Local Lib Dem campaigner Cllr Richard Jones has welcomed the Health Ministers’ decision to establish a new neurology unit in North Wales.

Richard said: “After originally being lead to believe that patients would have to travel to South Wales for treatment, I am absolutely delighted for our area and the region at the announcement of the planned Neurological Unit in North Wales.

“I welcome the Health Minister’s common sense and good judgement in this case and look forward to these plans being delivered through the North Wales Office, taking into account the costing of the plans.

“Edwina Hart has listened and acted positively in a situation which should never arisen.”

If you need to contact the Council, come along to the Mobile office in Brunswick Road,** Buckley between 9.30 am - 12.00 pm on 5th August 2008. It can be used as your contact point for all Council Departments in addition to carrying information and literature from a variety of other organisations serving the community.
The Mobile Office visits Buckley once every month, I will confirm the dates here at least 1 week in advance.

**or overspill car park near to Bevans if you are unable to park in the pedestrianised area.

Flintshire Liberal Democrat Councillors are calling for radical improvements in recycling if the County Council is to meet ambitious targets of 40% recycling and composting of municipal waste by 2010.and 70% by 2025.

The call came after Cllr Nancy Matthews, the new Executive Member for Waste Strategy and Management for the coalition administration, joined waste leaders from across Wales at a meeting in Cardiff to discuss the mounting pressures on local authorities.

Jane Davidson AM, Minister for Environment, Sustainability and Housing was also present at the meeting with the Cabinet Members with responsibility for Waste to discuss how they can improve recycling facilities and proposals for meeting Welsh Assembly Government waste targets.

Cllr Nancy Matthews said: “Despite early successes in Flintshire and making reasonable progress in our initial recycling plans it would appear that listening to other local authorities’ improvements they have caught us up.

“My vision is to put Flintshire a the forefront of waste management, rewarding residents for good practice and realising efficiencies that can save them money by making less to landfill our motto.

“Every council in Wales must aim high when it comes to waste reduction. While we face significant financial pressures in meeting targets around recycling, composting and the management of waste services, we have to embrace waste management as a key priority and tackle it in a creative way so that it is self-sufficient in the long term.

“Our recycling record to date is a clear indicator of the councils’ investment in recycling services and commitment to encouraging a cultural shift in consumer behaviour so that the public make use of the services available to them and therefore send less to landfill.

“However, we have to be realistic about what is achievable and an ambitious 70% recycling target by 2025 means we must looking at every feasible option.

“It also means we need a strategy that will deliver step change and radical improvement, coasting along is not enough to get us where we need to be.”

Flintshire Lib Dem Group Leader Robin Baker added: “This is certainly a key issue for our group and one that we will be discussing in the coming weeks with our coalition partners. I am confident we will be able to come to a consensus on our joint approach to tackling this agenda, along with other key issues we face.”
ENDS

Liberal Democrats in Flintshire have welcomed the launch of the Liberal Democrats’ vision for Britain by Party Leader Nick Clegg MP. Called ‘Make it Happen’, the paper will be debated at the party’s conference in Bournemouth in September.

In ‘Make it Happen’ the Liberal Democrats say:

* They will cut taxes for ordinary families
* If your local hospital can’t see you on time, they will pay for treatment elsewhere
* They will switch taxes from people to pollution - so it pays to go green
* To improve standards in education, they will fund extra help for those who need it most
* They will put Britain at the heart of Europe to make us a force for good in the world
* They will stop ID cards so we can keep control of our privacy
* They will change the voting system so everyone’s voice counts
* They will bring communities together with local people in charge
* They will give communities a say in how offenders pay for their crimes

Cllr Richard Jones said, “I am delighted to be able to back ‘Make it Happen’. It sets out how the Liberal Democrats will run Britain .

“No resident of Flintshire has escaped the rising cost of food and fuel. The credit crunch is biting hard and local people are feeling the pinch.

“Nick Clegg has set out how we can help ordinary people through cutting taxes on those on low and middle incomes. Thousands of people in Flintshire will benefit from this.

“We are taking the plans in ‘Make it Happen’ to the people of Flintshire during the summer to get their response. And in September, we will be heading to the Liberal Democrats’ conference where we are looking forward to taking part in the debate.”

Details of the proposed post office closures for North Wales are due to be published on the 29th July followed by a six week period of consultation with the local community.

The loss of post offices will hit communities hard in Buckley Bistre East. They are vital assets for many local people and closing them will cause many difficulties for older people and others with mobility problems, in particular.

Despite the decision of Labour MP’s to help the Government press ahead with closures, Liberal Democrats are continuing to fight the demolition of the post office network.

Our plan would give a real investment of £2 billion in the post office, would increase the services offered at local post office branches and improve the network so that every community that needs a post office gets one.

We are the only party with a fully-funded plan to save the post office, give it a long-term future and not just manage its decline.

Our plan would see:
· £2 billion invested in post office network;
· New branches opening where needed;
· Government services continuing to be available at the Post Office;
· The Post Office freed from Royal Mail restrictions to let it develop new business;
· A new legal requirement for the Government to maintain the local Post Office network.

We will keep you posted

A new advice centre for young people is to open in Buckley. The Welsh Assembly Government is providing £250,000 for premises and refurbishment costs. The centre will be similar to the one-stop information shop in Holywell for young people that has been such a success. The centre will provide young people with help and advice on numerous issues, whilst also providing computer terminals.
It’s now up to Buckley Town Council to identify a site for the centre after the scheme was approved by the county council executive members.

Thank you once again for your kind and generous support and for electing me to serve you in Buckley Bistre East for the next four years.Across Flintshire the Lib Dems made four gains and now hold 12 seats on the County Council.We made one gain from Independents and three gains from Labour who ended up losing control of the Council.This has put us in the position of being able to form a coalition administration with the Independent and Tory groups.As a result Quentin Dodd has been elected as the Chair of the Council for 2008/09 and we have two positions on the Executive - held by Nancy Matthews and Neville Phillips - and several key posts on scrutiny.New Group Leader Robin Baker said: “Naturally we are delighted to have made four gains at a time when all the press nationally and locally were talking about was the Tory resurgence.“We are delighted to welcome Richard, Grenville, Rosetta and Tim to the team at County Hall.“We now have the opportunity to shape and influence the agenda at County Hall and bring some liberal and democratic views to the delivery of services in Flintshire.”

As a member of 4 overview and scrutiny committees, I will work hard from top down for the good of Flintshire, Buckley and Bistre East.

My efforts will be aimed at quality improvement, increased efficiency and overall fairness whilst taking into consideration the needs and desires of my electorate.

TOWN COUNCIL NEWS
Labour candidate-Mr Gareth Williams has decided not to accept the position of community/town councillor of Buckley for which he was elected after he was not re-elected as County Councillor.

This is yet another example of how the people of Buckley are veing let down by their Labour candidates.

Welcome to my new web site where I will be able to keep the people of Buckley Bistre East up to date with my work and activity on their behalf on both Flintshire County Council and Buckley Town Council.

In case you missed it here are the results of the local elections for this ward held on May 1st this year.

Buckley Bistre East
County Division
Joseph Burley Independent 245
Richard Jones Lib Dems 535 E
Arnold Woolley Independent 784 E
Gareth Williams Labour Party 431

Buckley Bistre East
Town Council
Arnold Woolley Independent 831 E
Wendy Mallin Labour Party 312
Richard Jones Lib Dems 661 E
Gareth Williams Labour 476 E
John Thornton Lib Dems 612 E
Jane Elston Labour 342 E