The Liberal Democrat Budget

At the Council’s budget setting meeting, last night, the Liberal Democrats put forward their alternative proposals:

LIB DEMS SET OUT PLANS FOR BETTER BUDGET WHICH PROTECTS THE MOST VULNERABLE

The Liberal Democrat Group will yesterday (Tuesday 8 March) put forward a budget amendment which protects services to the most vulnerable, especially children and carers, and still freezes council tax.

The Liberal Democrat budget:

puts more money into children centres, young people’s services, respite care and support for carers and people with mental health problems compared to Labour’s proposals
maintains services to residents in Chingford, Leyton and Leytonstone through Waltham Forest Direct, so that residents will not have to travel to Walthamstow to deal with benefit and other council enquiries
restores residents’ ability to influence decision-making by retaining slimmed-down community councils
reverses above-inflation fee increases for pest control charges and sports pitch hire
funds extra pothole repairs this year to put right our crumbling roads.

The Liberal Democrats will fund these services by:

slashing members allowances, which have grown substantially over the last decade, by over a quarter of a million pounds
reducing the amount spent on corporate communications and campaigns. Waltham Forest was recently revealed as the biggest spender on propaganda associated with the Comprehensive Spending Review, using almost £27,000 of taxpayers’ money to promote the fact it has to make savings
reducing the amount spent on subsidising trades union activity in line with other service reductions
using money built up in the insurance reserve to fund pothole repairs thereby reducing the number of successful insurance claims against the council

using other reserves to protect key services and support the transition to new ways of working

Liberal Democrat Group Leader, Councillor Bob Sullivan, said:

“This is a very difficult budget for the council but Labour has chosen to protect councillors’ allowances and the council’s propaganda factory while making cuts that the Liberal Democrats would not have done. Our budget proposals protect those services which make a real difference to residents’ lives.”

Liberal Democrat councillor for Forest ward, Farooq Qureshi, said:

“I am delighted that the Liberal Democrat proposals prevent the closure of the Waltham Forest Direct offices in Leyton, Leytonstone and Chingford – funded by cutting councillors’ allowances and reducing the amount of money spent on glossy campaigns. The services provided by the WFD shops are irreplaceable. They should not be forced to travel to join long queues in the sole remaining Walthamstow office.”

Liberal Democrat High Street councillor Mahmood Hussain said:

“It is clear that Labour’s proposals will have a drastic impact on many people who rely on respite care to give them a vital break. By putting extra money back into this service the Lib Dem amendment gives carers a boost.”

Liberal Democrat Cann Hall ward councillor Liz Phillips said:

“Waltham Forest has one of the highest rates of teenage pregnancy in England and Wales. It is a false economy to cut this service so drastically when the social and economic costs of teenage pregnancy are so high.”

Waltham Forest News

This free sheet drops through our letter box every two weeks and yet it is hardly free. We, the taxpayers, pay nearly £500,000 a year to have this published and delivered. The defence of this has always been that it pays for itself through revenue from advertising.This is not true as the adverts are for events held by borough departments who have to pay with their budget funded by the taxpayer.

Your Liberal Democrats believe that this paper is, more than ever, a council propaganda publication and a waste of our money.

It is time this paper was replaced. It does not need to be paid for by the residents of Waltham Forest.

Our local councillors need to be telling residents about what is happening in the borough as well as asking for opinions on borough matters as we do in our Focus newsletters.

Labour hypocrisy over school sports

Drapers Field with all-weather pitch in the distance Waltham Forest’s Labour councillors have been condemned for outrageous hypocrisy for putting down a motion on school sports partnerships at the last council meeting while simultaneously.

Slashing funding to the London Youth Games
Hiking charges for schools sports days and other sports activities
Seeking to concrete over the playing fields at Drapers Field for two years

Liberal Democrat Councillor Naheed Qureshi said:

Labour talks the talk but we see their true colours when it comes to the decisions for which they are responsible. Their withdrawal of funding for the London Youth Games, school sport fee increases and closure of Drapers Field shows that Labour’s commitment is all words and no action.

