Here's a look at what's been achieved so far!

This afternoon, I went to Emmanuel Church at the heart of Southfields ward. I was looking at the work being done on 'The Bigger Picture.'

The Big Picture is a world record breaking community picture, comprising of almost 500 panels, each painted by a community group or individual. Together they make up an 80 metre long picture of the Easter story being compiled on the grass outside Emmanuel Church on Forest Road during mid-March.

This hasn't just involved Christian groups, and I was told that over 2000 people from across our town have been involved in some way.

On Easter Monday, there's a family fun day and firework display where people can come and watch the final (and record breaking) piece being put into place. I hope that loads of people can come and see this incredible achievement.

As it's half term, I decided to take a quick walk round (and up) Beacon Hill this morning. I really enjoyed the fresh air, and it made all the more determined to see that the beautiful countryside that covers our area gains an official designation as a Regional Park.

Some people might remember that I raised a motion about getting Charnwood Forest regional park status and I hope to hear some positive news soon.

Since being elected, I've spoken with more residents concerned about parking issues than anything else.

While much has been done to address the issue in areas with resident's preference parking (the new street wardens etc.), there is still a problem in the pockets of Southfields that aren't covered - notably the Kingfisher Estate.

I am part of a group of councillors whose wards border Loughborough University who are attempting to get some of these issues address. The next meeting is on Wednesday night - I'll let you know when any action might be taken!

The Borough Council are taking part in a scheme to find out which area of Charnwood gives us most pride. I'm proud to say that of the options, FOUR of them are in Southfields ward - these are:
- The Carillon Tower (in Queen's Park)
- The Town Hall
- Loughborough Market
- Charnwood Museum
Why not visit their website and have your say? You can do this by clicking on the title to this story ... (I voted for the Carillon Tower as Queen's Park is one of my favourite parts of Loughborough)! The picture shows myself, Jill and Andy Reed MP posing in the park earlier this year.

Jill and I met with our local beat officer on Friday night to talk about parking issues across the ward, and especially in Kingfisher Estate. We had a really productive meeting, and will keep working with residents to resolve these as speedily as possible. If you have an issue with parking, feel free to get in touch with us using the details above.

On Saturday, Jill and I did one of our regular street surgeries with our county councillor Nev Stork. We visited Radmoor Road and Westfield Drive and talked to loads of residents. Sorry if we missed you! We had lots of concerns raised - many to do with low level anti-social behaviour and environmental crimes like littering and graffiti. We will be taking all these issues on, and will be communicating with all local residents about what we've done. Don't forget if you have a problem, please feel free to get in touch using the details above.

I now have a facebook profile, so if you're interested in using that as an alternative way to contact me feel free. Facebook is a social networking website that was set up in America in 2004. You can link straight to my profile by clicking on the title above. Hope to see some of you there!

Several residents have been in touch with both myself and Jill about the former NHS property and adjoining house on the corner of Park Road and Mayfield Drive. Jill and I raised concerns about this building earlier in the year after we completed one of our regular street surgeries on Mayfield Drive. We are now hearing that work has started on the building. We will make sure that we keep residents informed - questions have been asked, and I will put the answers to those questions here as soon as I have them. The picture shows Jill and I talking about the property earlier this year.

As my previous article said, Jill and I completed our street surgery in Herrick Road yesterday. We went for around 2 hours, but unfortunately didn't have time to knock on every door. If you would still like to talk to us about local issues, then please feel free to email/ring at any time.

Lots of issues were raised - perhaps unsurprisingly, the most common issue was the state of the roundabouts along Epinal Way. This has now been dubbed the War of the Roses by Radio Leicester! It is disgraceful that tens of thousands of pounds have been raised in sponsorship for these roundabouts, yet the upkeep of them is going by the wayside.

Another issue that was raised with us, was one of parking problems on Herrick Road, although residents seemed to suggest this was mainly at the Beacon Road end.

Residents also raised a number of issues with us, and we will be back in touch as soon as we are able.

Check back here for details of our next street surgery - if there's a particular issue where you live, then let us know!