Page 45 - Phonebox July 2013

NEWPORT PAGNELL COUNCILLOR CORNER
A contribution from Cllr Douglas McCall
Riverside Meadow footbridge update
The work to install the new Riverside Meadow footbridge is well under way. The temporary footbridge is in place and the old bridge has been removed. The installation of the new bridge is expected to be completed by early August.
Bus cuts take effect
One of the biggest concerns of residents, especially the elderly, is the reduction in bus services that came into effect on Sunday, 2 June. The Liberal Democrats believe that these cuts are very bad for residents. Many services have been cut across the whole of Milton Keynes with cuts to early morning, evening and Sunday services. The worst affected locally being the Number 1 service, which impacts Newport Pagnell, Olney and Lavendon. Residents have complained that the cuts have impacted their ability to get to and from work, to church, to the shops on a Sunday and many other activities. The nearly £1/2 million cuts to the subsidised bus services were made by the Conservative run Council, with the support of Labour, at the February budget setting Council. The Liberal Democrats were the only Party to oppose them. Several people have contacted us worried that they will lose their job.
Potholes galore
The other ‘big issue’ for residents is the appalling state of our roads and pavements, riddled with potholes. They don’t understand why the Council has allowed the roads to get into such an appalling state. The fact that the Conservative run Council only spent a fraction of the budgeted money on repairing potholes may be part of the answer.
Residents also want the Council to repair the pavements as well as the roads. The Council initially refused to repair a bad pothole in the pavement in Wolverton Road, one of the main pedestrian routes into the Town Centre, but relented after pressure from myself and Cllr Paul Alexander.
A509 resurfacing – the saga continues
Residents will be aware that Milton Keynes Council only resurfaced about 300 metres of the A509 between Newport Pagnell and the M1 earlier this year.
I have been pushing the Council to complete the job properly. I have now been informed that the Council plans to resurface the whole length of the A509 between Newport Pagnell and Junction 14 sometime between now and the end of March 2014.
We will be monitoring the situation as we have been let done before with broken promises.
Cllr Douglas McCall with the No.1 bus in Green Park, Newport Pagnell. One of the buses affected by the cuts. (Right).
A temporary footbridge is in place.
The old footbridge across the river has been demolished.
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Phonebox Magazine 45
Cllr Douglas McCall “residents are complaining that our roads and pavements are riddled with potholes”.
How to contact us
If you need to contact any of the Newport Focus Team please email us on NewportFocus@mklibdems.co.uk.