Manifesto Survey - Part 1 - The Lib Dems
NOTE: This item was originally posted on "The Sutton Council Observer" Blog, however it seemed more sensible to report it here, so the second part on the Tory Manifesto could also be posted here in due course. This version is slightly revised from the original.
This is a two part report on the Manifesto's of the two Party's represented in the Council chamber. This posting concerns the Lib Dem manifesto and in Part 2 will cover the Tories.
The 2006 Lib Dem manifesto is a substantial improvement on the 1994, 1998 and 2002 manifesto's which mainly set out what the Lib Dems had done rather than what they would do.
You may be aware I was complimentary towards the latest manifesto at the April Council meeting.
Key points to note are:
1. Develop local residents asociations.
This could be something local ward Councillors are encouraged to develop in their representative role. The Council could set local targets to cover two-thirds of the borough by a Resident Assocation by 2010. The Council could also work with the Police to get groups to double up as Neighbourhood Watch Groups as well as Residents Associations, thus building community cohesion.
2. Devolved Area Budgets.
I hope this receives all-party support and Sutton gets a move on with our own local scheme. My impression is that Corporate Finance Officers are relaxed about this and that the big debate is with Senior Management Team within Environment and Leisure. Once this is developed we could also see Areas then devolving some money to Ward Councillors to recommend spending on within their ward, perhaps consulting with local residents Associations and the local Safer Neighbourhood Team. Surrey County Councillors each get £20,000 a year to spend, why can't we develop something similar.
3. Become a Museum Authority.
If we do this perhaps we could then bring in free admission to the Heritage Centre and thus bring it attendance up to the much better attended, free admission Ecology Centre.
4. A New Theatre for Sutton.
I welcome the commitment to retain the Secombe until a replacement is built in a more prominent place in the High Street. In doing so perhaps we could even develop a Theatre Trust with the Arts Council and local Theatre groups. I note there is no reference to the Charles Cryer Theatre though?
5. Twin with a town in the developing world.
Let's hope we can develop a local consensus on this. Perhaps a number of South West London Council's can jointly twin with a place to maximise the benefits?
6. Campaign for Tramlink.
I suspect the same wording will be in the 2010 and 2014 manifestos!! It would be better to set out a strategy for improving local bus services as this is much more achievable.
7. School Bus Services.
Do we really want to increase the number of outborough pupils in the borough by making their bus journeys more comfortable by increasing the bumber of double deckers coming in from South Croydon!! Does Tom Brake, through his bus campaigns, now seem to support the Greenwich judgement?
8. Policing.
I think now we have 18 Safer Neighbourhood Teams and ward Panels, we should let them get on with it for the next four years. In particular, we should allow each local ward and Area Committee to develop their own local priorities and to share good practice. The substantial expansion of Policing, requires the Council to develop a similar ward based strategy for tackling local quality of life issues, rather than being seen as part of the partnership being unresponsive to local Police initiatives.
9. Hospital Provision.
Lacks any detail on what the Lib Dems would like to see at LCH level let alone the CCH where unlike their MP's they are sitting on the fence. This is a big weakness of the manifesto and lets the local NHS off the hook. I have elsewhere set out a full strategy that goes beyond BHCH. Can we have a debate on that in the absence of any alternative local plan?
10. Children's Centres and Extended Schools.This is very important and I hope gets all-party support. One way to do this is to get local Councillors involved with their local Centre at an early stage.
11. Education Spending.
Rather amusing how the manifesto says the Council has always spent above the minimum set by the government on education, especially when under the Don Brims era, the Council kept trying to reduce the amount spent on education by up to half a million a year. I am glad that in recent years, that this budget policy has been dropped.
12. Older Peoples Day services.
This is an important area and I have set out in a posting on "The Sutton Council Observer Website" some criteria as to how this might be effectively conducted.
13. Upgrading and modernising old peoples homes.
Surely this should be in the singular as having failed to sell them off to London and Quadrant and Hexagon Homes in the mid 1990's the Council looks likely to sell off the Bawtree, Ludlow and Franklin sites for housing in the coming years, leaving them with just Oakleigh to run and the purchasing of places probably at a presumably GP led Carshalton War Memorial Hospital.
14. Extra Care Housing.
The Belsize development is a good idea in principle, but was achieved by misleading existing residents, much to the embarrassment of Councillor Janet Lowne, who had made some perfectly reasonable commitments in 2002. Hopefully lessons will be learned when looking at other old peoples sites, such as the potentially very lucrative sites in Cheam Village and near Carshalton Ponds.
15. Revitalise Sutton Town Centre.
I am not convinced there is any local consensus on this and I think we need more debate on this issue.
16. District Centres.
No reference is made to Rosehill as a District centre. It is a disappointment that we are still £20,000 short from the money obtained from the Rosehill Triangle Section 106 agreement.
17. Planning.
The manifesto is against "overdevelopment" but in favour of Tramlink which inevitably increases local housing density. How will they square this circle?
18. Affordable Housing.
Laudable sentiments but no detail. I hope my suggestion of developing a Sutton Tenant owned Community Land Trust is taken up over the coming years. Then instead of affordable properties being "lost", we get permanent rented housing in sensible mixed developments. We could then have the Sutton Housing Partnership working as an agent on behalf of the Community Land Trust. This is the sort of local policy that should get support from Brown, Cameron and Campbell, so lets get ahead of the game.
