At the time of writing, we have just come through the local elections. These were “all out” elections in Gloucester due to boundary changes. The Council has decided to move to elections once every four years rather than a third of councillors being elected in each of three years out of four. This means we can now plan with certainty for the four years ahead.

I was delighted to be re-elected in Longlevens, and by the time you read this I hope to have been confirmed as Leader of the Council for my tenth year in that office. Overall, Conservatives won 22 seats (up two), Labour 10 (up one) and the Liberal Democrats 7 (as before).

Time to press ahead with regeneration and development projects
I believe exciting times lie ahead for Gloucester. I set out in my last column some of the regeneration projects we have at different stages in their delivery – like the new bus station, Bakers Quay, the Cathedral’s Project Pilgrim and Llanthony Priory.

Our priorities now are to press ahead with public consultation on phase two of the Kings Quarter development, which includes a new indoor market hall, replacement car park, hotel, some shops and restaurants and some residential elements. We also will introduce a new vehicle fleet for our doorstep recycling to include collection of cardboard and more plastics. And we will work on bringing a new cultural venue to the city, to attract more and bigger entertainment acts to Gloucester. We also need to work with partners to tackle some of the difficult issues in the city like rough sleeping, begging and knife crime. Our manifesto set out our programme across the range of City Council responsibilities and we will move to implement it speedily.

Using all Council parties’ skills to help the city and its communities
The elections have brought new blood from all parties onto the Council and it’s important we use their skills, experience and enthusiasm to the full, to help the city and its communities.
On behalf of all councillors who were elected, can I thank you all for your support. We’ll all be working as hard as we can to deliver on your behalf.