This Conservative Government is determined to make our streets safer and as Justice Secretary I am proud of my role in spearheading these efforts.
The Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill, which has now passed through all of its stages in the House of Commons, will equip the police with the powers and tools they need to protect themselves and the public. This important Bill will also overhaul sentencing laws to keep serious sexual and violent offenders behind bars for longer and place greater emphasis on rehabilitation to better help offenders to turn their lives around and prevent further crimes.
As part of this importance process, I am eager to hear your views on how we can work together to improve public safety here in Swindon and across the country. So please take the time to fill out the Public Safety Survey on my website and share your thoughts with me.
You can find the survey via: www.robertbuckland.co.uk/PublicSafetySurvey.
Earlier this summer, Swindon Borough Council asked local residents what they value about GWR Park and how they would like to see it improved in the coming years.
Following this consultation, a draft plan was put together which sets out how the park could potentially be managed in the future. The current plan includes potential new facilities like a food kiosk or care and new activities like yoga and a cricket pitch.
The plan also asks residents about whether they would like the park to be officially called the GWR Park or Farringdon Road Park.
I will be engaging with local councillors, including the newly elected councillor for Central Ward, Lourenco Fernandes, on this draft plan to ensure the views of residents are taken into consideration.
I also encourage residents to fill out the short survey on the Council website, which is open until Friday 30th. This can be found here: https://www.swindon.gov.uk/gwrparksurvey.
In further local news, the Council have confirmed that major reconstruction work will start on the White Hart roundabout next month to increase the life expectancy of the road. This additional work comes after the contractor for the works found significant defects in the road base underneath the roundabout.
The work, which is expected to last an estimated 12 weeks, will involve digging down almost a metre beneath the surface to build a new structure for the road base. The nature of the work means it will not be safe to keep the roundabout open to through traffic.
The Council are fully aware that this will be a major inconvenience to motorists and have apologised in advance. They have nonetheless explained that because they have to dig deep underneath the carriageway that it would not be safe to try and keep one lane of the roundabout open.
By closing the roundabout to through traffic it will allow the contractors to press ahead with the work and complete it in the shortest possible time.
The Council have said the work is due to start on 16th August and they anticipate motorists will be able to use the new roundabout by November.
