£700,000 has been earmarked to change the layout of Colchester High Street. Could this mean pedestrianisation? I just hope that the Lib Dems don't make the same mistake as they did on the shrubs and 'forget' to ask the people of Colchester what they think. I have always found residents split on the issue:

• We need a town square and miss out due to us not having a 'heart' to hold events and to congregate - would closing the High Street give us this.
  
• How will businesses cope if buses and taxis are not allowed in the High Street?
  
• Will the High Street due to its lack of 'big' names become empty if residents aren't even getting off the bus there?
  
• How will businesses cope with their deliveries?
  

Let's ensure that nothing is forced upon the people of Colchester and we are all asked what we want. Ask for a consultation NOW.

Graffiti goes in Prettygate.

We've had a crack down on graffiti in Prettygate and found nearly 50 sites with 'artwork'! Most have been tags which have all been photographed and reported to Police but one site the Council would not touch - that was an alleyway off Gainsborough Road near Philip Morant school. So we did it! Jeremy, me, Beverly and Wyn painted Prettygate blue and got rid of the mess last Saturday. We know it will be scrawled over again, so we will repaint it again and we will keep with this message until the vandals give up!

Primark and H&M in Colchester?

We finally get some investment in our town centre with a revamped Lion Walk, after the Lib Dems pulled out of our new shopping centre at Vineyard Gate, and guess what....the MP does not like it. Will he ever speak positively about anything in this town? We need more shops - big names like Primark and H&M - which will bring in shoppers and stop them going to Ipswich or Lakeside. They, in turn, will use our car parks, our coffee shops, our small shops, even our art gallery when it opens, and bring much needed money to our town. The other shop keepers want it - we have asked them (shame the Lib Dems don't ask more) - so let's welcome investment in the town and not put it down again, and again, and again......I get more queries about Primark opening than anything else - let's revamp the town and please stop putting it down!

Shrub ended!

Wow what a busy time! Whilst Prettygate is one of the quietest wards in Colchester - we keep ourselves busy. The latest threat to us is the removal of shrub beds by the Lib Dem/Labour Administration. To save a mean £20 per year in some places, they are prepared to dig up and turf over the beds. We only have 3 in Prettygate but in Shrub End they are losing all of theirs! No more Shrub End, more like Shrub Ended! They are not just pleasing to the eye but they also stop cars parking on verges and kids gathering outside houses causing a nuisance. We are doing all we can to stop this by informing the Chief Executive and the press so that the public are aware of what is happening. The residents who live around these beds need to make the decision.

Whoops! Where's our £4m gone!

Finance and Audit Scrutiny Panel last night. We had an emergency item on the Icelandic Bank crisis. I chaired the meeting which was hard with the opposition trying at every point to blame us for what happened. The point was, it has happened. The warnings were out there that some authorities heard and some did not. We were one of the ones who did not. Perhaps Cllr Smith who is Portfolio Holder for Finance could have done more - the point is the Council are very unlikely to get their £4m back when it matures in December. We, as the Opposition, have got to ensure that this does not affect the residents and that it does not happen again.

Ghurkas

I was very pleased to see in the papers that Gurkhas were to be given the right to stay in this country - I hope the Government follows this up! At conference this year, there were many of them working in security and I spoke to some of them on the day of the court case. They are the most dignified of men who have served our country so well. In the past they have been stationed in Colchester and I hope one day we have them back here. Good luck to them and they deserve our thanks.

Conservative Party Conference

A Group from Colchester attended this year and it was very different from other times - business like, serious and corporate. Because of the financial crisis there was no time for frivolity and also as we drove back for the mayors funeral on the Monday, we were in no mood for hilarity.

For those who have never been to a party conference it is very different to what you see on the TV. There are hundreds of fringe meetings in other rooms around the site and it is here that you learn the most. I attended many on defence and health. One, with Bernard Jenkin MP, concentrated on what state our army is in and gave us valuable information on the condition our soldiers face, both at home and abroad. It was also attended by Winston Churchill and members of the UKNDA (UK National Defence Association) and I hope soon to set up a branch in Colchester.

I also attended a very good event on death with dignity with the shadow Health Minster. Due to the endless bureaucracy in our hospitals, if a patient is diagnosed as terminal, it can take weeks for a plan of care to be written. At the most traumatic time, this is not what a patient or their family needs. We also heard about the work of Marie Curie nurses and hospices. I asked about how volunteers are supported as the strain on them can be immense - because of my comments the Health Minister has offered to look into the support they receive. This is what conference is all about - learning from others but giving something back to Shadow Ministers so that they can go away and make things better too.