Colleague Councillor Bob Sullivan added:

Drapers Field will close for two years so the Olympic Delivery Authority can use the playing fields to do its laundry and catering. This will deprive local children and Norlington school of their current playing fields. Labour has consistently failed to set out any clear plans for the future of Drapers Field once the ODA leaves the site.

Labour councillors at London Councils (Waltham Forest representative Cllr Chris Robbins) earlier this week voted to cut funding for the London Youth Games by £130,000. This will lead to a loss of over half-a-million pounds [£650k] of match funding and raises questions about the future of the Games

Labour councillors have proposed the following sports fee increases

A 12% increases in the cost of school football and school cricket
A 23% increase in the cost of casual Saturday pitch hire
A 25% increase in the cost of hiring Leyton County Cricket Ground
Increases of 33% in school sports day fees

Lib Dems deliver council tax freeze and service improvements

Waltham Forest Liberal Democrat councillors tonight (Thursday 25 February) voted to freeze council tax and invest in priority services.

Liberal Democrat Leader John Macklin, who is also Cabinet member for Finance, told councillors:

“This is a budget that responds to the real needs of Waltham Forest residents. A council tax rise would have imposed a further and unwelcome burden on local taxpayers. So I am delighted that we have agreed a council tax freeze.

“This year residents will not need to worry about finding extra money to pay for council tax increases.”

The budget also invests additional funding into important priority services:

Protecting vulnerable children – £250,000 extra
Tackling the menace of dangerous dogs – £200,000 extra
Additional street cleaning for the busiest areas: town centres and around schools – £500,000 extra
Reduction in the cost of parking permits – £100,000

“These are all areas where extra funds will make a real difference,” said Cllr Macklin.

Commenting on the Conservative amendment, which sought to reduce enforcement activity, Cllr Bob Belam said:

“The responsible and law-abiding majority of residents want to enjoy clean and safe streets. They expect us to take tough action against hose who flout the rules without thinking of others. The Conservative attempt to cut funding for enforcement is a charter for those who litter our street and fly-tip in our open spaces.”

Lib Dems Reduce Parking Charges

Waltham Forest Liberal Democrats have approved a plan to reduce key parking charges following their review of the Councils parking strategy .

For residents living in controlled parking zones (CPZ’s) visitor permits have been reduced by up to 14.5%, business permits reduced by 5% and for the fourth year in a row car park charges and on-street parking vouchers have been frozen. Refund and administration fees have also been slashed by up to 61%.

Referring to Labour’s Council motion in December last year Cabinet Member for Environment Cllr Bob Belam said:

“While others produce reports Liberal Democrats have again led the way by reducing key parking charges for the next financial year.”

“In the current economic climate it is right that we listen to our residents and businesses and help them where we can.”

A 12 month business permit is reduced from £410 to £390

CPZ visitors permits will reduce from

- £21 to £18 for 5 hrs tickets
- £18 to £16 for 2 hr tickets
- £15 to £14 for 1 hr tickets

15 Minute School permits stay at £15 for low emission vehicles

Lib Dem traffic enforcement pledge to drivers

Picture courtesy of Waltham Forest Guardian Lib Dem Cabinet Member for Environment, Cllr Bob Belam, announced a new scheme telling drivers exactly where CCTV enforcement vehicles will be deployed.

The initiative, believed to be the first of its kind in the Country, aims to promote safer driving, reduce road accidents and lower the number of penalty charge notices issued to motorists for transgressions such as stopping in a box junction.

Details of where the boroughs five CCTV enforcement vehicles will be are available for viewing on the Waltham Forest Council website at www.walthamforest.gov.uk.

CCTV vehicles are deployed in the identified areas because residents have complained about congestion, accidents and other issues in their vicinity,

Cllr Bob Belam, said: “The main aim of our traffic enforcement team is to improve safety for all of Waltham Forest’s roads users. It is not about making money at the expense of motorists.

