About Reg
Reg Adair was first elected to Nottinghamshire County Council to represent the Ruddington division in May 2005. He is also a Rushcliffe Borough Councillor representing the Stanford ward and a member of Bradmore Parish Council.
Following his successful re-election to the County Council in June 2009, Reg was appointed Cabinet Member for Finance & Property, charged with overall responsibility for managing the Nottinghamshire County Council budget.
Born on a farm on the west coast of Ireland and one of eight children, his career has been mainly in the textile industry. He no longer works full-time but still does some mentoring and business consultancy work.
He lives in Bradmore with wife Alison. They have one married daughter, Angeline, and two grandchildren who live in Paris.
Reg holds surgeries every second Saturday of the month 10 a.m. - 12 noon at St. Peter's Rooms, Ruddington. He is also available to meet constituents at any convenient time at a suitable venue. His contact details are displayed on the left of this page.
Reg's latest news...
Wilford Road and Clifton Road
Work has almost been completed on the £350,000 accessibility scheme to install a cycle path and a proper footpath and improve the grass verges on Wilford Road and Clifton Road in Ruddington. The highway on Wilford Road and Clifton Road has also been resurfaced and interactive speed signs have been installed.
I appreciate the positive feedback from local residents about the scheme. People have commented on how much it has improved the local environment.
(Posted 24/5/10)
A60 improved
I am pleased that the resurfacing of the A60 from the Nottingham Knight roundabout to Ashworth Avenue in Ruddington has now been completed.
(Posted 24/5/10)
County Council Budget 2010/11
At the Nottinghamshire County Council Annual Budget meeting on Thursday 25th February 2010 I joined my Conservative colleagues in voting for a freeze in council tax for the forthcoming financial year 2010/11.
As Cabinet Member for Finance & Property I presented the first budget of the new Conservative administration which included a range of management and efficiency measures to save £30 million. This money will be re-directed into front line services including key priority care services: -
In my speech introducing the budget proposals I pointed out that even with a council tax freeze, Nottinghamshire County Council will still be spending £11 million more in 2010/11 than in the previous year.
(Posted 8/3/10)
Improvement Programme
Like every council in the country, Nottinghamshire County Council faces ongoing, significant and unavoidable increases in demand for key services. At the same time, it faces an unprecedented and long-term reduction in the resources available to it. Present forecasts are that the Council must reduce its current expenditure by at least £88m, or 18% of its revenue budget, over the next three financial years. Most of this reduction will be used to fund increased demand in other service areas. £30m of reductions have already been identified for 2010/11, leaving a further £58m to be found in 2011/12 and 2012/13.
In the past, reductions have been achieved through a process of allocating savings targets across departments. However, the scale of the financial challenge is now such that a more strategic approach is needed to achieve reductions in a structured and consistent way.
At the County Council meeting on 25th February 2010 the Deputy Leader of the Council, Cllr Martin Suthers gained approval for a new Improvement Programme to deliver these aims, called ‘One Council - One Business - One Plan’. This will involve an estimated investment of £21 million over five years to deliver total aggregated savings of over £200m over a five year period.
The Improvement Programme will include: -
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a complete overhaul of the Council’s approach to procurement
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implementation of an integrated Business Management System and changes in processes
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rationalisation of the Council’s property portfolio and improvement in flexible ways of working
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a fundamental review of all services followed by a comprehensive programme of organisational redesign
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departmental improvement programmes that deliver service-specific developments and
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the Chief Executive’s own programme to deliver improvements in partnership working, communications and organisational development.
The aim of ‘One Council-One Business-One Plan’ is to drive out inefficiency, target resources, minimise the impact on service delivery and create an organisation that is fit for purpose and financially sustainable in the long term.
(Posted 8/3/10)
New Strategic Plan
Nottinghamshire County Council's new Strategic Plan 2010-2014 sets out our promise to the people of Nottinghamshire; our priorities for the next four years; and how we aim to support the people of our county to be aspirational, independent and to share with us responsibility for the future.
This Plan complements the wider Nottinghamshire Sustainable Community Strategy which is the collective plan that outlines how organisations in the county will work together to promote and deliver a better Nottinghamshire.
Our plan is ambitious. It is a plan based on what local people tell us they want, and what they want to see happen. The success of our plan relies on us working well together with local people and organisations. Whilst we face challenging financial times, nevertheless we have opportunities to promote and deliver a better future for Nottinghamshire.
