To write a few lines of reflection about a year which saw me elected as the second Conservative St Chad's Ward Councillor on the Sunderland City Council is certainly no hardship and I would like to thank all those people in the ward whom I have met or got to know in the past eight months for their kind reaction to me. Year-round hard and continuous work is something that Robert Oliver, who has been so very diligent on your behalf since 2004 and myself, believe is necessary for us to satisfactorily fulfill our duties as your Councillors. Not all problems or issues can be solved, but every effort will be made, whatever the outcome, in the months and years ahead, as it has been in the past.
 
Without doubt a major hope for 2008 is that there will be progress made on the vexed issue of parking in Herrington by employees from Doxford International. At the time of writing we are awaiting contact from the Council Officers for another meeting which we have requested and they have promised to get in touch after certain procedures have been met. Both Robert and myself have received much contact from understandably concerned residents and we sincerely hope a positive outcome can be achieved.
 
On the political front, in the very near future, we should be in a position to announce the name of our Conservative candidate who will be contesting the ward in the May 2008 council elections. The seat is being defended by Labour and we anticipate a very interesting battle ahead. When our candidate's name is known we will post it on our website.

Michael

We are always on the lookout for opportunities for young people in St. Chad's Ward. Last week we were made aware of a Midnight Football scheme run by the A690 group which is having a positive impact in the area. It takes place at Silksworth Sports Complex and has been attracting young people from throughout the area. These young people may, otherwise, have had little to do to but hang around and potentially get into trouble. With some funds left in the ward's Community Chest budget we are hopeful that we can make a significant contribution to keep this excellent scheme going.
 
Robert