Worth Park December 2013 when I was lead councillor for the project |
“Last
weekend saw the official opening of Worth Park in Pound Hill, having been
restored with an ambitious project devised and implemented by the previous
Conservative Administration at Crawley Borough Council. I found it a pleasure
to have previously been the Council’s cabinet member that was overseeing this
project, and I am delighted that all the hard work has paid off with a park
that all of Crawley can be proud of.
It wasn’t
always so good. I remember only too well back in January 2012 when Labour
Councillors sought to sabotage this project by cynically using council
procedures to cause a potentially fatal delay. This delay put at serious risk
the £2.42 million funding that we had been successful in securing from the Heritage
Lottery Fund. Thankfully, Labour’s cynical tactic failed and we haven’t looked
back since.While I am grateful Labour didn’t scrap the Worth Park project when they took control of the Council last year, it is still startling that they take credit for Conservative achievements like this. This fits a pattern of behaviour I've observed since Labour took power at Crawley Council last year.
I recommend
checking online to see who really got these good projects moving for Crawley, which
are now in full swing or have been completed. To add to Worth Park, other local
Conservative achievements that Labour are taking credit for include new and
improved Tilgate Park attractions, Ifield West/Dobbins Pond improvements,
Ifield Mill Pond restoration, Broadfield Barton revamp, major regeneration of Queens
Square, new Crawley Museum, and new equipment for our Children’s Play Areas.
There are
two key points here. Firstly, it took a Conservative Administration with vision
and aspiration for Crawley to bring these projects forward, often in the face
of Labour opposition with no aspiration for Crawley. Secondly, all of these
projects could only be afforded thanks to the Conservatives’ sound financial
management of the Council. Labour mostly
opposed the efficiency savings we made that enabled us to invest. The reality
is that most of these great projects would have never happened if left to
Labour.”
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