Kenilworth and Southam Liberal Democrats

Warwick District Elections 2011

Liberal Democrat manifesto 2011 - 2015

The full text of the manifesto is reproduced after the images below.



The Legacy

The District Council has suffered from four years of weak Tory leadership with a complete lack of vision for the future of the district, its services and its residents. This is despite of increasing the size of the Executive; compared to the previous Liberal Democrat / Labour joint administration; from 7 to 9.

Under this administration Council services have also been externally assessed and have declined from an 'Excellent' to 'Poor with little prospect of improvement', requiring a significant injection of Council resources to get the services back on track. The Council and the public expect portfolio holders to accept responsibility as readily for failure as they do for success. The comments, 'I haven't time to look at everything, I have my own business to run' is not acceptable from a portfolio holder particularly when they have responsibility for a service that has failed!

A new start

Looking to the future the Liberal Democrats will look for opportunities to move the District forward to create a place that is prosperous, encourages business investment, creates employment opportunities for all, and is a place where people feel safe and choose to live.

Our main manifesto priorities are summarised in our SIX-to-FIX which contains positive proposals and new innovative ideas to provide value for money and effective services, close the energy poverty gap and to maintain thriving town centre shops.

We see opportunities to use the District Council as one of the engines of recovery locally and will use its' spending power to deliver new jobs and training opportunities with our contractors and partners.

We will develop the new local plan with our local communities, ensuring that plans are in place to rebalance the housing market, create new employment and leisure opportunities whilst ensuring that we maintain the open spaces between our towns and villages.

One of the big challenges facing us is the shortage of homes for local people that are affordable, either to rent or to buy. We believe that a decent secure home is the bedrock for the development of a thriving community. Good health and educational achievement cannot be achieved in overcrowded or poor housing conditions. We have proposals that are designed to maximise the number of affordable houses that can be achieved in what is a very expensive and difficult housing area.

We will continue to oppose the plans for HS2, and will look rigorously at any other proposals that may come forward that threaten either the quality of our environment or the quality of life for local residents.

Detailed Liberal Democrat Manifesto 2011-2012

FIX 1:

Ensure that the Council provides value for money and effective service delivery We will:

• determine priority spending areas in consultation with the public.
• continue to use the 'citizens panel' and customer surveys to monitor performance and satisfaction levels.
• Continue the 'Fit for the Future' program review of all service areas and seek out 'best practice' for the most effective and efficient ways of delivering quality services.
• Ensure that best procurement processes are used for all supplies and services.
• continue to develop and invest in information technology to streamline and take costs out of the Council's operation.
• be pro-active in forming partnerships with other agencies to meet local needs and maximise the impact of our spending power.
• work to ensure enhanced 2 tier working can deliver improved services for lower costs.
• look at joint working with other Councils and service providers to ensure that best value is achieved from the public purse.

FIX 2:

Maintain thriving town centre shops and boost the economy

Developing lively and successful towns and villages
We will:

• support schemes to promote investment and economic activity in our towns.
• promote a 'Shop Local' scheme across the district to encourage the prosperity of independent traders in our town centres and local communities.
• continue to support the redevelopment of Kenilworth Talisman Square to facilitate further investment into the upgrading of the retail offering in Kenilworth town centre.
• continue to support the development of the proposed Kenilworth Public Service Centre at Smalley Place.
• retain a shopmobility scheme in Leamington.
• support retail outlets and the development of rural businesses in our villages.
• continue to support the provision of a station in Kenilworth.
• discourage HGVs from passing through our towns and restrict delivery times.
• continue to investigate the study into the Leamington Waterside development.

Economic recovery
We will

• continue with economic development to seek to secure new employers and employment opportunities in the District to replace our traditional manufacturing base.
• work with Warwickshire College, our contractors and partners to develop new training and apprenticeship opportunities, particularly for the young, who have been hit hardest by the
• financial crisis.
• Use powers within the emerging Localism Bill to provide Business Tax relief for new business start ups and short term support for existing viable small businesses.
• ensure that the success of our promotion and investment in local energy conservation and generation not only reduces the energy poverty gap, but also creates new opportunities in installation and maintenance for local businesses to grow and flourish.

