MEET THE CANDIDATES
Clockwise from top left: Ravi Venkatesh (Labour), Dan Smith (Conservative), Kate Henery (Green), Daniel Legg (Independent) and Michelle Horrobin (Lib Dem) are standing in Penhill and Upper Stratton on May 6 Looking at Penhill now, it’s hard to believe it was once a farm on the outskirts of a much smaller Swindon. The town was growing after the Second World War and new homes were needed. The Penhill estate was built as public housing in the early 1950s. Like its neighbour to the south, Pinehurst, the area suffers from a reputation for deprivation and antisocial behaviour – but it is notable how many people who actually live in the area say there is a strong sense of community there.
Arguments over the Oasis leisure centre dominated the debate over Swindon Borough Council’s budget for next year. But despite Liberal Democrat and Independent Tory support for a Labour proposal to guarantee £5m for the Oasis, and the ruling Conservative group having one councillor missing and one who initially voted the wrong way, the Conservative majority won and the administration’s budget was adopted. It will see a general fund of £153m for day-to-day spending over the next financial year, largely funded by council tax which will go up by 4.99 per cent. Nearly three per cent of the increase will be ringfenced to pay for adult social care.
The entrance to the Roundwell Park travellers site.
- Credit: Archant
Eye-witnesses have described the heavy police presence during an ongoing operation around a travellers site on the edge of Norwich.
Multiple police cars, vans and a dog unit were seen parked outside the Roundwell Park site off Dereham Road, Costessey, from around 8.30am on Tuesday, December 15.
They left around 9.30am, according to neighbours, who said the vehicles were parked on the Norwich-bound dual carriageway.
The entrance to Roundwell Park travellers site on Dereham Road, Costessey, on the edge of Norwich.
- Credit: Archant
One neighbour, who wished to remain anonymous, said he saw two police vans, seven police cars and a dog unit.