I have been campaigning hard on behalf of local residents for the Post Office in the West Swindon Shopping Centre to be reopened, along with Cllr Suresh Gattapur, since the day the Post Office closed. Many local residents rely on the services provided by a local post office, particularly elderly residents, and those with mobility issues.
Both myself and Cllr Suresh Gattapur have been in regular contact with the Post Office, as well as the new Postmaster, so we were pleased to hear last week that plans for the new post office are progressing well, and we hope to have some news soon about an opening date.
I am in regular contact with Headteachers here in South Swindon, as well as local residents and councillors, and am directly aware of the concerns surrounding the speed limit on Queens Drive.
In the 2016-2020 accident statistics report for Swindon, Queens Drive was the second highest for collisions.
Many children travel from their homes to local primary and secondary schools along Queens Drive, as well as to New College and St Joseph’s Secondary School, so I am glad that there is overwhelming support locally for the speed limit to be reduced to 30mph.
I am pleased that a motion by Cllr Jenny Jeffries and Cllr Bazil Solomon calling for a review of safety on the Queens Drive corridor, and an assessment of reducing the speed limit from 40mph to 30mph, was approved at the Full Council meeting last week. Officers will now conduct this review and report the findings and recommendations back to Councillors.
I have been working closely with Cllr Jenny Jefferies, and the brilliant team at Mums on a Mission, so I was incredibly pleased to receive an update from Cllr Jenny Jefferies about the new accessible play park at Coate Water, which is set to open in the spring of this year. Photographs of the new park look fantastic, and I am pleased that all children, including those with limited mobility, will be able to enjoy the park, it is a park for everyone, as it rightly should be.
You may have read in my column last week that I have been assisting the Wiltshire Turkish Community here in Swindon following the devastating earthquakes in Turkey and Northern Syria. Following an urgent request for winter tents from the Wiltshire Turkish Community, I contacted Mountain Warehouse last week and received a brilliant response from CEO Mark Neale. As a result of my email, Mountain Warehouse decided to donate all of their profits from sales last Thursday, at all of its 264 stores, as well as online sales, to the DEC campaign for the earthquake. I would like to thank all at Mountain Warehouse for this wonderful effort. I hope that other businesses will be inspired to support our local Turkish communities here in the UK, as they provide urgent assistance to those affected in Turkey.
I would also like to thank the fantastic Swindon Pakistan Association for hosting a charity fundraiser here in Swindon last weekend, which raised £3800 for the Turkey-Syria Earthquake Appeal. To find out more about how you can help, please visit https://www.dec.org.uk/appeal/turkey-syria-earthquake-appeal
Finally, my local charity of the week is STEP Swindon who provide a safe and supportive environment to children and young people aged between 7 – 18 in Swindon, who are experiencing isolation and exclusion due to issues with social skills, or personal circumstances.
The brilliant team at STEP work creatively using therapeutic group work to enable children and young people to make a positive contribution to society through the delivery of life and social skills, with recognition of achievement.
To find out more about this excellent local charity, please visit the website here https://stepswindon.co.uk/ You can also support the charity by becoming a Friend of Step Swindon on Facebook here https://www.facebook.com/FriendsOfStep
