Transcript - A better city life

Narrated by the Leader of the Council Councillor Merrick Cockell

The Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea is a great place to live, work and visit.

With its famous museums

its parks and gardens
its shops and restaurants
this is a wonderful part of the capital

And it's not just the buzz of the place that makes it what it is; it's also our excellent support and services for everybody here.

At Kensington and Chelsea, we are constantly striving to make life better for everyone in the Borough. And for that you need a vision.

Our vision starts here, in the Council Chamber. It's here that important issues about life in the Borough are debated and decisions made.

Members of the public are always welcome to watch their Council at work. And there are opportunities aplenty to get directly involved in local affairs.

But if you don't believe the Council can ever make any real difference to your life, here's just a taste of our vision.

Education

The Borough runs one of the best education authorities in the country, topping the primary school league tables and performing very strongly at secondary level.

But we just don't have enough secondary places to meet the enormous demand and some of our facilities need modernising. Building one large new secondary school is challenging enough.

But we aim to build two at the same time - to give all local parents the chance of a Royal Borough education for their child, from nursery right through to sixth form.

Urban design

The people of the Borough have always worked hard to create a truly beautiful, quality environment.

We believe that art and design fundamentally improve everyone's quality of life.

We have major plans for more public art and more street improvement schemes - of the kind that have transformed Kensington High Street into the most talked about streetscape in the Capital.

And we want everyone who lives, works or visits here to benefit from our unique reputation for public safety.

Community Safety

That's why we have taken determined action against the drug trade, giving a public commitment to close crack houses in six weeks and setting up exclusion zones for known dealers.

We were also the first London Council to pay for extra police community support officers on our streets.

We may have big, longer term plans, but that doesn't mean we can afford to lose sight of day-to-day issues.

We have a huge team working together.

As one of Britain's leading councils, our target is to maintain our best performing services with lowest possible taxes.

Our vision for Kensington and Chelsea is quite simply ... a Better City Life