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Housing is one of our biggest problems and frankly no one is getting to grips with it. We stopped building enough homes in the 1970s, after which Right-to-Buy undermined both the financial model for building council housing and the schemes council investment enabled. We’re living longer lives in smaller households, so regardless of what happens…
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For as long as I can remember people have been asking for an ice rink in Crawley. It’s something we’ve long tried to find a way to deliver and every time the numbers haven’t stacked up right. In drafting our manifesto preparing to regain control of the council in 2014, it came up again in…
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This afternoon was Crawley’s Annual Civic Service, an event held to bless all those involved in serving Crawley, asking for them to be provided with the support they need to delivering for the town over the coming year. The event is hosted by the Mayor and is attended by the town’s major political and community…
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So, after the best part of a week, Labour Conference as come to an end and its 13,000 pass holders have headed home to their respective constituencies. The debates and decisions taken at this conference have been the most significant of any Labour conference for some time, with some fundamental changes to the way the party…
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I write from Labour Conference, this year in Brighton. Political Conferences are always fun for party members, providing a chance to discuss issues of the day with like-minded people, but this year feels different. There’s a new energy and unity we haven’t for a while, with 13,000 passes issued and record delegate numbers. I spend…
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It occurred to me the other day that I’ve been attending Labour Annual Conferences, on and off, for almost 15 years now and I can honestly say that I have never seen anything like this year’s event. With a record number of delegates and 13,000 passes issued, the scale alone would be impressive. Yet, add…
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This morning I was very grateful to be given the opportunity to speak to representatives of local public and private sector organisations by providing the key-note speech to the Gatwick Diamond Economic Forum, titled ‘A Vision for Crawley’, in which I focused on the post-war Labour Government’s vision for the New Town, how we’ve worked…
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A substantial Local Growth Fund investment of £14.64 million has been confirmed by Coast to Capital Local Enterprise Company for a significant regeneration programme in Crawley. The Growth Programme includes an investment package of infrastructure improvements and physical regeneration designed to support significant increases in new homes, business investment and employment growth. With further match…
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Today councillors met with members of the Local Government Boundary Commission for England, the first step in redrawing the ward boundaries for the council, set to take effect in 2019. The review has been triggered by three wards being having a variance in population per member from the average of an extent deemed unacceptable by…
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There have been a number of stories in the press this week regarding the rising levels of household debt in the UK and The Guardian has produced a useful tool showing the levels of debt by area, the units used are large but Crawley is amongst the most indebted areas in the UK. While the…
Peter Lamb for Crawley 