Kent County Council are running an April Blitz on potholes, seeking to repair up to 10,000 potholes across the County in a month. After increasing pressure from local residents and councillors, Kent has redirected at least 24 crews to focus on repairing only potholes and promoted a campaign of reporting with the public.
House prices fell by 2.5% during March, their biggest monthly fall since the 1990s housing crash, as the credit crunch and market jitters continued to deter homebuyers. The figures were published by the UK's biggest mortgage lender, the Halifax. House prices are now 1.1% higher than they were a year ago, the slowest annual growth rate for 12 years. Gordon Brown claimed the UK was well placed to deal with global economic crises, saying the figures should be seen in the context of 10 years of big increases and low interest rates.
Shepway District Council wrote off £145,000 of Council Tax as uncollectable in 2006-07. Overall, English councils wrote off more than £130m of unpaid tax last year, according to figures from the Department for Communities and Local Government.
Local MP Tim Farron has hailed the youth surgeries held at three estates in Kendal last week as a huge success after meeting with over a hundred young people on the Hallgarth, Kirkbarrow and Sandylands estates. Tim played twelve games of five-a-side football on the multi use games areas with the local youngsters before sitting down to discuss issues of concern.
This Friday, Vince Cable MP, Liberal Democrat Deputy Leader and Shadow Chancellor, will be visiting Beetham Post Office from around 9.30am with Tim Farron and a group of children from local schools to show how strong support is for the Post Office.
Local MP Tim Farron has written to the Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Northern Rock Foundation, Alastair Balls today in an effort to secure guarantees that arts and heritage projects will receive significant backing. Since the bank was fully nationalised last month it has been confirmed that the Foundation will receive a guaranteed minimum of £15m per year. It had been feared that the Foundation's funding would disappear completely - a huge blow for charities in the North West.
