The new Conservative administration at North East Derbyshire District Council has unveiled key priorities to deliver its manifesto pledge for a new dawn serving the needs and aspirations of the district’s communities.
Newly elected council leader Martin Thacker outlined the plans at the council’s annual meeting and top of the list was a “pause” of the previous Labour administration’s Local Plan. This will enable a full review to consider options and listen to other views. He said: “We are clear in our ambitions to protect the green belt and reduce the overall housing requirements to a more sustainable level.”
Other priorities include a wide ranging review of planning, licensing and environmental health enforcement; a line by line budget review; and an investigation into parking issues across the district.
The council is also signing the British Sign Language Charter and re-signing, as a new administration, the Armed Forces Covenant which supports veterans. Climate change is also high on the agenda with new policies to help reduce emissions and respond to the challenges ahead.
The annual meeting was the first to be live streamed as part of new measures to improve the transparency and accessibility of council meetings.
“The new administration will also explore new options to improve resident engagement so that we can become a truly listening council,” said Cllr Thacker.
The meeting also saw Cllr Carol Huckerby elected as the Chair of the Council and Cllr Pat Antcliff elected as Vice Chair.
Pictured: New Chair of the Council, Cllr Carol Huckerby (left) with Councillors Angelique Foster and Oscar Gomez Reaney.
