Leader's statement

Here is the New Year message from Cllr Denise Hyland, Leader of the Royal Borough of Greenwich, in full: 

Well, we arrive at the start of another New Year and I know that for many of us the past year has not been easy and that many people have been struggling to make ends meet. The years of austerity have taken their toll on household budgets and 2017 will see many families still struggling to balance the books. The very real difficulties of many of our residents do not go unnoticed, and as ever, we will do all we can to provide help and support through the Council's services and decisions we take in the coming year.

Though, we still want to look forward to 2017 with a real air of optimism. There is so much to be excited about in the borough and many areas are undergoing significant change and improvement. In Abbey Wood we have new developments spurred on by Crossrail and we look forward to the brand new station opening at the end of the year and the new Elizabeth line opening in 2018. The whole area around the station is transforming too and the local shops have all had a brilliant facelift - creating an even more welcoming and vibrant space for local people and commuters alike.

The Crossrail effect is, of course, also being felt in Woolwich too and again we can see great change still taking effect in the town, especially at the Royal Arsenal where we've recently seen the new Marks and Spencer Foodhall open. We have fantastic plans for the new cultural quarter that we hope to create at the Royal Arsenal which will see new arts companies moving into the area providing new jobs and skills, putting Woolwich on the map of must-see London highlights.

Over the Easter weekend in April we are thrilled that the borough will be hosting the start of the Rendez-Vous 2017 Tall Ships Regatta. The regatta will sail from Greenwich to Quebec in Canada to mark the 150th anniversary of the Canadian Confederation and it means we will be welcoming the spectacular sight of tens of large Class A and B Tall Ships to Greenwich and Woolwich for four days before they set sail. We will be hosting another big on-shore festival, as we did in 2014 which drew in crowds of over a million people. I can't wait to enjoy the maritime entertainment, music and stalls and to see local people and visitors enjoying a weekend of free fantastic family fun. I urge you to get the dates in your diaries now - 13 to 16 April 2017!

Whilst it's important to focus on these big highlights for the borough and our overall vision, in the coming year myself and my colleagues on the Council will, of course, be working as hard as ever on how we can improve the day-to-day lives of our residents.

We will continue our work on creating new opportunities for work and training in the borough, we will continue our focus on looking after children and adults who need our help and we will be doing all we can to improve the immediate environment across the borough, taking the toughest action possible against fly-tippers and launching new anti-litter campaigns in the new year. Despite the cuts, we will continue our public health campaigning to help our residents to make healthier lifestyle choices to improve their own health and well-being.

I'm also looking forward to more of our 'Better Together' sessions in 2017 - where we hear directly from you, our residents, on what you want us to focus on - and what we can do to make your lives better. There is good engagement from communities, for example in Plumstead, where the Council is proposing changes for improvement.

Eltham has benefited from improvement to the high street to enhance the shopping experience and the changes seem to have generally gone down well locally.

I look forward to seeing as many of you as possible at these and other events in 2017 and as always, please contact myself and my fellow councillors direct about any issues you wish to raise.

I wish you all a very happy and healthy 2017.

— Denise