Good progress on priority areas
Hounslow Council Leader Jagdish Sharma has highlighted the good progress being made on the council’s priority areas for improving the borough.
Speaking at this week’s Borough Council meeting, Cllr Sharma said:
“We made five pledges to residents shortly after the elections in May 2010 setting out our vision for Hounslow, and we are making good progress on making them a reality.
“Our staff continue to work closely with the local Police, with more joint operations and more visible policing across the borough, including on housing estates.
“A dedicated team of ten police officers is now based at the Civic Centre and we recently recruited ten additional ‘specials’ who are working with our neighbourhood community safety coordinators at a local level, and the most recent figures show a 4.3 per cent reduction in crime, making the borough a safer place to live and work.
“Our pupils continue to do well, with another year of exceptional results at GCSE and A-Level, and we are continuing to invest in schools, with a focus on ensuring we have enough school places to meet the needs of our growing population. We created an extra 780 pupil places in the last academic year and have approved the expansion of fifteen primary schools from September 2014.
“Despite the tough economic climate and public sector spending restraints, we are working as hard as possible to deliver more jobs and affordable homes across the borough.
“The Hounslow economic business forum is supporting local businesses, and we are working with partners like West Thames College to help residents into work.
“We are also making good progress to deliver on our promise of 2500 affordable homes in the borough.
“January saw the launch of our £800 million road and pavement improvement programme, with work already well under way to deliver new and clean streets across the borough.
“We also launched our grimebuster hotline, offering a 24-hour response to reports of graffiti, litter and dumped rubbish, which has seen an improvement in street cleanliness.
“We have continued to achieve our savings targets through efficiencies and internal reorganisation, and despite significant budget reductions by central Government we delivered a 0.5 per cent reduction in council tax for 2013/14.
“These achievements demonstrate good progress towards achieving all five pledges despite the challenging economic situation, but the council’s efforts have resulted in substantial success.”
PLEDGE 1: Action on crime with 100 uniformed officers on the street and CCTV in crime hotspots
PLEDGE 2: Extra cash into local schools to improve standards and new school places to give parents a better choice
PLEDGE 3: Create a new partnership with local businesses and housing associations to create jobs and build 2,500 affordable homes to rent or buy
PLEDGE 4: A 24/7 team of Grimebusters to tackle graffiti, litter and dumped rubbish and a direct dial phone number for immediate action
PLEDGE 5: A fresh war on waste and a council tax cut for all residents
May 3, 2013