This is my first column as the new leader of the Conservative group of Crawly Borough Council. This is my 15th year as a Borough Councillor in Crawley having first been elected in 1984 to represent Gossops Green which I continued to do for 7 years before leaving the Council to take up a post in the Senior Civil service in the Department of Health in 1991.
During these years the conservative group was the opposition but when I came back to the Council in 2006 having left the civil service and returned to General Practice in Gossops Green, the Conservative group had taken control of the Council. Since returning to the Council I have been fortunate to have had the opportunity to serve as Deputy Mayor, Mayor, and Chair of Development Control and for the last 3 years to May 2013, Chair of the Overview and Scrutiny Commission which deals with policy review.
Taking on the leadership of the group is a new challenge but I am fortunate in having a very experienced team of Councillors and a united group. I am also fortunate in the fact that Crawley Council has excellent officers and employees committed to work for the people of Crawley.
Last week Councillor Brenda Burgess mentioned in this column the connection between my name and “Crawley in Bloom”. We have co-incidentally this week seen the announcement of the South and South East in Bloom Awards held on the 11th September. Crawley has again been successful in gaining further awards having gained the gold award in the small city category, up against Canterbury and Fareham. Crawley has continued with its very successful record of achievements in this competition over the last 4 years having previously won several awards, including two gold awards in the small city category.
These awards reflect the hard work, dedication and creativity of our staff and enthusiastic community volunteers within the town. I, like my fellow councillors, am proud of the horticultural expertise, environmental responsibility and community participation in Crawley. The continuing success in this competition shows us the commitment of the volunteers and council staff to achieving excellence in keeping Crawley a great place to live and work.
I am encouraged by the containing success of our town and feel that to get the best outcomes for residents we need a degree of co-operation between the two main parties. The Council needs to work towards solutions to the issues facing us rather than concentrating on negative attitudes we have seen in the last few months.
My aim is to work with all members of the Council for the benefit of the town and to gain the best outcomes we can for the Borough.
Councillor Dr Howard Bloom
Leader of Crawley Borough Council
16th September 2013