Diary 10 May 2007.
The residents of Mason Road and Malvern Road suffered an unwelcome surprise recently when an electrical sub station went up in flames for the second time in four
months.
I went to visit some local residents who had been affected by the first fire to see if they were OK and to hear what they had to say about the situation.
In the first incident some gardens were awash with oil and foam running off the substation site – others had smoke problems. Now with this second incident serious questions need
to be answered by the power company Eon about the safety of the site. I have asked them to meet me in Redditch to let me know why two such serious incidents happened so close
together and what can be done to reassure local residents in the future.
Home Office minister, Tony McNulty came to Redditch to celebrate the upgrading of the CCTV system in Redditch. He was very impressed with the plans and
very surprised that Conservatives and the BNP had voted against the scheme last month. I think that CCTV makes us feel safer and the more up to date the system the better.
Finally, the local elections were a triumph for all those who want to see the back of the BNP from Redditch. The BNP, with its roots on the extreme right
of politics, failed to win any seats in Redditch. Redditch Council remains as it was - with the Conservatives failing to make a single gain – however across the Country there
were lessons to be learnt by the government from the results – lessons that will be taken seriously.
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