This is a two part report on the Manifesto's of the two Party's represented in the Council chamber. This posting concerns the Lib Dem manifesto and in Part 2 will cover the Tories.
The 2006 Lib Dem manifesto is a substantial improvement on the 1994, 1998 and 2002 manifesto's which mainly set out what the Lib Dems had done rather than what they would do.
You may be aware I was complimentary towards the latest manifesto at the April Council meeting.
Key points to note are:
1. Develop local residents asociations.
This could be something local ward Councillors are encouraged to develop in their representative role. The Council could set local targets to cover two-thirds of the borough by a Resident Assocation by 2010. The Council could also work with the Police to get groups to double up as Neighbourhood Watch Groups as well as Residents Associations, thus building community cohesion.
2. Devolved Area Budgets.
I hope this receives all-party support and Sutton gets a move on with our own local scheme. My impression is that Corporate Finance Officers are relaxed about this and that the big debate is with Senior Management Team within Environment and Leisure. Once this is developed we could also see Areas then devolving some money to Ward Councillors to recommend spending on within their ward, perhaps consulting with local residents Associations and the local Safer Neighbourhood Team. Surrey County Councillors each get £20,000 a year to spend, why can't we develop something similar.
3. Become a Museum Authority.
If we do this perhaps we could then bring in free admission to the Heritage Centre and thus bring it attendance up to the much better attended, free admission Ecology Centre.
4. A New Theatre for Sutton.
I welcome the commitment to retain the Secombe until a replacement is built in a more prominent place in the High Street. In doing so perhaps we could even develop a Theatre Trust with the Arts Council and local Theatre groups. I note there is no reference to the Charles Cryer Theatre though?
5. Twin with a town in the developing world.
Let's hope we can develop a local consensus on this. Perhaps a number of South West London Council's can jointly twin with a place to maximise the benefits?
6. Campaign for Tramlink.
I suspect the same wording will be in the 2010 and 2014 manifestos!! It would be better to set out a strategy for improving local bus services as this is much more achievable.
7. School Bus Services.
Do we really want to increase the number of outborough pupils in the borough by making their bus journeys more comfortable by increasing the bumber of double deckers coming in from South Croydon!! Does Tom Brake, through his bus campaigns, now seem to support the Greenwich judgement?
8. Policing.
I think now we have 18 Safer Neighbourhood Teams and ward Panels, we should let them get on with it for the next four years. In particular, we should allow each local ward and Area Committee to develop their own local priorities and to share good practice. The substantial expansion of Policing, requires the Council to develop a similar ward based strategy for tackling local quality of life issues, rather than being seen as part of the partnership being unresponsive to local Police initiatives.
9. Hospital Provision.
Lacks any detail on what the Lib Dems would like to see at LCH level let alone the CCH where unlike their MP's they are sitting on the fence. This is a big weakness of the manifesto and lets the local NHS off the hook. I have elsewhere set out a full strategy that goes beyond BHCH. Can we have a debate on that in the absence of any alternative local plan?
10. Children's Centres and Extended Schools.This is very important and I hope gets all-party support. One way to do this is to get local Councillors involved with their local Centre at an early stage.
11. Education Spending.
Rather amusing how the manifesto says the Council has always spent above the minimum set by the government on education, especially when under the Don Brims era, the Council kept trying to reduce the amount spent on education by up to half a million a year. I am glad that in recent years, that this budget policy has been dropped.
12. Older Peoples Day services.
This is an important area and I have set out in a posting on "The Sutton Council Observer Website" some criteria as to how this might be effectively conducted.
13. Upgrading and modernising old peoples homes.
Surely this should be in the singular as having failed to sell them off to London and Quadrant and Hexagon Homes in the mid 1990's the Council looks likely to sell off the Bawtree, Ludlow and Franklin sites for housing in the coming years, leaving them with just Oakleigh to run and the purchasing of places probably at a presumably GP led Carshalton War Memorial Hospital.
14. Extra Care Housing.
The Belsize development is a good idea in principle, but was achieved by misleading existing residents, much to the embarrassment of Councillor Janet Lowne, who had made some perfectly reasonable commitments in 2002. Hopefully lessons will be learned when looking at other old peoples sites, such as the potentially very lucrative sites in Cheam Village and near Carshalton Ponds.
15. Revitalise Sutton Town Centre.
I am not convinced there is any local consensus on this and I think we need more debate on this issue.
16. District Centres.
No reference is made to Rosehill as a District centre. It is a disappointment that we are still £20,000 short from the money obtained from the Rosehill Triangle Section 106 agreement.
17. Planning.
The manifesto is against "overdevelopment" but in favour of Tramlink which inevitably increases local housing density. How will they square this circle?
18. Affordable Housing.
Laudable sentiments but no detail. I hope my suggestion of developing a Sutton Tenant owned Community Land Trust is taken up over the coming years. Then instead of affordable properties being "lost", we get permanent rented housing in sensible mixed developments. We could then have the Sutton Housing Partnership working as an agent on behalf of the Community Land Trust. This is the sort of local policy that should get support from Brown, Cameron and Campbell, so lets get ahead of the game.
posted by Charlie Mansell at 8:15 AM
1 Comments:
Don't forget us Charlie. I'm looking forward to your survey of the Conservative Manifesto.
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