Councillor Sue Smith

I realised when doing my last posting just how long it is since I posted. My apologies to anyone who bothers to read this blog. The gap is partly due to personal reasons - house move etc has meant politics has taken a less major role in my life recently.

Unfortunately many people do not realise that we are very limited in what we are allowed to say on here. Things must not be 'political' which is rather tricky since we are local politicians! Just recently someone on the Forum complained that our entries are rather trite. I've always tried to include mainly ward issues as these tend to be less party political. Naturally these issues must seem trite to those who do not live in the ward concerned.

Lots of residents have been in contact commenting on the improvements now the arch has been cleaned. I can't quite believe how long Cllr Ian Johnson and I have been struggling to get this done again. Looking back through our literature cleaning the Arch seems to be mentioned rather a lot!

It is comforting to note that while trawling through the Woking Forum postings I found 2 entries from Councillors who belong to the Conservative Group, whose Executive brought forward the proposal to resite Woking College in the park, stating their reservations about the plan.

Hopefully this means that having seen the level of opposition to the proposal the Conservative Executive will have second thoughts.

I'd like to wish all the residents of Mount Hermon West a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. Next year looks likely to be a difficult one for everyone and I hope you will all be spared the worst effects of the credit crunch.

I have received quite a few emails and letters from concerned residents about the proposal to relocate Woking College to Woking Park. As many of you may be aware I became a Councillor 7 years ago because of the threat to the Park of the proposed development in Blackness Lane. That threat has not gone away and this new one seems to raise just as many concerns. Green space in central Woking is at a premium and my view remains that it is vital to preserve it. There are other sites more centrally situated that appear to me to be more suitable - if indeed the College needs to re-locate. Of course, encouraging further education and improving facilities for it in the town is important but not at the expense of green space. With the increased density of housing in the area we should, in my view, be looking to improve and increase green space - not the reverse.

I urge all concerned residents to write to the Leader of the Council and your local Councillors to let them hear your views.

My apologies for not having posted for many months but this has been a hectic time on a personal front. I have temporarily moved house but am likely to move again in a few months hopefully. That is why my address for the moment is care of the Civic Offices and my new phone number my mobile one.

Rest assured that I am still looking out for my residents, backed up by the ever-efficient Ian , my fellow Ward Councillor and Leader of the LibDem Group.

Well, strictly speaking, in the ward! I have decided to stand down as LibDem Group Leader this year. It is very timeconsuming and after 3 years I need to adjust my work/life balance. Ian, my fellow Ward Councillor, has taken over the reins. He has led the Group before so things are in safe hands. As Philip Goldenberg was sadly not elected we have a new Deputy Leader too - Ric Sharp one of our Councillors for Knaphill. We will all miss Philip and the enormous contribution he made to the Council.  Good luck to the new team!

I'm very pleased to report that my fellow ward Councillor Ian Johnson has been re-elected with an increased majority.

Elsewhere in the borough we gained 2 seats - Maybury and Sheerwater and Knaphill - and lost 2 seats - Horsell West and Brookwood. So it's virtually status quo although this year the Tory majority is reduced to 1 as the Mayor is a Tory and by consensus he does not get involved in political matters, nor does he vote.

Well - after repeated emails on this subject the contractors have been out to repair their original work. Why wasn't it done correctly in the first place you may ask? Questions to your Conservative County Councillor, I suggest. Highways are not Woking Borough Council's responsibility - although perhaps they ought to be once more?

I am still not totally happy, however, as one of the humps is starting to break up and that hasn't been prepared and another is still much steeper than the rest. I will keep on plugging away at this issue too!