Cllr Stephen Phillips' Diary Spring 2024
It’s now been a year since I first joined St. Anne’s on the Sea Town Council and it continues to be a thoroughly rewarding and engaging endeavour.
This May was the Annual Meeting of the Town Council which is pretty much dedicated to electing a new Chairman / Mayor and electing Councillors to different committees and working groups.
The Town Council isn’t party political, despite it having a Conservative Party majority of 9-3, but there is a definite tendency for “group think” to occur. As an example, although I was successful in being elected to the Community & Neighbourhood (CAN) Committee, the timing of the CAN Committee meeting was later strangely altered from 4PM to 10:30AM on a weekday by a majority vote. I strongly believe that a 21st Century Town Council should provide appropriate flexibility to those councillors like me who work full time and who need to balance the requirements of a full-time job and council business. Notwithstanding that, I will of course attend as many CAN meetings as I possibly can to reflect the interests of the residents of Heyhouses.
I really like being on the CAN committee as it is geared towards organising and delivering events for residents and tourists alike. I particularly enjoyed participating in the Santa Around St. Anne’s last Christmas which put a smile on the faces of so many kids, especially those in the less affluent areas of St. Anne’s. As we move into the summer months, we have the weekly Sounds In The Square sing-alongs which provide an enormous boost to the well-being of all those who attend, and also helps increase the footfall in our Town Centre on a Wednesday afternoon.
Away from Town Council activities, I have picked up various pieces of casework around Heyhouses ward, everything from parking problems of residents in sheltered housing, assisting with residents in complaints to government bodies, reporting and monitoring progress of blocked and flooding drains, and of course dealing with the infamous potholes of St. Anne’s. Do please contact me if you live in Heyhouses Ward and think I can help you with a problem.
Well, I think that’s enough from me for now, I’ll write again soon and remember to enjoy the sun while it shines.