After Cheshire East Council attracting such great ridicule and amusement for the editors and readers of Private Eye I really want our new council to do well…I really do.

I like that Sam Corcoran, our new Labour council leader, had the humility to apologise for reciting nursery rhymes to silence a fellow councillor. Humility wasn’t a great feature of the previous regime.

It sounds like Councillor Corcoran intends to introduce a more inclusive and democratic style of leadership, which I applaud. There is however a naivety which no doubt arises from his lack of experience in the Hot Seat.

Having observed and commented at length on our local council (in it’s various forms) for the last 20 years I would like to offer some advice that may help him negotiate the inevitable learning curve.

Whilst I respect Mr Corcoran’s determination to tackle climate change I’m not sure residents struggling to make their way to work through the gridlocked streets or negotiating our potholed roads will agree with his priorities.

Neither will Bollington residents be convinced of Councillor Corcoran’s grit and determination if the proposed plan to build 40 homes on green belt land at Henshall Road goes head.

For those families desperate for respite care or a bed in a mental health centre near to home saving the planet will not be uppermost in their mind.

So please Councillor Corcoran get a grip. We all appreciate the sentiment, the planet needs as much help as we can give it but it cannot be the only thing on your To-Do list. Quite frankly banging on about it at every given opportunity is starting to sound like an obsession.

You have residents out there desperate for your attention. Families that were promised affordable homes that will never materialise. Care beds that are harder to find than a Penny Black. Homeless people sleeping rough around our town centres, working families forced to use food banks, drugs sold openly on the streets.

Sort your priorities Mr Corcoran or you are going to sound like that guy in the pub who leaves his wife to deal with trivial family matters such as feeding the kids, paying the mortgage and doing the laundry while he handles the big issues like their attitude to the South Korean missile crisis, Ukraine sovereignty and the mass exodus of animals in Kaziranga.

Of the hundreds of emails and messages I received from residents over the past decade furious with the old Cheshire East Council I never had one complaining about climate change (and I’ve had some pretty angry comments).

Residents expect their council to look after the roads, empty the bins, provide decent social care, and not become a national laughing stock.

Councillor, you have the goodwill of the people… do not waste it.