Keith Walker

About Keith

Councillor Keith Walker is the current Vice Chairman of Nottinghamshire County Council.

Keith was the Nottinghamshire County Councillor for Balderton division from 1987 to 1997, and resumed this role in June 2001. He is also a district councillor representing the Farndon ward on Newark & Sherwood District Council and a member of Balderton Parish Council.

Keith is currently Chairman of Nottinghamshire County Council's Planning & Licensing Committee and locally is he chairman of the Balderton & Fernwood Safer Neighbourhoods Group. He is a governor at the Grove School.

He is married to Inga, who is also a member of Balderton Parish Council and does voluntary work at John Hunt School on Thursdays and Fridays. He has two grown-up children who both attended local schools. In his leisure time away from his council duties he enjoys gardening and travel.

Keith is available to meet constituents at any mutually convenient time or place. His contact details are displayed on the left of this page.

Keith's latest news...

Council AGM

At the Annual General Meeting of Nottinghamshire County Council on 20^th May 2010 I was delighted and honoured to be elected Vice-Chairman of the Council. Throughout the year 2010-2011 I will working to support the newly elected Chairman of the County Council, Councillor Thomas Pettengell, and I feel sure we will make a very good team.

I am flattered to become the Vice-Chairman. I am looking forward to meeting many new people and getting familiar with the parts of the county that I currently don’t know too well. It will be a great experience.

(Posted 20/5/10)

County Council Budget 2010/11

At the Nottinghamshire County Council Annual Budget meeting on Thursday 25^th February 2010 I joined my Conservative colleagues in voting for a freeze in council tax for the forthcoming financial year 2010/11.

My colleague Councillor Reg Adair, Cabinet Member for Finance & Property, presented the first budget of the new Conservative administration which included a range of management and efficiency measures to save £30 million. This money will be re-directed into frontline services including key priority care services: -

• £3 million more to provide specialist placements for young people

• £1.7 million more to meet additional costs of Safeguarding Children at risk
• £6.1 million to meet the growth in services for people with mental health and learning disabilities 
• £1.9 million more towards the costs of services for people with physical disabilities
• £2.3 million more to meet additional costs of care home fees for service users living in independent sector homes
• £2 million more towards increased costs of care for people living independently in their own homes
• £700,000 more to meet costs arising from the provision of services as a result of the reduction in the Supporting People Grant and
• £2.5 million more to account for the ever growing numbers of older people requiring some form of care.

In Councillor Adair's speech introducing the budget proposals he pointed out that even with a council tax freeze, Nottinghamshire County Council will still be spending £11 million more in 2010/11 than in the previous year.

(Posted 8/3/10) 

Improvement Programme

Like every council in the country, Nottinghamshire County Council faces ongoing, significant and unavoidable increases in demand for key services. At the same time, it faces an unprecedented and long-term reduction in the resources available to it. Present forecasts are that the Council must reduce its current expenditure by at least £88m, or 18% of its revenue budget, over the next three financial years. Most of this reduction will be used to fund increased demand in other service areas. £30m of reductions have already been identified for 2010/11, leaving a further £58m to be found in 2011/12 and 2012/13.

In the past, reductions have been achieved through a process of allocating savings targets across departments. However, the scale of the financial challenge is now such that a more strategic approach is needed to achieve reductions in a structured and consistent way.

At the County Council meeting on 25^th February 2010 the Deputy Leader of the Council, Cllr Martin Suthers gained approval for a new Improvement Programme to deliver these aims, called ‘One Council - One Business - One Plan’. This will involve an estimated investment of £21 million over five years to deliver total aggregated savings of over £200m over a five year period.

The Improvement Programme will include: -

• a complete overhaul of the Council’s approach to procurement

• implementation of an integrated Business Management System and changes in processes

• rationalisation of the Council’s property portfolio and improvement in flexible ways of working

• a fundamental review of all services followed by a comprehensive programme of organisational redesign

• departmental improvement programmes that deliver service-specific developments and

• the Chief Executive’s own programme to deliver improvements in partnership working, communications and organisational development. 

The aim of ‘One Council-One Business-One Plan’ is to drive out inefficiency, target resources, minimise the impact on service delivery and create an organisation that is fit for purpose and financially sustainable in the long term. 

(Posted 8/3/10)

New Stategic Plan

Nottinghamshire County Council's new Strategic Plan 2010-2014 sets out our promise to the people of Nottinghamshire; our priorities for the next four years; and how we aim to support the people of our county to be aspirational, independent and to share with us responsibility for the future.

This Plan complements the wider Nottinghamshire Sustainable Community Strategy which is the collective plan that outlines how organisations in the county will work together to promote and deliver a better Nottinghamshire.

Our plan is ambitious. It is a plan based on what local people tell us they want, and what they want to see happen. The success of our plan relies on us working well together with local people and organisations. Whilst we face challenging financial times, nevertheless we have opportunities to promote and deliver a better future for Nottinghamshire.

(Posted 8/3/10)

Gritting

The exceptionally cold weather which affected Nottinghamshire and most other parts of the UK between December and February led to unprecedented pressures on local authority gritting supplies. Nottinghamshire County Council possessed stockpiles far exceeding Government recommendations and was able to keep its priority routes gritted even when other councils had exhausted their supplies. The biggest difficulty was obtaining replacement supplies, given the exceptional pressure on the two national companies who supply the country’s salt. 

Taking these events into account, it was agreed at the recent County Council budget meeting to increase the gritting budget by £50,000 for 2010/11. It is also intended to use 6mm rather than 10mm salt, which will improve spread rate and increase our gritting capacity still further. 

