Lib Dems Tony Woods & Richard Church appointed to WNDC Board

12.00.00pm GMT Tue 11th Mar 2008

Tony Woods

Northampton Borough Council leader, Tony Woods, and Portfolio Holder for Regeneration, Richard Church, have been appointed to the board of the West Northamptonshire Development Corporation. Tony Woods promised to "work tirelessly with the board to build a better Northampton and to create a new city that we can all be proud of".

Tony Woods said, "I am delighted with these appointments. Regeneration is about changing Northampton so that it is a city that people want to make their home. The Government has decided that Northampton will grow rapidly. That decision was out of our hands. We must get on with making that growth sustainable and ensuring that Northampton becomes a better, more successful place. I want Northampton to be the equal or better than the best European cities of a similar size.

"My key priority as the Leader of Northampton Borough Council and as a Board Member of the WNDC will be to ensure the two organisations work very closely together - and with others - for the benefit of the people of Northampton.

"We want high quality development and affordable new homes, we must build real communities with the jobs, education and infrastructure to make Northampton a fantastic place to live, work and play. We do not want urban sprawl, anonymous estates or thousands of poor quality homes that will be the slums of the future. We must learn from past mistakes - and also use this opportunity of growth to put right the mistakes of the past.

"It is also pleasing that at long last there will be Liberal Democrat representation on the board of the WNDC. The absence of any Liberal Democrat on the Board during its first three years has been unfortunate to say the very least. It significantly weakened the WNDC during its vital formation period."

Richard Church

Cllr Richard Church, the Borough Council's Portfolio Holder for Regeneration, said, "The WNDC will only be with us for a few years, Northampton has been around for a millennium. It will still be here long after the WNDC has gone. To miss the chance to play our part to ensure that new development in our town is to the best possible standard, would let down both the people who live here now and the generations still to come.

"As a former Director of one of Northampton's oldest retail businesses I know how important a vibrant and successful town centre is to our town and to the wider area. Over the years Northampton has not kept pace with some of our neighbours. This needs to change and the government's demand for the growth of Northampton gives us the opportunity to bring dramatic improvements to the town centre.

"Cllr Woods and I will be very strong advocates for the people of Northampton, while not forgetting the towns, villages and countryside around us that contribute so much to Northampton".

Government (the Department for Communities and Local Government) today announced that Cllr Tony Woods has been appointed as the NBC nominee to the Board of the WNDC for a three-year term from 15 March 2008, and that Cllr Richard Church has been appointed as the County Council nominee for a similar term.