Councillor Information
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Notes:
WYRE FOREST DISTRICT COUNCIL
Annual report and review 2024/2025
Section 1: Attendance at Council, Committee and Sub-Committee meetings
Name of Committee
Council 5 held 5 attended
Ethics & Standards 1 held 1 attended
Licensing & Environmental 6 held 5 attended
Licensing Sub Committee 1 held 1 attended
This represents an overall attendance of 92%
Other attendance
Period of Extended Absence, (e.g. Maternity leave/Sick leave): 0
Number of meetings attended as a substitute: 1
Section 2: Mandatory Training Completed
Training Activity Date attended
Refresher Training Licensing 01/05/24
Planning Training 16/05/24
Other training Number of modules completed
Core e-learning
0
Additional e-learning
0
Cyber security training
3
Section 3: Community Involvement
Over the past 12 months I have continued to attend a number of local community groups activities and continued to support them in any way I can.
I continue to be proactive in the ward and regularly support the residents of my ward in a number of ways. In June 2024, I was delighted to run my own parliamentary campaign, the experience gained during this experience has assisted me in my role as councillor and further contributed to my growth as an elected member. I have conducted a large number of litter picks within the ward with other community volunteers. I have a keen interest in keeping the streets of the district clean and tidy so often report street cleansing and grounds maintenance issues to help keep our areas looking the best they can.
I continue to remove graffiti myself with materials I have sourced from my own funds and I have commenced cleaning road signs where it is safe to do so. I have proudly installed a number of Emergency Bleed Control kits throughout the ward over the last 12 months, these aren't just used in knife crime incidents but are critical in any catastrophic bleeding cases. I have worked with a number of businesses to install further defibs, most recently at Weavers Wharf. I continue to work hard to see the increasing number of defibs within the patch and throughout Wyre Forest. I have been encouraging local business owners, Community Housing, planning processes and licensed premises to do the same, I am committed to ensuring all residents in my ward are closer than ever before to this provision, something which is close to my heart following losing an uncle following a heart attack in March 2024.
I continue to support a large number of people in line with the work I do around mental health, following founding You Matter, Mental Health Matters in 2019. I also support a number of families with SEND children. I actively support local schools with their endeavours to continuously provide provision to children with disabilities. I have been able to source a donated tree to be planted at Wyre Forest School.
Section 4: Assisting Constituents
I have conducted several visits with local Policing teams and other key stakeholders to improve our area, such as reducing ASB and improving how our communities feel. I regularly conduct site visits and invite key people to these visits with me who will be able to assist me in getting things done for
residents. My casework continues to grow year on year and this has been the case since I was first elected in May 2019, and this is pleasing - as this is the part of my councillor work I enjoy the most, getting things done for local residents.
All emails and phone calls have been responded to within 24 hours and often with 2 hours of being contacted. I conduct weekly proactive walkabouts in my ward, sometimes alone, but most of the time with local residents, Neighbourhood Watch groups and other community representatives. I often do this on foot or by cycling the area. My approach is always to deal with things proactively so residents in my ward do not need to go to the trouble of having to report issues themselves.
My contact details, including my direct mobile number is published online, I try to leaflet my ward in a phased and targeted way in response to issues in the vicinity of the area I'm working in. In these publications/letters/leaflets I update residents with regard to what I have been doing in their area and they provide all the details they need to contact me; all leaflets are funded by me personally and are delivered by me. I continue to knock residents' doors in the ward on a monthly basis and always leave them with a business card should they need to contact me in the future. I regularly receive contact from residents via email, telephone calls but increasingly more via my Cllr Leigh Whitehouse Facebook page. I'd encourage residents to follow this page in order for them to keep up to date regarding what I am doing in the patch 365 days per year. I am contactable 24/7 and hold surgeries on an ad-hoc basis, depending on demand – the demand for surgeries is decreasing year on year as residents often contact me immediately rather than waiting for a surgery.
Section 5: Supplementary Information
I stay abreast with council business by watching committees I am not a member on via our webcast service. I hold meetings with officers on an ad-hoc basis when dealing with complex matters within the ward.
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Leigh
Whitehouse
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