New flower planter at school bus stop attracts positive comments

I'd like to offer my thanks to the residents who have contacted me over the past few days to comment on the new flower planter installed earlier this week at the bus stop in front of Blackhall Colliery Primary School on Middle Street.

By way of background I was contacted a couple of months ago by a local resident who suggested that the area around the bus stop would benefit from a few minor improvements. With that in mind I approached the clerk to Monk Hesleden Parish Council to see what the parish thought about placing a flower planter next to the bus stop to add some colour and to tidy the area up a bit.

Together we put a plan in place where I would provide the funding and the parish would arrange for their estates management team to install the planter. The work was completed earlier this week and from the comments I've received since residents have noticed the immediate improvement. This latest work follows enhancements to the seating area further down Middle Street last year where the parish council repaired the damaged fence on their land and installed flower beds on either side of the bench.

Given the success of this latest addition we'll continue to work together to carry out further improvements where they are most needed in other parts of Blackhall and Hesleden.

My thanks go to the clerk and members of the parish council for their help with this initiative, and especially to the council's estates management team under the supervision of Antony Peace. I'm sure residents will agree that their hard work and devotion to improving our villages have made a real difference.