Hello Diana. I said I would give you a mention after you said such nice things about my blog. Keep smiling.

A few weeks ago I was informed that West Suffolk Council Cabinet were to visit all the towns, including Clare. I strongly believe that those in power must make the effort to meet those that they serve so I fully support this initiative.

On the 16th January I asked for the details of the proposed visit, which took place today. I was keen to understand what was happening so that we could make the very best of the visit in the interests of Clare. I asked the Leader of the Council:

“I am hugely supportive of these types of initiatives but I am unclear what is being proposed. Are you able to share the times and locations and what is planned? What is the purpose of the visits and what outcomes are you expecting? Have you anything in particular you would like to see in Clare?Are you intending to meet with local members and are you expecting to meet with local civic leaders? We have a number of organisations in Clare but with time getting short I’m not sure of their availability.”

Unfortunately, it was decided not to meet with anyone from Clare. I think this was a missed opportunity but thankfully they were happy to meet with myself and Marion Rushbrook as we are both West Suffolk Council councillors. We were supported by Sarah Pugh who represented the business community but we smuggled her in as she is also a West Suffolk Council councillor for the neighbouring ward.

We had limited time but we sought to cover as many points as possible. I started with explaining that Clare might be a small town but it has a big heart and a fantastic selection of independent shops. Shops that depend on footfall. And footfall depends on sufficient car parking.

This allowed me to give it the full carpark pitch and it went down well as far as I can see.

We were also able to discuss flooding and the Cavendish Road developments. We also had a chance to promote the Golf Club, the Country Park, the Fisheries and the brewery.

I reminded them that Clare deserves its fair share of funding. It doesn’t ask for much when compared to Bury St Edmunds, Haverhill and the like. A carpark is not too much to ask.