Councillor Gary Malcolm: My New Year's Message for Ealing

With the Olympics, this year has generally been more positive compared to the sad event of the Ealing riots in 2011. I was lucky enough to attend a number of the Olympic and Paralympic events. They personally have inspired me to take up two new sports - tennis and fencing.

In my local park (Southfield Recreation Grounds) a tennis league takes place every 6 weeks where you pay ?10 and play each person, of varying standards, over the 6 week period. The winner is the one who gets the most points. It is really fun and if anyone wants to know more please tweet me at: @CllrGaryMalcolm

The Council needs to remind people of the many good facilities such as parks we have around the borough. Only if we can get more kids playing sports can we win more medals as well as keeping us all healthier.

Myself and many others have spent more time in the variety of restaurants and shops in Ealing to help support local businesses in the post riot time where many insurers seemed not willing to pay the shopkeepers the insurance they said they were entitled to.

In 2013 the Liberal Democrats hope that some proper work on a new cinema will take place. Ealing hungers for a new cinema and we should not have had to wait this long.

We have also been fighting to ensure that our local hospitals and fire stations can be protected from being downgraded. These vital services are not ones that can be taken away without any harm being caused to Ealing's residents.

Over the past year a theme has been the dirty streets in Ealing caused by the poor management of Enterprise. My postbag mainly contained emails and communications from residents aggrieved about this matter. People feel ashamed that their streets are so dirty.

Some of the decisions taken by Ealing Council's administration have not to me been focussed on protecting our most vulnerable residents. How much or little money a Council has it needs to look at how it can protect the elderly, those with disabilities and the many community services that Ealing residents use. The Liberal Democrats will continue to stand up for these in 2013. We are clear this is one area which the administration needs to be reminded about.

Despite a number of disappointments this year in Ealing the Olympics has given many people a positive spirit which we must build on.

I wish everyone a great New Year.

Source: http://garymalcolm.blogspot.com/2012/12/my-new-years-message-for-ealing.html

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