Comment

Holding the Labour administration to account

Conservative councillor Andy Milne on the issues affecting his Grange Park ward

Andy Milne has been a Tory councillor since 2014
Andy Milne has been a Tory councillor since 2014

I am coming to the end of my third term as a councillor, and I am honoured to have been selected to stand again as a candidate in Grange Park ward for the 2026 local elections.

I am a lifelong resident of Enfield, as were my mother and grandfather before me – I am fully invested in the borough. Along with my ward colleague Chris Dey and the rest of the Conservative group, we are passionate about ensuring the future of Enfield is protected and enhanced.

Prior to becoming a councillor, I was an active member of Grange Park Residents’ Association and, as a keen sportsman, I have had a long association with a number of sports clubs in the area.

Being a councillor can be extremely rewarding, especially supporting local residents navigate the often-unnecessary complexities of accessing council services for a positive outcome. It is extremely frustrating that the Labour administration acts in a contradictory manner to its own strategies or introduces polices and alters services to the plain detriment of the borough and its residents.

There is an exponential growth in fly-tipping that has been completely foreseeable and predicted by the Conservative group – it is entirely attributable to the removal of weekly bin collections.

The leisure strategy was unanimously agreed in November 2024 with the specific aim of “working with local clubs to support them to become sustainable organisations and to work with clubs to provide them with security of tenure”. But those same clubs have since been hit with the threat of massive rent increases by this Labour administration.

There was rightly universal outrage with the felling of the ancient oak tree in Whitewebbs Park. It is therefore completely ironic and counter-intuitive that this Labour administration sanctioned the killing and phased felling of probably the largest and oldest oak tree in Grange Park ward rather than address the minor ground heave caused by the roots. The tree is estimated to be in excess of 250 years old and has an asset value of around £300,000.

In Labour councillor Ian Barnes’ column in the Dispatch last month he claimed that the Conservative group is talking down the borough – far from it. We Conservatives are passionate about the borough; what we are doing is highlighting and exposing the many failings of this Labour administration. Sadly, there are so many that we are able to highlight major issues almost on a daily basis!

Cllr Dey and I work well together and will continue to work hard for the .residents of Grange Park ward, hopefully for many years to come.

Andy Milne represents Grange Park alongside Chris Dey (both Conservative). Ward residents can get in touch:
Email
[email protected]


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