At our last council meeting I had the honour of once again being elected as the Leader of East Hampshire District Council.
It is a great privilege to serve the residents of the district and to work alongside the current crop of councillors.
This is the seventh year I have served as Leader of the council, and I can say without fear of contradiction that it is a job that is getting harder, not easier.
This coming year is going to be very tough and we have to be realistic about that.
With a General Election looming there will be more and more focus on national politics. Whatever the result that will lead to uncertainty for us as councillors and for our residents.
It is our job to ensure continuity and stability and to make sure residents continue to have the service provision that matters to them and that they deserve.
Also, this year will see us progress through the important and emotive situation of the Local Plan. The Local Plan provides the policies and proposed housing sites in East Hampshire outside the South Downs National Park up to the year 2040.
The reality is the Local Plan will affect everyone, even if you live inside the park. It is a fundamentally important process, one of the most important things we can do as a council.
We must deal with it non-politically. Councillors of all political colours must work together to ensure that party politics are forgotten and that the decisions we make are the right ones for the district and the right ones for our residents.
Unfortunately, we can’t make everyone happy, that’s inevitable, but we can work together and support each other to make it as painless as possible.
There are opportunities coming up to make sure the public is up to speed with what we are doing. Transparency and consultation will be fundamental.
Already one huge consultation has been held, earlier this year, which yielded record numbers of comments. And there will be more opportunities for people to have their say later in the year.
As an authority we have an interesting mix of councillors. This group has bedded in well over the last year and as we move on it will get stronger and stronger.
Just as with the Local Plan, when we consider issues such as the environment and welfare, we will be much more successful if we work together, rather than against each other.
I am happy to say that I have an excellent working relationship with the Leaders of the opposition parties and look forward to working with them over the next 12 months.
The same can be said of the Chairman of our Overview & Scrutiny Committee, Cllr David Podger, who has been exemplary. He has done a tremendous job so far, offering a rigorous, robust and fair challenge to the actions of the organisation – and that’s exactly as it should be.