A Christmas message to Stevenage

Dear Stevenage residents,

Thank you for a fantastic year for the town. As 2023 draws to a close, I would like to take this opportunity to share festive cheer with all of you and your loved ones.

Our town is a wonderful place to live. The council prides itself on co-operating with local people to tackle the town’s current challenges and to make it an even better place for everyone to enjoy and thrive. We are now live streaming some of the councils’ meetings so you can see how we make decisions that affect you and our town.

We work hard to address the most complex problems experienced by residents. Collaborating with our partners, the council continues to deliver cost of living programmes, supporting financial awareness, awarding Local Community Budgets and support grants to housing programmes. It’s been a hugely successful year for our housing services team, who received national recognition by winning Council of the Year at the Affordable Housing Awards 2023. Our affordable social housing initiative continues to make great progress and more homes and developments will soon be available to local people.

I would also like to thank our team who continue to keep up the good work with our new partnership with Everyone Active, managing leisure facilities in the town. We value the health and wellbeing of residents and I’m proud of Stevenage Swimming Centre, Stevenage Arts and Leisure Centre and our wonderful Theatre which deliver culture, sport & leisure. I hope you are enjoying the range of new activities available for everyone, young and old.

The council is committed to the development of our digital services, which means you can go online and save time contacting our team for a variety of issues. Simply visit the Stevenage Borough Council website where there is a wealth of information about the town and our services, designed to support you and your family.

Stevenage has a fantastic history, culture, and amenities for residents, businesses, communities, and visitors to enjoy. The team and I will continue with our efforts on your behalf to make Stevenage a leading town in Hertfordshire in areas including climate change, growth and economic development, the advances of the science, technology, engineering, and maths (STEM) sector and business innovation.

We hope you have enjoyed the many community events including, Stevenage Day, the fireworks display in Fairlands Valley, the light switch on in the Old Town and the New Town, we have also had several popular events on Event Island attracting 1000s of people.

Thank you and I would like to wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. Here’s to a terrific 2024 and I hope the year ahead brings you, your family, and friends lots of happiness and joy.

Best wishes,

Richard Henry