As I write this article we are informed that England is to enter a second period of lockdown as a consequence of the increasing number of cases of the Covid-19 pandemic. Up to now we have been lucky and there have been few cases in Newmarket, but now even here the virus is taking its toll.
This is devastating news especially for our High Street retailers and businesses as we approach the festive Christmas period. It is sobering news for all of us. We must all accept personal responsibility for stopping the transmission of the virus. When we come out of lockdown, we must all take care to maintain social distancing at ail times, to hinder the spread of the virus. We must all hope that a vaccine soon becomes available.
The Town Council will continue to carry out its normal functions. The Coronavirus Response Helpline will be maintained (01638 667227) and we will work with other organisations to provide a network of volunteers to help the vulnerable residents in our town.
We recently held a special Town Council meeting (using Zoom) to discuss the health and wellbeing of the people of Newmarket. Although the pandemic is clearly our biggest threat, we tried to look at the long term. We looked at how our Neighbourhood Plan provides us with a framework to help improve the physical and mental health of our residents.
We still have ambitious plans to improve our town and we will endeavour to carry on with these proposals. We want to start the Clock Tower improvements, which will make the whole area at the top of the High Street more attractive. We also want to start a programme of planting bulbs around the town so that in spring we can enjoy a display of colour to herald what we hope will be a much better year than 2020.
Michael Jefferys
Town Mayor