FIX 3:

Keep the open spaces between our towns and villages

We will:

• protect the open spaces between our towns and villages.
• protect urban open space, areas of restraint and the conservation areas.
• develop the new local plan with our local communities, ensuring that plans are in place to rebalance the housing market, and create new employment and leisure opportunities.

FIX 4:

Provide more 'affordable housing' to meet local needs

We will:

• seek to rebalance the housing market though provisions in the new local plan.
• encourage the wider provision of 'affordable housing' to rent or to buy.
• use new provisions in the emerging Localism Bill to create a virtuous circle of investment in 'affordable housing'.
• identify land in public ownership for the provision of housing affordable to local people.
• where appropriate use Compulsory Purchase Powers to secure sites for development.
• require all new housing developments to include a minimum provision of 50% low-cost units.
• Investigate and implement means of retaining housing provided at low cost in perpetuity.
• Help Parish Councils to identify exception sites in villages to meet local housing needs.
• Rationalise and remodel the council's housing estate to provide more suitable and cost effective housing provision to meet changing housing needs and expectations.

FIX 5:

Reducing the Districts carbon footprint and close the energy poverty gap

We will:

• promote energy conservation in both council and private properties.
• introduce a thermal imaging service for residents to identify areas of heat loss in their homes.
• investigate and implement programs of energy generation and conservation measures in Council owned properties to reduce energy costs for both the Council and our tenants.
• develop and promote similar schemes for private householders to benefit from economies of scale.
• encourage and promote the use of alternative means of transport to the private car, and improve cycle and pedestrian safety.
• encourage the extension of any proposed West Midlands rapid bus routes through to Leamington.

FIX 6:

We will:

• continue opposition to HS2.
• look rigorously at any proposals that may come forward with the potential to threaten either the quality of our environment or the quality of life for local residents.

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Our position on other issues affecting the District Council

Opening up the Council

We will:

• introduce area planning committees so local councillors decide local plans.
• expand the range of Council services available over the internet.
• review the working of the Council meetings to encourage and promote more public involvement with the Council.
• investigate the possibility of bringing the Council closer to residents with a trial of broadcasting live council debates.

Promoting leisure and tourism

We will:

• encourage local communities or Parish Councils to take control of community facilities such as local parks and open spaces.
• continue with the Warwick Renaissance project.
• revaluate the potential for the completion of the Cultural Quarter in Spencer Yard and the relocation of the Loft Theatre into Spencer Street Church, given the loss of some £2 million funding from the project.
• consult young people with a view to providing a variety of sporting and cultural activities to suit their needs.
• find ways of funding more public art to enhance the appearance of the District
• look for opportunities to assist in the development of tourism and recreational opportunities in rural areas.

Protecting the environment

Recycling, we will:

• keep under review the types of materials to be added to the kerbside collection scheme for recycling as markets develop.
• provide suitable alternative forms of recycling facilities for those where doorstep collection is unsuitable.

In the Public realm, we will:

• campaign against litter pollution and fine people who drop litter.
• invest in larger litter containers to cater for peak periods in our parks.
• maintain a rapid response team for cleaning up problem areas.
• invest in tree maintenance and planting.

Creating safer communities

We will:

• review the effectiveness of Community Forums and their ability to respond to locally identified problems and concerns, and take measures to encourage wider community involvement.
• support the role of community beat and support officers and promote the expansion of neighbourhood watch schemes in both urban and rural areas.
• work with the police to share information and co-ordinate action to control crime levels.
• tackle the problems of graffiti, fly posting, vandalism and fly tipping.
• continue to monitor the success of CCTV to ensure its effectiveness and value for money.
• tackle local residents fear of crime by publishing the actual crime figures and celebrating successes.
• work with the Senior People's Forum and Age Concern to provide a good quality of life for older people.
• monitor the delivery of health services locally and promote healthy living for our residents.
• work with other agencies to tackle the abuse of drugs and alcohol.
• look for ways to expand the range of out of school and holiday activities for young people.
• use the licensing powers to curb anti social behaviour with rigorous enforcement of breaches in licensing conditions.
• commence discussions with the taxi owners and private hire operators with a view to introducing a clear identification system for all vehicles licensed to carry passengers in the District.
• monitor the effectiveness of the taxi wardens scheme in reducing town centre problems with the night time economy.
• support the voluntary organisations which contribute to the well being of our residents.