“We hope this scheme will encourage people to drive more carefully, especially at the locations where we issue most of our penalty charge notices, and help us to improve traffic flow and reduce accidents.

Waltham Forest Council’s CCTV vehicles are responsible for recording moving traffic violations, such as stopping in box junctions, driving in bus lanes and making banned turns. They are also used for parking enforcement purposes.

The statutory penalty charge for a moving traffic violation is £120, reduced to £60 if paid within 14 days.

Lib Dems urge Labour to drop pool and Track threat / “There is no confusion” (pt 2!)

Liberal Democrat Leader Cllr John Macklin has told fellow Cabinet members that money is available to pay for a proposed Walthamstow Arcade redevelopment project – and urged Labour members to scrap plans that could see the sale of the Walthamstow Pool and Track facility.

Cllr Macklin, who was presenting an update on the Council’s capital spending programme as the cabinet member for Finance, told councillors that money to pay for redevelopment of the Arcade is already contained within Council expenditure plans.

Liberal Democrats previously voted against Labour cabinet members who forced through a report recommending the sale of “land at the Pool and Track site or alternative assets…that have not yet been identified”. This was a climbdown from an original draft of the report that explicitly cited “the Pool and Track site” for disposal.

In trying to defend the proposals, though, Labour Leader Chris Robbins apparently confirmed that at least part of the Pool and Track facility would eventually be closed. Labour cabinet member responsible for Sport, Geraldine Reardon, told councillors that there was “no confusion”.

Cllr Robbins again attempted to distance himself from the threat to the Pool and Track at the cabinet meeting, claiming that “there never was a link between the pool and the property on the Arcade.

However, the relevant report outlining the threat has now been cited by the Waltham Forest Guardian here.

Cllr Macklin believes that the report on Council expenditure will allow Labour members to drop their threat to the Pool and Track site.

The Lib Dem Leader said:

“The report confirms that money would already be in place to pay for any redevelopment of the Walthamstow Arcade site.

“In plain financial terms, it seems to make absolutely no sense to constantly be looking to sell Council land and property at the bottom of the market. First it was the plan to sell the former St James St library building and now the proposal to sell at least part of the Pool and Track.

“But on a practical level, we don’t believe that a leisure pool on the Arcade site will act as an appropriate replacement.

“From the continuing discussions we are having with those who use the facility, we have enormous concerns about what splitting up the Pool and Track facility would mean for the future of the borough’s only athletics track. We also don’t believe that the Arcade site has anywhere near enough accessibility or parking for the schools and competitors who travel to use the Pool and Track.

“The Liberal Democrats believe that the Pool and Track facility in Walthamstow needs investment, not demolition.”

Labour say of Pool and track threat: “There is no confusion”

Labour Report No 1:

Pool and Track site to be sold to fund leisure centre at Arcade site.

Labour Report No 2 (Just days later…)

Now land at Pool and Track or other “unidentified assets” to be sold

Labour Leader says:

Pool will be closed but not track

Labour councillor responsible for sport says:

We never suggested the track would close

…and that:

“There is no confusion”.

* * * * *

Users of local sports facilities have been left anxious about the future of the Pool and Track in Walthamstow after Labour Leader Chris Robbins appeared to confirm that at least part of the facility will be shut down.

Liberal Democrat councillors are fighting Labour plans to rescue the Arcade site development by borrowing millions of pounds and selling off land and council assets.

Labour’s proposals — which were published on the Council website – involved the “disposal of the Pool and Track site for a replacement facility with the Arcade development”, including a Leisure Centre “to replace the current indoor facilities at the Pool and Track”.

However after protests from Liberal Democrat councillors and residents, definitive references to the sale of the Pool and Track were quickly removed from the final Cabinet report, with mention only being made of the sale of “either land at the Pool and Track site or alternative assets to the same value that have not yet been identified”. Labour councillors forced through the report despite Liberal Democrat opposition in the Cabinet meeting.

Hopes for the future of the Pool and Track seem, however, to have been dashed after comments from Labour Leader Chris Robbins suggested that at least part of the facility will still be closed.

