Latest news with #HeatherKidd
BBC News
a day ago
- Business
- BBC News
Minister to discuss options for Shrewsbury North West Relief Road
The government has agreed to discuss the future of an out-of-favour bypass plan in Liberal Democrats, who took control of Shropshire Council in the May elections, have said they want to scrap the proposals for a North West Relief Road around council leader Heather Kidd said she did not want to have to pay back the £39m government money it has spent to transport minister Lillian Greenwood has said she will meet the council to discuss its options. The bypass was put forward as a plan by the Conservatives when they ran the council, as a means of reducing the amount of traffic passing through the it was opposed by other parties for a number of reasons, including its cost and its impact on the of the May local elections, the parties pledged to put a stop to the plans if they gained council has estimated the cost of the relief road, if it did go ahead, now stands at £ her letter to the government, Kidd said: "We feel we have inherited a near-impossible situation to progress the scheme, which is only likely to be solved by intervention from Ministers."She also said she could not guarantee the council had the funds to pay back the money spent so date has yet been fixed for the meeting. Follow BBC Shropshire on BBC Sounds, Facebook, X and Instagram.
BBC News
6 days ago
- Business
- BBC News
New Shropshire pothole filling team to launch within months
Shropshire Council is to launch a third in-house pothole filling team within the next few months, speeding up the process of repairing council leader Heather Kidd has made improving the state of Shropshire's roads one of her top priorities within the first 100 days in new Liberal Democrat administration said road maintenance over the past 20 years had not been good the group, which took control of the council following local elections earlier this month, admitted that the previous Conservative administration had begun the process of launching a third team. The poor state of the county's roads was an issue raised by residents across the county in the lead up to elections on 1 May."People have been complaining about potholes time and time again and often repairs have not been good quality," said Lib Dem councillor David Vasmer, the new portfolio holder for Highways and Environment at Shropshire Council."There is a huge backlog and catching up will be an enormous job." Mr Vasmer said the council was not putting a target on the number of potholes it intends to fill, but hopes residents will see "a bit of a difference" in key areas, like roundabouts and than 41,600 potholes were filled in 2023, with half being carried out within five days of being Council is funding its new team using some of the £33m it received from government last year to improve the county's road network. Council highways contractors Kier and Multivo are also part of the multi-agency effort to maintain Shropshire's 3,200 miles of contract, which has been worth about £28m a year since 2017, will end next April, following a 12-month extension. Follow BBC Shropshire on BBC Sounds, Facebook, X and Instagram.
Yahoo
22-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Social care focus as Lib Dems control council
A council has been formally handed over to the Liberal Democrats after 16 years of Conservative control. Shropshire Council held its first full council meeting on Thursday at the Guildhall in Shrewsbury and the Lib Dems took charge as they have 42 councillors following victory in the local elections. The Conservative group, which was previously in control ever since the council became a unitary authority in 2009, now only has seven councillors. Two-thirds of the councillors elected are new to their roles, including the 15 representing Reform UK which is the main opposition group. Heather Kidd is the council's new leader, with Alex Wagner as deputy. "We've got to have the enthusiasm and the innovation to use our offices to find ways through," Ms Kidd said. She added that the council must "not be afraid to shout at government when we need help." "That is not a [Section] 114 notice - the help we need is around funding social care." Such notices are admissions by councils that they can no longer balance the books, for example in Birmingham. Shropshire Council was given extra support earlier this year after the previous administration declared itself "unbelievably close" to bankruptcy. For the council, social care funding takes nearly four in every five pounds which the local authority spends. The care includes things like fostering children, residential care placements, homelessness and special educational needs. "It really is the big issue for the Labour government," Ms Kidd said. Duncan Borrowman, who won the Llanymynech seat, was elected chairman of the council in Thursday's meeting. He is known for being the landlord of the Bailey Head in Oswestry, which was named the Campaign for Real Ale's (Camra)'s UK pub of the year in January. "I moved to Shropshire just under 10 years ago and had given up this local government lark and now all of a sudden I find myself chairing Shropshire Council," he said. Mr Borrowman added that, as chairman, he had to be "fairly neutral" and "ensure all voices are heard". "I'm very keen that the council operates as a centre for a debating forum about the policies and not like some sort of reality TV show where people are trying to score points off each other," he added. Meanwhile, a coalition of climate and nature and anti-racism groups welcomed the councillors to their first meeting. The groups called for the new administration to use its power to tackle the climate crisis and build a more sustainable future. Follow BBC Shropshire on BBC Sounds, Facebook, X and Instagram. Council looks for way out of relief road scheme Five takeaways from Shropshire Council elections Lib Dems choose leadership team for authority Shropshire Council
