This is a web page preview of a Microsoft Word document from the Warwick & Leamington Liberal Democrats site. It is generated by a computer and is not manually edited. Formatting and content may be displayed differently to the original document, and should not be regarded as definitive.
The Administration successes 2003- 2007
The Liberal Democrats have been part of the administration of Warwick District Council since 2003. The Council achieved an Excellent rating in its Comprehensive Performance Assessment.
What the Audit Commission said, “The administration provides the Council with a clear sense of political direction, …is well managed, provides effective, value for money services, … while service performance is better than average”.
The District Council has the 63rd lowest council tax of all the 238 District Councils in the country.
The Council has been high achieving over the past 4 years and has had a vision of where the District needs to be to face the challenges of the 21st century.
It has delivered `The best urban park in the country' with its restoration of the Jephson Gardens, building on the success of the Pump Rooms, the first phase of the Cultural Quarter; Old Town regeneration in Leamington; St Mary's Lands and the Market Square in Warwick and the refurbishment of Abbey End in Kenilworth. Booming inward investment such as Livery Street and economic development attracting the Wolseley Headquarters relocation, to name just a few of the administrations achievements.
The Legacy
This vision and looking to the future has levered in significant external resources which will come to fruition over the next few years. The hoped for extension of the Cultural Quarter and the proposed relocation of the Loft Theatre to Spencer Street Church will create a thriving Cultural Quarter. It will include business incubator units specifically targeted at the Creative Industries to provide work opportunities in new growth sectors to replace the older shrinking manufacturing base of the District. Advantage West Midlands funding is also helping to develop an enterprise zone in Althorpe Street, again for start up businesses.
Maintaining Leamington as a regional shopping centre has led to plans for the development of a shopping centre on Chandos Street Car Park to complement Royal Priors and add to Leamington's retail offering. Kenilworth town centre is being regenerated spurred on by Waitrose being attracted to locate in the town. Kenilworth also has a one off opportunity for a public service centre linking all of the public services in the town and new community meeting rooms, something the town has sadly missed over the years. The WiMax trial will open up all kinds of business opportunities with high speed broadband being available across the whole district, including the rural areas.
2007-2011
Building on the Legacy of the last administration the Liberal Democrats are carrying on the vision, we will look for opportunities to move the District forward to create a place that is prosperous, maintains employment opportunities for all, is a place where people feel safe and choose to live.
Our main manifesto commitments can be summarised under the following headings: Cleaner, Greener, Safer, Stronger, with the overarching priority the shortage of affordable homes.
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.
Main Proposals of the Manifesto
Housing
Identify land in public ownership.
Help Parish Councils to identify `exception sites'.
Require a minimum of 50% affordable homes on all new housing developments.
Where appropriate use CPO powers to secure sites.
Cleaner
Maintain a rapid response team for cleaning up problem areas.
Introduce larger litter containers in our parks.
Campaign against litter pollution and fine people who drop litter
Greener
Protect the Green Belt.
Introduce a thermal imaging service for residents to identify heat loss from their homes.
Promote energy conservation in both council and private properties.
Safer
Support the development of the Safer Neighbourhood Panels.
Tackle rise in Anti-Social Behaviour by deploying temporary fully monitored CCTV.
Tackle the problems of graffiti, fly posting, vandalism and fly tipping.
Stronger
support schemes to promote investment and economic activity in our towns
facilitate the completion of the Cultural Quarter in Spencer Yard with the relocation of the Loft Theatre into Spencer Street Church and the creation of incubator units for business `start ups' aimed at the arts and creative industries.
continue to support the redevelopment of Kenilworth Talisman Square and Abbey End North and work to facilitate further investment into the upgrading of the retail offering in Kenilworth town centre
Detailed Liberal Democrat Manifesto 2007-2011
Providing effective, value for money services
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.
progressively carry out a review of all service areas and seek out `best practice' for the most effective and efficient ways of delivering quality services
introduce new procurement processes for all supplies and services to ensure best value
continue to develop information technology to streamline 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
Opening up the Council
We will:
continue the roll out of joint one stop shops in Leamington, Lillington, Warwick and Whitnash.
introduce area planning committees so local councillors decide local plans
expand the range of Council services available over the internet
Improving housing provision
We will:
encourage the provision of low cost housing to rent or to buy
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..
Only accept housing units that match an identified need (currently 2 and 3 bed houses and 2 bed flats)
Investigate and implement means of retaining housing provided at low cost in perpetuity.
Use our voice in regard to the Regional Spatial Strategy to influence the number, location and balance of housing units to be built in the District by 2026
Work with our partners in the South Housing Market Area to secure subsidy for the provision of low cost housing.
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..
Promoting leisure and tourism
We will:
build on the success of the Jephson Gardens Green Flag Award and `Best Public Park in the Country' by seeking funding for improvements to other parks in the District.
support the creation a `Garden Trail' through Warwick as a new visitor attraction
encourage local initiatives which will secure public access to Warwick Castle Park
continue with the Warwick Renaissance project
facilitate the completion of the Cultural Quarter in Spencer Yard with the relocation of the Loft Theatre into Spencer Street Church and the creation of incubator units for business `start ups' aimed at the arts and creative industries.
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 the development of tourism and recreational opportunities in rural areas
Protecting the environment
Planning, we will:
protect the green belt, urban open space, areas of restraint and the conservation areas.
Recycling, we will:
extend green bin recycling across the District to all who want it from 2008
increase the types of materials to be recycled as markets develop.
provide 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
Energy conservation, 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
continue to assess and implement the energy saving proposals contained in the Carbon Trust Energy Management and Opportunities Assessment
Transport, we will
encourage and promote the use of alterative 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
Creating safer communities
We will:
support the development of the Safer Neighbourhood Panels to respond to locally identified problems and concerns and monitor their effectiveness of delivery.
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.
Respond to local residents demands to tackle the rise in anti social behaviour by the deployment of temporary fully monitored CCTV cameras in problem hotspots cross the District.
Tackle local resident's 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
continue to expand the range of out of school and holiday activities for young people
use the new 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.
support the voluntary organisations which contribute to the well being of our residents
Developing lively and successful towns and villages
We will:
support schemes to promote investment and economic activity in our towns
continue to support the redevelopment of Kenilworth Talisman Square and Abbey End North and work 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
facilitate the expansion of retail space in Leamington town centre with the redevelopment of Chandos Street car park to help Leamington compete with other regional shopping destinations.
continue the study into the Leamington Waterside development.
commence work on a planning brief for the Ford Foundry site
continue with economic development to seek to secure new employment opportunities in the District to replace our traditional manufacturing base.
support retail outlets and the development of rural businesses in our villages
work with partners to improve the access and environment of Leamington Station and continue to support the provision of a station in Kenilworth
discourage HGVs from passing through our towns and restrict delivery times
retain a shopmobility scheme in Leamington
roll out pay on exit in our car parks.
1