I recently enjoyed a long conversation with the Bucks Free Press covering a lot of ground on current issues facing the council and the people of Buckinghamshire, writes Martin Tett, the leader of Buckinghamshire Council.

I know there are a lot of ongoing concerns for many of our residents, whether that’s continuing pressures on household budgets to affordable housing, safe streets and health services.

I’ve already discussed with this newspaper the consequences of decisions the new government is making and how these will impact our finances. As a council, our budgets remain under acute pressure and we are doing what we can to keep on delivering high quality local services. It’s never been more critical to make the right investments for our future and to plan for the needs of our residents in years to come. We want to ensure our county offers the best possible living environment fit for modern life – supporting local people, local business and creating local jobs.

We have a great deal of work under this theme that we’re progressing well. I particularly want to draw attention to some major improvement schemes getting underway in our town centres, all of which will enhance the existing space and drive forward prosperity.

In Aylesbury town centre we are creating the new ‘Pavilion Quarter’ for businesses and the community. And in High Wycombe we are overseeing significant investment. We’re spending more than £3 million enhancing the area around White Hart Street, with a major upgrade to this location, creating a destination in its own right. We’ve worked hard to retain key retailers in the town and Tesco is moving to a ground floor location on Denmark St whilst we refurbish the first floor to create a new attraction to house our fascinating county archives. Subject to planning permission, we also have significant private investment coming into the town too.

Alongside these physical changes, we are working hard to increase access to good local jobs and careers too. We are offering residents free places on our Skills Bootcamps, a fantastic scheme offering intensive courses in a diverse range of sectors that have local job opportunities here in Bucks. Take a look at the info on our website.

Times might be tough but we are working harder than ever to make sure the right opportunities are in place for our residents and to grow our local economy.