In trying to quell public protests at the handling of the closure, Cllr Robbins confirmed to the local press that the pool will be closed once a “replacement” leisure facility has been built. This would seem to leave the borough’s athletics track as a stand-alone facility.

Lib Dem Cllr Bob Carey, a member of the affected Chapel End ward, has now raised the issue with Cllr Geraldine Reardon, the Labour councillor responsible for sport in the borough, at a Full Council meeting. He sought clarification over the future of the pool facility, investment in the track and raised resident concerns about accessibility to a pool facility at the Arcade.

Cllr Reardon told councillors that there was “no confusion” over the future of the facility, but refused to confirm the Labour leader’s comment that the pool would be closed once a replacement was built, claiming that no decision had been made.

Local Liberal Democrat councillors will continue to seek answers over Labour’s handling of our Pool and Track.

Lib Dems welcome new action on High St traffic

High St councillor James O’Rourke has been speaking to the local press about a ban on traffic along Walthamstow High Street.

An ‘experimental traffic order’ was introduced by the Walthamstow Town Centre Task Group — a group set up by the high St Liberal Democrats – in August which stops unauthorised vehicles using the High Street in a bid to improve safety for pedestrians.

New signage and barriers have been put up to further enforce the order, which only allows vehicles loading and unloading to market stalls and shops along the High Street. Street cleaning vehicles are also able to use the High Street to clean the area after the market has been held.

Speaking to Martyn Dalton of the local Yellow Advertiser, Cllr James O’Rourke welcomed the latest additions to the High Street.

Cllr O’Rourke said:

“The experimental traffic order clearly demonstrates that we have listened, engaged and acted with residents, visitors and traders who have asked us to make the High Street a safer environment.

“Unfortunately it was very difficult to enforce the order as there wasn’t proper signage, but now motorists and pedestrians can see that the order is in full operation.”

Cllr O’Rourke has told local people that his long-term aim for the area is to see an enforceable pedestrian zone introduced in the High Street in order to protect residents and shoppers.

Another Lib Dem success story in the bag!

Liberal Democrat councillors were out in force at the weekend to help launch the borough’s Plastic Bag Amnesty at the Energy Fair in Walthamstow Town Square.

Cllr Patrick Smith, Farid Ahmed (parliamentary candidate for Walthamstow) Cllr Bob Belam, Cllr James O’Rourke and Cllr Bob Wheatley (all pictured right) joined residents at the launch in exchanging their plastic bags for linen bags.

The initiative is a result of a Liberal Democrat motion to Full Council in December 2007 introduced by Cllr Bob Belam and local Lib Dem leader Cllr John Macklin, which will see a raft of ‘green’ measures introduced by the Council, including a ‘climate change impact assessment’ in every council report.

Speaking after Labour and Conservative councillors agreed to accept the Lib Dem recommendations, Bob Belam said:

“These are simple but effective measures that will make the way the Council works cheaper and more environmentally friendly.

“Local authorities are now rightly being put under pressure to deliver practical results with regard to the environment. Waltham Forest residents are already playing their part through their excellent uptake of waste recycling.

“A Climate Change Impact Assessment will make transparent the Council’s commitment to addressing residents environmental concerns, ensuring that the consideration of climate change issues are at the front and centre of everything the Council does.

“Liberal Democrats want to take a lead on this issue and become standard bearers for our residents, businesses and other local authorities.”

The Council’s plastic bag amnesty runs until 14 November, and during this period the Council will take ten of your environmentally unfriendly plastic carrier bags, send these to be recycled, and give you a neat new reusable cloth shopping bag in exchange.

Sound good? Well, you can make the trade at any WFD shop or, alternatively, have the amnesty brought to you when Waltham Forest staff greets shoppers this Thursday (5 November) outside Leytonstone bus station and tube entrance, or Saturday14 November at Albert Crescent (intersection of Chingford Mount Road and Old Church Road) in Chingford.

To find out more about the plastic bag amnesty call 020 8496 3000 or visit www.walthamforest.gov.uk

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