Green - 716 (21%)
Conservative - 1196 (35%)
Christine Headley (Liberal Democrat) 1061 (31%)
Labour - 415 (12%)
Turnout 47%
While I would have preferred to win, this result is not in the least depressing and reflects the work I have put in over the last year. The next campaign starts now!
A further instalment from Gloucestershire LibDems’ county council manifesto.
* ensure school buildings and facilities are fit for purpose
A Liberal Democrat run council will act to remove all temporary school buildings attached to schools, ensure ICT facilities are up to date, and support outdoor areas at school. We will work with government to fast track funding for the county from the ‘Building Schools For Future’ programme.
* stop house building on the flood plain and protect the green belt
Liberal Democrats will work to stop government plans to build houses on the green belt and on flood plains. We opposed the Tory council bid for ‘growth point status’ that encouraged accelerated house building on green fields.
* adopt new estate roads more swiftly
The county council is too slow to adopt new estate road, with some remaining unadopted five years and more after they were built. Our administration will put in place new policies to tackle these unnecessary delays.
What will Gloucestershire LibDems do for the county’s transport needs?
* tackle the £130m backlog of roads maintenance backlog
A Liberal Democrat council will set out a clear plan for quality road repairs around the county.
* enough salt to keep our roads safe and open in winter
No more begging from other councils for salt to keep our roads open in winter. We will make sure we have a full supply of road salt for our needs.
* A fast rail service to London is important for the county economy
We will press the government to secure funding to deliver the dual tracking of the line between Kemble and Swindon to speed up services to the capital.
* cycling keeps you fit, it’s great for the environment
The county needs a network of cycle hire facilities for local and visitor use - new dedicated cycle paths will be encouraged.
A crucial instalment from Gloucestershire LibDems’ manifesto for the June county council election. We will:
* halt the building of the massive waste incinerator for the county
A Liberal Democrat run council will halt the building of a massive waste incinerator in Gloucestershire. We will plan for alternative environmentally friendly waste disposal options.
* countywide organisation to co-ordinate recycling improvements and waste collection
A countywide waste partnership is necessary to co-ordinate the waste collection and recycling facilities in Gloucestershire.
* increase recycling target to 70%
We will raise the target for recycling waste to 70% from the Tories’ 43%. Increased recycling will reduce landfill and remove the need for a massive waste incinerator.
More from Gloucestershire LibDems’ manifesto for the June county council election:
* 20 mph safety zones around all schools
We will commit to a countywide plan to deliver 20 mph safety zones and safer routes to school around all schools in the county over the next four years.
* transport for young people
A Liberal Democrat run council will develop a transport system that young people can use during the daytime and evening.
* teachers to support children who stay in hospital and recover from illness at home
Tory council budget cuts to fund teachers who provide education support to sick children will be reversed. Children who stay in hospital or are recovering at home deserve education support.
Gloucestershire Liberal Democrats have published their manifesto for the county council elections, featuring ’six to fix’. Top of the list is to ‘end the poor one-star service and deliver first class personal care for the elderly and disabled.
In more detail -
* A Liberal Democrat run council will secure a high standard of care for elderly and disabled people in the county. We will implement the 21 recommendations of the Commission for Social Care Inspection. We will deliver a three-star service.
* Care charges for elderly people will not rise above inflation. (This is also the sixth in the ‘to fix’ list.)
* Quality care and support will be provided so that people can stay in their own homes.
* A Liberal Democrat run council will provide support for carers. Extra support services will be developed to support elderly people who take on the role of carer.
Yesterday I had an interesting meeting with the council officer responsible for waste collection, and have also been enquiring what neighbouring districts are doing. The answer to the second is ‘disposing of food waste mixed with garden waste, and charging for the garden waste’.
ODD FACT – The In Vessel Composter (IVC) at Sharpness (in the Stroud District) requires a mixture of food and garden waste. Stroud Conservatives prefer to have food waste sent to Leominster, 50 miles away, for processing because of their blinkered attitude towards the collection of garden waste.
Some garden waste cannot be processed at home. It surely makes more sense to send it to a local IVC than to landfill, as at present.
Cllr Christine Headley joins Stanleys’ residents’ frustration at the abrupt end of the Stanleys Waste Trial, which has been operating since 24 October 2007 and involves weekly collection of dry recyclables and food waste, fortnightly collection of residual waste to landfill, and a subsidised composter offered to every household.
The main problem is the loss of the food waste recycling, which required the provision of two food waste containers for every household. Cooked waste is not suitable for garden composting, but it can be done by the council in the quantities generated by a locality like the Stanleys.
Worse, landfill tax rises to £ 40 for the new financial year, and there is to be an extra £ 150 payable for every tonne of bio-degradable waste above a certain level that goes to landfill. Cllr Christine Headley says that SDC should keep composting Stanleys’ food waste while a more extensive system is worked out.
It is a strange coincidence that, having taken up the issue of a non-functioning streetlight, two in the same area turn out to be in overdrive.
A few weeks ago, I was alerted to the streetlight by the Woodchester War Memorial, which hasn’t worked for two years. I contacted the county council and was told that, as the original pole had rusted through at the base and was in danger of falling over, it was disconnected and a new column installed. Unfortunately, residents are still waiting for the electricity to be connected. The nearest supply is about 10m away on the other side of the lane. The road will have to be closed and, because this is a bus route, a minimum two months notice is legally required so that the bus company can set up an alternative route. (The law makers don’t seem to have made any sort of exception for a rural, twice-weekly bus - a resident asked me why they couldn’t just schedule the work for a day the bus wasn’t running.) Anyway, it is hoped that the work will be done around the end of May.
Oddly enough, the next streetlight along the lane connecting North and South Woodchester doesn’t turn off, and nor does one on Selsley Road. I have pointed these out to the county council, too!
I’m rather enthusiastic about Sainsbury’s new planning application in Dudbridge. I’m less than wild about the extension itself, but it’s nice that they have given thought to where to put the old arches, complete with clothiers’ marks and dating from 1646. The proposal for hydroelectric power, courtesy of the Nailsworth Stream, is really exciting. Their claim that the power from the stream is enough for 17 houses is slightly misleading; it’s actually meant to be enough to keep the lights on in one supermarket…. But commendable, nonetheless.
The planning application also involved Conservation Area Consent, as the store is within the Industrial Heritage Conservation Area. The cycle track - once a three-cornered railway connecting Stroud, Nailsworth and Stonehouse - runs close by and Kimmins Mill (now storing historic industrial artefacts) is within Sainsbury’s boundary.
