Message from the Adur Leader - Adur & Worthing Councils

May 2024 saw a historic election - the first time Labour had gained control of Adur District Council. As leader of the council, I am leading a team who are committed to making our area fairer and greener for everyone who lives, works and visits here.

We are a council for the community, listening to our citizens and focusing on the issues that matter most to you.

We share more than just a boundary with our friends at Worthing Borough Council, and having similar priorities means we can achieve far more by working closely with them.

That will be vital over the coming months, as years of inadequate central government funding, increasing demand for our services and the urgent need for us to take action to mitigate climate change means we need to transform the way we serve our communities.

Some of our town and village centres are showing signs of neglect. We'll harness the power and commitment of our wonderful community groups to improve our beautiful parks and open spaces. We will also take action to improve the heart of Lancing, picking up from our conversations with residents on how they wanted the village to develop.

We'll make our services easier to access and use for everyone, but supporting the most vulnerable will continue to be our priority, so that no one is left behind. That includes homeless people and those at risk of losing their home through no fault of their own.

We'll be working hard over the next year to improve the properties of our Adur Homes tenants across the district which have been neglected for decades. Too many of our tenants are living in substandard housing, which is absolutely unacceptable. This year we'll spend £10m on those properties to make them safer, secure and of a decent standard.

I share the frustration of our residents that we have dozens of homes sitting empty and in a poor condition across the district when we have families on our housing waiting list having to stay outside the area or in B&Bs. We're focusing our attention on bringing these homes back into use as quickly as possible so we can bring Adur families back to their area. We're also continuing to build new social housing for our citizens, using our own under-used sites in Lancing and Southwick rather than damaging our precious green spaces.

Protecting and improving our environment is a key priority for our citizens and for this council. We will continue to support the excellent Sussex Bay initiative to reinvigorate our sea, while helping wildlife to thrive in our estuary and increasing biodiversity across our district.

Our citizens voted for change for the better in May 2024, and we are committed to ensuring they see and feel that change.

Video: Interview with Cllr Jeremy Gardner, Leader of Adur District Council