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Mid Worcestershire Liberal Democrats WYCHAVON LIBERAL DEMOCRATS MANIFESTO 2007 Putting People First in Wychavon: Liberal Democrats are making a real and positive change in local communities throughout the country. Liberal Democrat Councils are putting in place practical measures to cut crime and tackle the issue of climate change while giving power back to local communities. Wychavon Liberal Democrats support policies that put people first, making local communities greener, cleaner and safer. We would devolve power to Parish Councils, enabling larger parishes to take responsibility for their own affairs, and enable smaller parishes to operate effectively. Council Tax is unfair. Liberal Democrats would like to see it replaced by a fairer local income tax. In the meantime, we will do our best to keep Council Tax down by reducing the costs of administration. We support seeking new partnerships with other councils to cut costs and improve efficiency. Liberal Democrat Councillors on Wychavon have been calling for more realistic budgets for years. Officers have now admitted that figures were often inflated resulting in false ‘savings’ being shown. Because budgeted expenditure is now more accurate, and better related to service provision, we would make sure that your money is spent on your service priorities following public consultation. You told us that you were unhappy with the scrapping of concessionary fares. We would reduce the qualifying age for tokens to 70. Better facilities for young people are also a priority. We will use our grants to community organisations to empower communities. We will aim to maintain and build sustainability in our communities, giving support to keyservices such as Post Offices and other small local business enterprises. Wychavon is one of the most expensive places to buy a house, relative to income, in the West Midlands. Wychavon’s housing waiting list has now gone up to over 4500 people. To make more local homes available to local people , the Liberal Democrats will:
Building 20,000 houses in Wychavon is not the answer! Greener Wychavon Liberal Democrats aim to boost recycling and help the Council and the community to reduce their carbon footprints. We would look for the use of combined heat and power systems in any Council new build projects. Our environmental policies would encourage biodiversity. We have already persuaded the Council to put money into the 2007/8 budget to raise awareness of the richness of Wychavon’s wildlife. Wychavon was second from bottom in Worcestershire for recycling performance in 2005-6. A pilot scheme for Community Composting has been included in the Council’s budget this year thanks to a Liberal Democrat proposal. Liberal Democrats would also:
Fuel poverty – where over 10% of net household income has to be spent on heating to reach adequate comfort affects people throughout Wychavon. Liberal Democrats want much more to be done to tackle fuel poverty and improve insulation efficiency. We will:
Cleaner We would introduce more frequent litter collections in towns and on main roads, and improve street cleaning. We support the retention of weekly rubbish collections. Safer Liberal Democrats want more done to cut crime. We would scrap the Government’s proposed ID scheme and use the savings for extra policemen. We would provide more community support officers, freeing our regular PCs. We plan to take back our town centres for the community by letting communities close pubs and clubs that cause trouble, and designing out crime by good planning practice. We would improve road safety with 20mph limits outside schools and by getting lorries out of town and village centres. We would encourage partnership working to complete flood alleviation schemes. |
