Will has written the following letter to Mike Robinson, Chief Executive of Middlesbrough Borough Council with Marton residents' concerns collected through his local survey. The text of the letter is below.
Dear Mr Robinson
I hope you are well. This letter will paint a picture of some of the issues which have been brought to my attention in Marton:
The roads which have been picked out for special attention for their poor state are:
Chestnut Drive
Cypress Road
Birchwood Road
Gypsy lane
The Grove
Can you please provide me with the Council’s current planned road improvements programme for Marton and the surrounding areas for this financial year and the next. If these roads are not on the programme, I would urge serious consideration for them to be added.
Saltcote land ownership
Parking is an issue across Marton, I wrote in to request what needed to be done to install a residents parking scheme across the ward and received an unsatisfactory response from Mr Steve Webster. I fear that it is becoming the norm for the Council to simply blame any and all problems it has on Government without first changing the way it operates. I have also been in touch with the land tellier service on three occasions to ascertain who owns the land around the tarmac on Saltcote, again I have not been able to get an answer, or even recognition of my enquiry.
7 Cloverwood Close, Marton. TS7 8AZ
Mrs Watson who lives at the above address is deeply concerned and distressed about the possibility of two trees sitting off her gable end causing damage to her home. She has been in touch with the Authority only to have been brushed off. The authority has argued that these trees are an asset to the community, although I agree that trees lining streets is a positive addition to urban areas, this cannot come at the cost of a resident fearing for the safety and structure of their home. I therefore ask you and colleagues to reconsider this decision. There is a precedent on the street as a tree on the corner of Birchwood was removed a couple of years ago. We simply cannot have a circumstance where roots of publicly owned trees are causing damage to private property. I would appreciate a response separately on this issue with a plan of action.
Malaise with the authority
I must stress that the Authority is in serious of danger of losing what little credibility it has with the people of southern Middlesbrough. They feel totally neglected, ignored and chastised, be it for bin collections, the state of the roads, it taking over six months to repair a bus shelter, their concerns about housing being completely ignored, the list goes on. I urge you to take these points on board and more importantly work with me to find a way that we can bring some real results for the people in the areas which I have been reporting back on.
As ever, I hope that you will be able to reply to me within the next fortnight so that I can inform Marton residents of progress, or lack thereof.
I look forward to your response.
Kind regards
Will Goodhand
(Prospective Conservative Parliamentary Candidate for Middlesbrough South & East Cleveland)