BBC News
22-05-2025
- Politics
- BBC News
Social care focus as Lib Dems control Shropshire Council
A council has been formally handed over to the Liberal Democrats after 16 years of Conservative Council held its first full council meeting on Thursday at the Guildhall in Shrewsbury and the Lib Dems took charge as they have 42 councillors following victory in the local Conservative group, which was previously in control ever since the council became a unitary authority in 2009, now only has seven of the councillors elected are new to their roles, including the 15 representing Reform UK which is the main opposition group. Heather Kidd is the council's new leader, with Alex Wagner as deputy. "We've got to have the enthusiasm and the innovation to use our offices to find ways through," Ms Kidd added that the council must "not be afraid to shout at government when we need help.""That is not a [Section] 114 notice - the help we need is around funding social care."Such notices are admissions by councils that they can no longer balance the books, for example in Council was given extra support earlier this year after the previous administration declared itself "unbelievably close" to bankruptcy. For the council, social care funding takes nearly four in every five pounds which the local authority spends. The care includes things like fostering children, residential care placements, homelessness and special educational needs."It really is the big issue for the Labour government," Ms Kidd said. Duncan Borrowman, who won the Llanymynech seat, was elected chairman of the council in Thursday's is known for being the landlord of the Bailey Head in Oswestry, which was named the Campaign for Real Ale's (Camra)'s UK pub of the year in January. "I moved to Shropshire just under 10 years ago and had given up this local government lark and now all of a sudden I find myself chairing Shropshire Council," he Borrowman added that, as chairman, he had to be "fairly neutral" and "ensure all voices are heard"."I'm very keen that the council operates as a centre for a debating forum about the policies and not like some sort of reality TV show where people are trying to score points off each other," he added. Meanwhile, a coalition of climate and nature and anti-racism groups welcomed the councillors to their first meeting. The groups called for the new administration to use its power to tackle the climate crisis and build a more sustainable future. Follow BBC Shropshire on BBC Sounds, Facebook, X and Instagram.
Powys County Times
15-05-2025
- Business
- Powys County Times
Shropshire Council's new cabinet revealed
The leader-elect of Shropshire Council has announced her first Cabinet - with an Oswestry councillor taking up a key role. Councillor Heather Kidd (Chirbury and Worthen) will lead a 10-strong team after her Liberal Democrat group stormed to victory at the local elections – taking control from the Conservatives. Councillor Alex Wagner (Quarry and Coton Hill) was already confirmed as the deputy leader-elect. However, the new Mayor of Shrewsbury will now be in charge of communities. It's been well documented the financial constraints that the council have been under, with the previous administration having to make several savings to keep its head above water. The Cabinet member for finance going forward will be Councillor Roger Evans (Longden), who was previously the Lib Dems' co-leader alongside Cllr Kidd. Bishop's Castle Councillor Ruth Houghton will be taking on the social care role in the new cabinet. Elsewhere, Councillor James Owen, whose division is in Oswestry North East, will take on the housing and leisure portfolio, while Cllr Andy Hall, the Whitchurch mayor and new county councillor in the town, takes on the children and education brief. Getting to grips with the county's roads, and deciding what will happen with the controversial North West Relief Road project will be David Vasmer's task. The Underdale councillor has been named Cabinet member for highways and environment. The 10-year Shrewsbury Movement and Public Space Strategy is also an ambitious project which aims to improve how people move in and around the town. That will be under Rob Wilson's remit, with the Copthorne councillor named Cabinet member for transport and economic growth. In March, Shropshire Council announced it had withdrawn its draft Local Plan after it was scrutinised by inspectors. Being in charge of planning for the new administration will be Councillor David Walker (Whittington). Councillor Bernie Bentick (Meole) takes on health and public protection. All posts are subject to confirmation at the first meeting of the new council on May 22. It will also appoint the cross-party chairs of scrutiny meetings, a move which would be a first for a majority administration at Shropshire, to help open up council processes. 'We've brought together a strong team that are raring to go, serving communities across Shropshire as the new Cabinet,' said Cllr Kidd. 'There's a really good breadth of experience, a number of strong public and private sector backgrounds, and councillors from all corners of the county. 'I believe this a very powerful mix of talent who will be laser-focused on delivering the change that Shropshire has voted for. 'This will mean reducing spend on consultants, repairing even more potholes, improving customer service across the council and resetting our relationship with town and parish councils to deliver better partnership working. 'Everyone knows that this will be difficult – and we still face very a tough financial situation – but the new administration is working to hit the ground running. 'We really feel that with fresh thinking and a new and different approach, we can change Shropshire Council for the better.'
