A council leader has heralded the accomplishments made over the last year since Labour took control.
The party secured a historic win in Worthing last year after the party gained six council seats and took control of the council for the first time ever.
Reflecting on the last year, Beccy Cooper, leader of Worthing Borough Council, said Labour’s time in administration had been “incredibly hard work but also very rewarding”.
She said the council’s benefits and housing team have “worked tirelessly” to help those priced out of the housing market and those struggling to pay bills.
Ms Cooper said: “It is criminal that these are the issues that our communities are facing, and as a council, we are committed to working with our communities to do all in our power to reduce the inequality gap across our town, to provide decent social housing that is affordable and to help to build a local economy that supports all of us to meet our needs.”
She also thanked local voluntary support organisations for “working round the clock to make sure that residents have enough food for their families and can heat their homes.”
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In the last local election campaign, Ms Cooper pledged to listen to residents about what they want from the council.
Since then, the Labour-led administration has undertaken a Big Listen campaign, which highlighted that “people want to live in green, safe community spaces that celebrate the best of our coastal town”.
To deliver on this, Ms Cooper said: “We have undertaken Big Cleans across the town and the now infamous Poo Patrols.
“The Sussex Bay project is seeing amazing marine life come back to our shores and we are about to start a Trees for Streets initiative, allowing all our streets to enjoy the benefits of leafiness.”
She also said that plans to turn Montague Place into a green park will be published shortly, and expressed her commitment to find funding to regenerate the town’s lido.
Labour has also pledged to deliver on priorities for residents, including make the town a safe and welcoming place for all, providing sustainable housing, and reaching net zero targets.
Among the party’s manifesto commitments include introducing food waste collection, working to exceed national recycling targets, work towards a car-free town centre and seafront and making sure free public space community broadband is available across Worthing.
However, she also warned that the council is facing “very tough” economic challenges and said the coming year would also be testing.
She said: “The cost of living emergency has affected increasing numbers of people across our communities, stretching our council services even thinner than they were previously.
“We are aware that every penny must be spent well and for the benefit of our communities.
“We will therefore continue to listen to our communities, to make sure that the work we do and the plans we make are the very best of our residents.”
Voters will go to the polls across Worthing and most of Sussex on May 4.
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