13 June 2016
Residents told Cllr Bull at his first Street Surgery that Winton is a Good Place to Live. His report is below:
Today, I held my first pop-up surgery in Winton in a bid to connect with some of the residents within the ward I was elected to. I have to say, that all in all, it was a very a positive experience and I would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone who stopped and gave a few minutes to share their views on Winton.
Although many councillors, myself included, hold surgeries where residents can come and talk to us about issues in their ward, I realised that with busy lives and commitments people don’t always have the time to attend surgeries. I also felt that it was my responsibility as an elected official to make myself more available. I am so glad I did as the issues that came up again and again were, interestingly, ones close to my personal concerns about the environment we live in and those of the Green Party. In our one-minute survey, we asked people the four following questions.
• What issues would you like to bring to Cllr Bull’s attention regarding Winton?
• Have you heard about the use of Glyphosate locally and are you concerned about it?
• How would you feel about implementing a 20mph speed limit in residential areas?
• Do you have any concerns about noise?
Respondents ranged from young students, residents in their 90s, relatively new residents and some who had lived in the ward for over fifty years and one of the main issues which came up was traffic. People were also keen to offer possible resolutions with suggestions ranging from limiting delivery times, pedestrianising the main shopping area and encouraging more people to cycle and use public transport.
Another issue was parking, always a problem in Winton with its narrow streets, with a particular emphasis on disabled parking. Once again, the issue of homelessness was brought up and while most people understood the complexity of this problem they still felt more could be done to support those in such need. Differing views on litter were voiced with some residents comparing Winton favourably to the town centre while others thought there was room for improvement. A number of residents said they would like to see a more visual police presence, however, many were surprised to learn that Winton police station is no longer open to the public.
In regards to glyphosate (Roundup), most people asked were unaware that the council used this product as a weedkiller and all expressed some concern about its use, with some sharing experiences of being negatively affected by chemical use in other countries. I will convey these concerns to the Cabinet member whose portfolio covers this area particularly as the EU has yet to extend Monsanto’s licence for the chemical.
When asked about extending 20mph speed limits the response was a unanimous yes and so I will be approaching council officers about this matter.
In answer to our question about noise we found it surprising that the only real complaint came from a student complaining about other students, while 91-year-old resident Peggy Gibson said she regarded the noise as ‘happy noise’ and reminded us that we were ‘all teenagers once.’
Finally, many people happily told us that they had no issues, that Winton was a good place to live and shopping in Winton was preferable to the town centre.
Cllr Simon Bull
