Newark and Sherwood District Council’s portfolio holder for public protection and community relations, writes about councillors delivering on promises

People expect councillors to deliver what they promise, writes Paul Taylor, Newark and Sherwood District Council’s portfolio holder for public protection and community relations.

When I was elected in May 2023, I stood on three main issues. The first was to tackle anti-social behaviour (ASB).

Through working with the police and other partners, we have reduced ASB in the district by 18% so far.

During this time I have led a project to replace our old CCTV cameras and this week my proposal to invest in a state-of the-art CCTV control room was also approved. This will allow us to become more proactive against those committing crime in our communities.

I’m also very aware of the importance of addressing violence against women and girls and I’m leading a project to ensure that all councillors and staff members are trained on how to support those experiencing domestic abuse. I want to see all district council premises become safe places for women and girls to seek support.

The second issue was the Cost of Living crisis; our teams play a major part in working to support our communities. We have given local charity partners funding on a rolling three yearly basis.

We also provide support for those urgently needing food, hygiene products and even energy vouchers.

In addition, we run a Community Grant scheme, which offers grants to local organisations which further supports services for local communities. More work is still to be done but we are making a difference in our communities.

The third area of concern was, and still is, the state of the NHS in Newark, including the difficulty for residents accessing a GP or a dentist as well as the urgent treatment centre (UTC) being closed overnight. We will keep pressing for improvements on these issues.

Not everything that a Councillor will support is apparent when we first stand for election.

One such issue has been the dreadful flooding over the last 18 months. We have brought a range of partners together to ensure flooding stays high on the community safety agenda and we are holding organisations to account to improve their performance.

We were told the flooding response of January 2025 worked much better thanks to our involvement, which included launching grant schemes, supporting with aqua sacs and water pump provision and for the first time seeing Newark Town Council establish a team of flood wardens.

Despite how some individual councillors choose to conduct themselves, the vast majority of councillors work well together on most issues and genuinely want the best for the people of Newark and Sherwood.

Let’s hope that as we move forward there is even more cooperation and cross-party working.