(Posted 8/3/10)

Visit to John Hunt School

I thoroughly enjoyed a visit to John Hunt School during October, where in two separate sessions I managed to meet the whole school and answer questions about my work as a councillor. The children were very well behaved and interested in the councillor's role. The Mayor of Newark had been to the school a week before, and Newark MP Patrick Mercer has also paid a similar visit since, so the pupils should be very well informed and we could have some budding politicians! 

(Posted 19/11/09)

Sad farewell

It is with great regret that I acknowledge the departure of Mrs Head, the Headteacher of the Grove School. She is moving on to pastures new but I think it is only right (being a governor of the school) that I record a vote of thanks for all of her work. Not only has she been an asset to the school, but also to the village of Balderton. I wish her well for the future.

(Posted 19/11/09)

HGV concerns

The Cabinet Member for Transport & Highways, Councillor Richard Jackson is currently looking into the issue of heavy goods vehicles causing noise and disruption to the residents of Alverton and Kilvington in my colleague Councillor Susan Saddington's division. I am also taking a keen interest in these discussions as the solutions being considered could have implications for Balderton. I hope an acceptable solution can be found for everybody concerned.

(Posted 19/11/09)   

Flooding

I am a member of the Communities Standing Select Committee, where two of the main topics of discussion currently are flooding and road maintenance. Balderon has a long-standing problem with flooding and drainage which I have already brought to the attention of this committee.

(Posted 19/11/09)

Cycle track

The new cycle track from the Turks Head to Fernwood is now completed and I hope it will be well used by local people.

(Posted 19/11/09)

Interactive speed sign on Hawton Lane

An interactive speed sign is due to be installed early next year on Hawton Lane in Balderton. This will be a permanent fixture and should help to curb excessive vehicle speed on this stretch of road.

(Posted 19/11/09)

Tram

On 24^th September 2009 Nottinghamshire County Council voted to withdraw its financial support for the NET Phase Two transport scheme. As a Conservative County Councillor I was elected on a manifesto which stated: "We will avoid spending a small fortune on tram extensions which few people in the county will be able to use."

During the Council debate, several Conservative Members presented the argument for this change of policy. Some referred to the increasing costs of the scheme, whilst others supported the Cabinet Member for Transport & Highways' assertion that flexible bus services, rather than a fixed tram line, represent the most suitable public transport solution to serve the whole of Nottinghamshire. 

Some of my colleagues took the opportunity to state that, contrary to some media reports, the Conservative position on the proposed tram extensions has not changed. They pointed out that the previous Labour administration had entered into certain legal agreements in relation to NET Phase 2 which must be respected to protect the interests of the County taxpayer, but the new Conservative administration is quite clear that it does not support the proposed tram extension routes. 

(Posted 20/10/09)

Workplace Parking Levy (WPL)

Also at the Nottinghamshire County Council meeting on 24^th September 2009, the Cabinet Member for Transport & Highways, Councillor Richard Jackson stated that the new Conservative county administration is opposed to Nottingham City Council's proposals for a Workplace Parking Levy (WPL). He expressed concern about the financial impact such a levy could have on County residents who work in the City and stated his belief that the WPL would be unlikely to cut congestion. Councillor Jackson argued that the scheme could lead to significant parking problems in the County area, frighten off economic investment in the City and County and hit business confidence at a time when it needs to be nurtured. 

(Posted 20/10/09)

Keith's latest Councillors' Divisional Fund awards...

Following a decision taken by Cabinet on 8^th July 2009, each County Councillor now has an annual fund of £10,000 to support worthy initiatives in the division they represent. 

CDF aims to make use of each councillor's 'grass roots' knowledge to identify projects, events, people and clubs that work hard to benefit and promote their local area, but often lack access to resources. Even a small amount of funding can sometimes make a huge difference. 

If you know of a deserving initiative in the Balderton division that might be eligible to receive a CDF grant, please contact me. 

Here are some of the projects I've been able to help so far: -  

Newark Carnival 2010

I am pleased to have been able to provide some CDF support to organisers of the Newark Carnival 2010, which takes place on Sunday 4^th July.

Balderton Walking Group

A contribution from my CDF has helped cover stationery costs associated with the launch of the new Balderton Walking Group.

Chuter Ede Primary School

A donation from my CDF has helped the Chuter Ede Primary School to organise their after-school cooking club and buy a bird box camera for a school project.

John Hunt Primary & Nursery School

A grant from my CDF has helped the John Hunt Primary & Nursery School to hire coaches for some school trips, including a visit to a farm.

Newark & Sherwood Play Support Group

I was pleased to assist the Newark & Sherwood Play Support Group with funding for a play afternoon and 'Play in the Park' sessions.

Chuter Ede Primary School

A grant from my CDF allowed the Chuter Ede Primary School to arrange a stage and seating area for school performances.

D.A.R.E

I was pleased to provide financial assistance for delivery of the Drug Abuse Resistance Education (D.A.R.E) project and Community Service Award for pupils at the John Hunt Primary & Nursery School.  

Christmas trip

A grant from my CDF is helping Home Start Newark to arrange a Christmas trip for families to the Sundown Adventure Land.

Cycle racks

I have been able to help Balderton Parish Council to install new cycle racks on the car park at Balderton Village Centre, Coronation Street.

Keith's committees...

In addition to my duties as Chairman of the Planning & Licensing Committee I serve on other committees including: -

Appeals

Communities Standing 

Health & Wellbeing Standing Select

Planning