or Slough.'
If you think that there are other issues which I should be working on for Lancaster East please let me know through the 'Contact Me' page.