(Posted 8/3/10)
Gritting
The exceptionally cold weather which affected Nottinghamshire and most other parts of the UK between December and February led to unprecedented pressures on local authority gritting supplies. Nottinghamshire County Council possessed stockpiles far exceeding Government recommendations and was able to keep its priority routes gritted even when other councils had exhausted their supplies. The biggest difficulty was obtaining replacement supplies, given the exceptional pressure on the two national companies who supply the country’s salt.
Taking these events into account, it was agreed at the recent County Council budget meeting to increase the gritting budget by £50,000 for 2010/11. It is also intended to use 6mm rather than 10mm salt, which will improve spread rate and increase our gritting capacity still further.
(Posted 8/3/10)
Tram
On 24th September 2009 Nottinghamshire County Council voted to withdraw its financial support for the NET Phase Two transport scheme. As a Conservative County Councillor I was elected on a manifesto which stated: "We will avoid spending a small fortune on tram extensions which few people in the county will be able to use."
During the Council debate, several Conservative Members presented the argument for this change of policy. Some referred to the increasing costs of the scheme, whilst others supported the Cabinet Member for Transport & Highways' assertion that flexible bus services, rather than a fixed tram line, represent the most suitable public transport solution to serve the whole of Nottinghamshire.
Some of my colleagues took the opportunity to state that, contrary to some media reports, the Conservative position on the proposed tram extensions has not changed. They pointed out that the previous Labour administration had entered into certain legal agreements in relation to NET Phase 2 which must be respected to protect the interests of the County taxpayer, but the new Conservative administration is quite clear that it does not support the proposed tram extension routes.
(Posted 20/10/09)
Workplace Parking Levy (WPL)
Also at the Nottinghamshire County Council meeting on 24th September 2009, the Cabinet Member for Transport & Highways, Councillor Richard Jackson stated that the new Conservative county administration is opposed to Nottingham City Council's proposals for a Workplace Parking Levy (WPL). He expressed concern about the financial impact such a levy could have on County residents who work in the City and stated his belief that the WPL would be unlikely to cut congestion. Councillor Jackson argued that the scheme could lead to significant parking problems in the County area, frighten off economic investment in the City and County and hit business confidence at a time when it needs to be nurtured.
(Posted 20/10/09)
Reg's latest Councillors' Divisional Fund awards...
Following a decision taken by Cabinet on 8th July 2009, each County Councillor now has an annual fund of £10,000 to support worthy initiatives in the division they represent.
CDF aims to make use of each councillor's 'grass roots' knowledge to identify projects, events, people and clubs that work hard to benefit and promote their local area, but often lack access to resources. Even a small amount of funding can sometimes make a huge difference.
If you know of a deserving initiative in the Ruddington division that might be eligible to receive a CDF grant, please contact me.
Here are some of the projects I've been able to help so far: -
Elms Park
I was pleased to make a contribution from my CDF to Ruddington Parish Council to pay for fencing to improve security at Elms Park.
Friends of Rushcliffe Park
I was pleased to make a contribution from my CDF to The Friends of Rushcliffe Country Park towards installing a labyrinth in the park.
Benefit for barn owls
I was pleased to be able to help meet the running costs of the Rushcliffe Barn Owl Project, who seek to preserve and develop the local barn owl population.
Royal British Legion
Through my CDF I have been able to help the Ruddington and district Royal British Legion to purchase a public address system for their branch building.
Amazon expedition
Together with my council colleague, Councillor John Cottee, I was pleased to help South Wolds Community School with the costs of an expedition for pupils to the Amazon Rainforest.
Ruddington Framework Knitters' Museum
A grant from my CDF has helped to upgrade electrical systems and lighting at the Ruddington Framework Knitters' Museum.
Improving literacy
I was pleased to make a contribution to the Literacy Volunteers Scheme towards books and word games for use in two schools in the Ruddington division.
New carpets for Costock school
A grant from my CDF has provided new carpets for the Costock C of E Primary School.
1st Ruddington Scouts
I was pleased to assist the 1st Ruddington Scout Group with refurbishments to their toilet block, which was previously in a very poor condition.
Girlguiding
In July I was pleased to make a grant available to cover travel costs for a young constituent to make a special girlguiding trip to Switzerland.
(Posted 5/10/09)
Reg's committees...
In addition to being a member of the County Council Cabinet, my current committee service also includes: -
Administration Committee
Pensions Committee
Full details of council committee meetings can be found in the Council Diary.
