Daventry Liberal Democrats
Working with our communities

MANIFESTO for Daventry District Council Elections, 2010

In May 2007, for the first time, the Liberal Democrats became the official Opposition on Daventry District Council, ahead of Labour. At the same time, the LibDems took control of Northampton Borough Council.

Last year, the Liberal Democrats overtook Labour to become the main Opposition Party on Northamptonshire County Council.

In May 2010, fighting on a broader front, we hope to consolidate and improve our position on Daventry Council, win more seats, and offer a strong alternative for this District in the future.

INTRODUCTION

Liberal Democrats have a different policy on Local Government from all other parties. We believe in the devolution of power. This means bringing decision-making back to the local communities affected by these decisions. Central Government has too much control over Local Government, and we aim to reverse this trend. You will see many examples of this throughout this Manifesto.

LOCAL GOVERNMENT FINANCE

Liberal Democrats believe in Local Income Tax. We would abolish Council Tax, which, like the old Rating system, was based on property values, not on ability to pay. We are also against the stranglehold which Central Government exercises over local government expenditure, through the current system of block grant and charge-capping. Scotland, through devolution, now enjoys better services than England without any tax increase.

PROTECTION AND IMPROVEMENT OF SERVICES

Many of our local services are the responsibility of the County Council, eg, highways, schools, social services, youth service. The County Council is deep in debt, and has a lower performance rating than Daventry District; so it is no wonder that these are among the worst quality and most poorly funded services we receive. Liberal Democrats would transfer most of these services to District and Borough Councils. Meanwhile, we will continue to exert pressure on the County Council to do a better job, particularly on road and pavement repairs, public transport, and educational opportunities for all.
Recently, the controlling Conservative group on Daventry District Council have lent £5M of our reserves to the County Council, at an interest rate of just 1%, despite the fact that the County Council are £629M in debt. This is a very poor credit risk, but we were the only group on DDC to speak and vote against it.

TOWN CENTRE DEVELOPMENT

While accepting the expansion of Daventry Town – we have no choice, it will happen anyway! – Liberal Democrats campaign to prevent our villages becoming suburbs through this expansion. We believe in communities, and this dictates our policy on Planning. We oppose the role of the West Northamptonshire Development Corporation, which is not democratically elected, but has the power to override elected Councils on larger planning applications. The development of Daventry Town must be planned for the benefit of its present and future residents, not for private sector business interests.

AFFORDABLE HOUSING

In 1997 the District Council sold off our remaining 3100 Council Houses for about £6000 each. Liberal Democrats were the only Party to vote against this deal, and resist the arm-twisting of the Government. The average market value of these houses was over £100,000 each.

In the propaganda circulated to tenants during the ballot campaign, promises were made about a better repairs and home improvement service from the new Housing Association, (DDH). Since they took over, we have had more complaints than ever from tenants about these services. We have been told that they are sticking to the old Council repairs and improvements policies – despite the fact that they receive 100% of the rents, while the Council was only allowed to keep 56%!

Liberal Democrats support building as many affordable homes to rent as possible, both urban and rural. We will continue to campaign for this. We also believe that Disabled Facilities Grants should be made more readily and quickly available to tenants, especially the elderly.

COMMERCIAL AND INDUSTRIAL DEVELOPMENT

The LibDem slogan on this for Daventry is “NO MORE SHEDS!” This is not only because of their appearance, but because Daventry is a town of low wages and high house prices. We need to attract people who can afford to buy the houses which will be built, so we need to provide the jobs which will bridge that gap. At present, the average house price in the town is over 8 times the average annual salary.
We do not want to see Daventry become a dormitory town for people who have to work in the big towns and cities. One of the handicaps we have is that there is no Sixth Form education available in Daventry. Now the proposed “Learning Quarter” in Daventry has been postponed due to the recession. How long will it be before we have further and higher education available here for our children?

We propose the restoration of Sixth Forms to the comprehensive schools in Daventry.

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION

We were proud of the District Council’s record in this sphere. Our record used to be within the top two in the country for recycling and conservation, with all-party support. But we cannot rest on past achievements, and ours have since declined.

We must protect the Country Park – a jewel in our crown – from the encroachment of housing and commercial development. We must tackle the ever-worsening problems caused by the weight and density of traffic on our roads. We will work towards 20 mph speed limits on our estates and in our villages. We must improve and diversify our waste disposal and recycling services, and not allow the overuse of existing landfill sites, such as Kilsby, to pollute and damage the environment of surrounding areas. We must fight for reclassification of existing A roads, which carry excessive weight and volume of traffic because of DIRFT, and we must divert heavy traffic as far as possible away from villages, to avoid excessive traffic noise and danger.

These examples show why Liberal Democrats campaign for the transfer of many powers from County to District level, where they can be exercised with more local knowledge and attention to detail.

POST OFFICES

Liberal Democrats are pledged to fight all further closures, as we have successfully done in the local areas we represent.

MERGER PROPOSAL FOR DAVENTRY AND SOUTH NORTHANTS

The Conservatives are committed to supporting the merger of these two Councils into one authority. By these means, they hope to ensure a permanent Conservative majority here. This merger would take power and decision-making further away from all our local communities. Do you really want decisions about your town or village taken by people from Brackley or Milton Keynes? Liberal Democrats pledge to oppose this merger every inch of the way.

THESE ARE THE MAIN PLANKS IN OUR PLATFORM FOR DAVENTRY DISTRICT. IF YOU AGREE WITH US, SUPPORT US AT THE BALLOT BOX ON THURSDAY 6th MAY. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION ABOUT US, OR IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO HELP IN OUR CAMPAIGN, PLEASE CONTACT US ON catherine_lomax@btinternet.com or enquiries@daventrylibdems.org.uk

Printed and published by B Lomax, 24 Castle Mound, Barby, Northamptonshire, CV23 8TN.

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