I’ve just been to the High Street for a pizza.  It’s been raining quite hard today and the paving stones are all wet.  I nearly slipped over about half a dozen times.  For info, I was wearing flat boots - the same ones I have been happily delivering in for a week now with no slipping incident at all.

So much for the improvement works - I had to walk very gingerly down the slabs.  I wasn’t the only one - I got this tweet just before I came home from @19Epiphany76:

“Just nearly slid over 3 times on the shiny wet paving in Brentwood high st, only crossed it twice for a takeaway!”

It’s a year since Eric Pickles memorable appearance on QT when he tried to explain why he needed a second home in London because he needed to be at work at 9.30am.  You know “like a job” as David Dimbleby put it!

As the general election approaches, grab a cup of tea, follow this link, click on Eric on the top right hand corner and spend five minutes enjoying the experience all over again!

Of course, there is only one man that can beat Eric and truly represent you in parliament.  He’ll not be needing a second home, in fact, here is the commitment he has made.

Pleased to report that the parts for the lift have been received and we hope that it will be fixed very soon.

Here are this week’s planning alerts for Brentwood West:

90 Cromwell Road - SINGLE STOREY CONSERVATORY: Recommended for approval.

If you have any issues with the above officer recommendation then please get in touch with me as soon as possible.  I have until midday on Monday 29th March 2010 to refer the above items to the Planning Committee for further discussion.

I haven’t had a chance to comment on the dangerous dog plan that the Labour government came up with last week, due to being at conference and all.  But today I hear that they have done a U-turn and decided against introducing a law for EVERY dog to be insured for third party damage in case they attack someone.  Chris Huhne, Lib Dem Shadow Home Secretary, summed it up by saying:

“Another headline-grabbing Labour announcement has gone to the dogs.

“The law on dangerous dogs does need to be tightened up but not by a canine tax on millions of law-abiding British dog lovers.”

Let’s put this in context.  For those who don’t know my little dog, this is a picture of Quincy.  This gorgeous shih tzu belongs to me and my mum and lives with her in Brentwood West (thereby known as Brentwood West Dog).

He’s at least 14, has a back problem which means he falls over every half a dozen steps, three teeth, is hard of hearing and has one (not very good) eye.  Now, seriously, how likely is he to launch an attack on anyone?

The only way Quincy would cause someone a mischief is if you fell over him!

But we love him!

Sorry to report that one of the lifts is still out of order - unfortunately the engineers are still waiting for parts to fix it. I’ve followed it up again today and I hope things will be fixed soon. I know this is hugely problematic for residents.

I will keep you posted on the issue - don’t hesitate to call me for anything else too.

I’ve been away at the Lib Dem Spring Conference in Birmingham this weekend with Cllr David Kendall, Brentwood & Ongar’s parliamentary candidate.

Now, the high spot of the weekend has to be the photo here - ME AND NICK CLEGG!!!!

I’ve been at a few meetings with Nick over the last couple of years, but this was the first time I got to have a brief chat and a photo with him. 

He made an excellent speech today, Cllr David Kendall talks about it in more detail here. Vince Cable and Chris Huhne were also extremely impressive.

Most of all, I really enjoyed being in the company of hundreds of good, decent and enthusiastic people who really care about this country and what happens.  We’ve all had enough of the same-old-same-old, red-blue-red-blue politics and it really is time for something new, brave…real change that works for you.

Here are this week’s planning alerts for Brentwood West:

22 La Plata Grove - FIRST FLOOR REAR EXTENSION: Recommended for approval.

15 Talbrook - CONVERT EXISTING GARAGE TO PART KITCHEN/ BREAKFAST/ PLAY AREA AND PART STORAGE AREA: Recommended for approval.

7 Ashford Avenue  - RETROSPECTIVE APPLICATION FOR AN OUTBUILDING: Recommended for approval.

If you have any issues with the above officer recommendation then please get in touch with me as soon as possible.  I have until midday on Monday 22nd March 2010 to refer the above items to the Planning Committee for further discussion.

As many of you will know, Cllr David Kendall has been campaigning for better bus and rail transport for over five years now. With other members of the Brentwood Bus & Rail Users Association, and especially Chair Wendy Way, David has spent a lot of time on this issue. Tirelessly I would say.

For information, Labour’s Cllr Mike Le Surf and his wife Julie Morrissey are both on the committee. No Conservatives have joined, despite many invitations being offered.

So, we were a bit surprised to get a call from Wendy whilst at conference to tell us that County Councillor John Roberts (Hutton Division) had launched an attack on David in the press. Why? Because David dared to campaign on something that he very much sees as a “Hutton issue” - the 81/82 bus (which is now saved).

I’m very disappointed because I thought Cllr Roberts was above this sort of behaviour. The 81/82 bus is used by many people in Hutton, including many members of the association who live there, and many people across Brentwood. In fact, I’ve had a number of queries from residents in Brentwood West who use the bus to get around town.

The thing is, surely we are elected to get results for residents. Cross-party, we all agree that we don’t want to lose this vital bus service so why is Cllr Roberts warning David off? 

I was so delighted last night to hear that this vital bus service has been saved.

I’ve had a few calls and emails from worried residents in Brentwood West who pick up the service in the Crescent Road area. We can now breathe a sigh of relief!