The opening of Cheltenham’s £9.27m Minster Exchange (MX), planning applications for Golden Valley and winning accolades for keeping people safe during race week are among Borough Council leader Rowena Hay highlights of 2024.
The Liberal Democrat reflected on all the authority has achieved over the last year at the full council meeting earlier this month (December). Her speech focussed on the official opening of the MX, the shared workspace designed for start-up tech companies.
She is also pleased planning applications were submitted this year for the Golden Valley development near GCHQ. The council’s flagship project aims to cover hopes to build on the spa town’s existing specialist cluster in cyber.
And it is planned to provide more than 1,000 sustainable properties to rent and buy as part of a new garden community. Bringing Cheltenham Borough Homes back under direct control of the council from July 1 was also among Cllr Hay’s highlights of the year.
The Oakley ward councillor also thanked tenants and leaseholders for taking part in driving improvements of the services. And she praised all those who worked on the Borough Council’s all out elections in May and the general election in July.
“It is a huge amount of work and to have to do two in one year is phenomenal,” she said. “We formally opened the Minster Exchange, we submitted planning applications to the Golden Valley, and we delivered over £2 million in savings, although I’m sure our finance team will tell us that we can’t just stop there.
Cheltenham Borough Council leader Rowena Hay pictured inset at the official opening of the Minster Exchange. Another of her highlights of the year was placing the Municipal Offices on the market to be sold.
(Image: CBC)
“We won accolades for keeping people safe during race week, our nighttime economy, and our amazing parks and gardens. Officers dealt with a fire at the Regent Arcade, and after 30 years of talking about it, we’ve actually put the Municipal Offices up for sale with applications now closed.
“The airport is also on the market, but to remain as an airport with much needed investment, neither of those jobs, going to market for both Municipal Offices and for the airport, is something that happens overnight. It only happens with a huge, huge amount of effort, and we’ve had a really good response to that and actually some very good compliments.
“We successfully received £20 million from this Government to support another step on our journey to delivering the innovation center. Our festive ice rink has been a huge hit again with its new Christmas trees and lights, along with the special relaxed glide sessions that I know my grandchildren truly enjoyed.”
Looking ahead, regarding the English Devolution white paper, she said she hopes the districts and the county council will be able to reach a consensus regarding local government reorganisation that is best for Gloucestershire.
“The timelines the government has given is that it will happen within this parliamentary term,” she said. “There are, of course, challenges ahead. The change in the national policy and planning policy framework announced last week, which will see increased numbers for us, working with our strategic local partnership partners is even more important, and there are many other changes which we will need to digest.”