Councillor Michael R Eddy

Ever since 1994, I’ve lived in the Deal and Walmer area after moving back to Britain with my wife (a teacher) and daughter (now a university student). My contacts with this part of the world, though, go back much longer to when I was a field archaeologist working on a short-term contract at Dover Castle. And I brought Adult Education students down from London University to see Henry VIII’s castles at Deal and Walmer.

After working for some ten years in British archaeology, we moved out to the Canary Islands and spent another extremely interesting decade doing everything from teaching English to journalism and back to archaeological research.

I’ve served at various times on town, district and county councils and have also been a non-executive director on, first, the East Kent Health Authority and then the Kent and Medway Strategic Health Authority.

As well as being a trustee on the local Citizens Advice Bureau, I am a governor at Walmer Science College and the Downs Primary School. I’m pleased to say that both schools have seen massive investment over the last decade. In 1997 half of Walmer school was taught in mobile classrooms (one of which had been on the site for 28 years!). Now it has seen £1 million invested in the 8-class room “Compass Centre” and £3.9 million in a new sports hall, library and arts and science class rooms. This year (2009) saw over £100,000 invested in a new entrance hall, offices, toilets, stores and music room at the Downs school.

St Helena

28 St Richards Road
Deal
Kent
CT14 9JR

Tel: 01304 368330

Email:cllrmichaeleddy@dover.gov.uk 

The core of the Mill Hill ward is the old Coal Board housing estate and shares a lot of the problems of former mining in the Midlands and North.

Deal generally suffers from poor road maintenance and I am keen to see improves to road safety, not just in the ward but across the district as most of my constituents have to travel to work in Dover, Ashford and Canterbury. The growing numbers of elderly people find the pavements as badly maintained as the roads. This stops them being as independent as they would like (and could) be.

Though schools have seen a lot of improvements over the last decade or so, facilities for young people could be a lot better.

Making things better is a long, hard process but I’m glad to say that we’ve seen £1 million spent on safety improvements for the main Dover to Deal road and St Richards Road, probably the most used road in the ward has been resurfaced. The next step is to get safer crossing places put in and to get crossing places for the elderly and disabled throughout Mill Hill.

As Shadow Cabinet Member for Finance, I am one Labour’s representatives on the Governance and Audit Committee. I am the Labour vice-Chairman of the Policy and Resources Scrutiny Committee. Both committees exist to hold the administration of the council to account for its actions and inactions, to examine policies before they are put in place and to make recommendations to improve them if necessary.

Expenses

Out of pocket expenses can be claimed to cover the costs of travel to approved meetings and for meals if away from home for extended periods.

As I believe in being open about what I do as a councillor, I intend to publish my expenses, as and when they are paid, for my constituents' information.

May 2007 to April 2008                            no claims made.

May 2008 to 8 June 2009                         no claims made.

9 June 2009 to 14 September 2009            £131.50 for travel to approved meetings, including return

                                                               trip to the Local Government Association conference in

                                                               Harrogate as substitute for the Labour Group Leader.

15 September 2009 to 15 November 2009    £35 re-imbursement of Data Protection registration fee;

                                                               £30 travel to approved meetings.

16 Nov 2009 to 31 Dec 2009                     £31.20 for approved travel.

1 Jan 2010 to 28 February 2010                 £42.00 for approved travel.

1 March 2010 to 31 March 2010                 £18.00 for approved travel.

Total for financial year 2009/10                 £234.70 (Excluding Data Protection Registration Fee)