Park Liberal Democrats

Lib Dem Conference: A Fairer Britain

• Councillor Daisy Benson (Redlands) speaking on reducing crime and improving policing

The conference marked a major step for the Liberal Democrats nationally, with a major change in policy and direction.

At conference, the Liberal Democrat Fairer Future economy recovery plan detailed a four step plan for a better economic future.

1. Action to stop unjust repossessions
2. New approach to regulating the City - limiting the excesses of the market
3. Put in place the building blocks for future economic stability - interest rates that take house price changes into account, and independent monitoring of our fiscal rules
4. Tax cuts for families who are struggling

The Party has also released a new paper called 'Make It Happen', which outlines the new direction we are taking.

People in Reading, and nationwide, are fed up with New Labour.

It promised more than the Conservatives of 1997, yet it has failed.

Failed in education.

Failed the NHS.

Failed our brave troops in Iraq and Afghanistan.

And most importantly of all, failed the people of Britain.

What is the alternative?

The Conservatives have said much, but does anyone actually know what they will do differently?

They will cut taxes, sure, but only for their rich friends.

Those lower income families will still have to carry a heavy tax burden.

They will carry on New Labour's trend of removing civil liberties, and imposing a surveillance state.

The Liberal Democrats are the REAL alternative to failed Labour

We propose a fairer Britain.

A Britain where the poorest do not pay the most tax.

We propose a shift towards green taxes, whilst reducing the basic rate of income tax by 4p.

Council tax will be replaced by a fairer, income-based local tax, which will mean taxation based on ability to pay, instead of value of the property.

We will scrap the ID card scheme and direct that money back into the police force, putting thousands more 'bobbies' on the beat.

When there is a long waiting list for NHS treatment, we will make the NHS pay for you to go private.

The Bank of England should take into account house prices when making interest rate decisions. We will give them the power to make effective monetary policy.

The Liberal Democrats are the only party that will make a positive impact on people's lives.

On The Buses

Pictured: the new ethanol-powered number 17.

When I first heard about the new, cleaner number 17 bus, I was quite pleased. However, on closer inspection, is it really as green as it claims to be?

The first thing that I noticed when I got onboard was that there are fewer seats - especially for people with pushchairs or wheelchairs.

Anyone who has used the number 17 at rush hour will know that there is squeezing room only, at the best of times. Yet how long are people going to put up with a lesser chance of getting a seat, before switching back to the comfort of the car?

The new layout also means that only one wheelchair can be accomodated at any one time. Someone will, therefore, have to wait if there are two wheelchairs at the bus stop. Is this entirely fair? How long will it be before people return to the car?

A situation has been seen already whereby pushchairs are left in the aisles because of a lack of space. This is surely a dangerous precedent to set, but I sympathise with the owners.

I also understand why there are fewer seats. The ethanol-powered buses need a larger fuel tank, because it requires more ethanol to get the same amount of energy from a tank of diesel. I do wonder how much thought was put into the interior layout though, as it does seem to let down large parts of our communites; the disabled and those with young families.

My second gripe is with the recent price rises. I understand that the cost of fuel has increased substantially, and the fares had to go up at some point. But they were introduced barely two weeks after the decision to raise them was made, without any public consultation.

It has also been brought to my attention that the fluorescent signs informing passengers of the fare increases were not put on the buses in time for the first day under the new charges. This resulted in many people not realising that the prices had gone up, until they spoke to the driver. Thankfully, what could have become a 'Mutiny on the Buses' was mellowed due to kind bus drivers temporarily letting people pay the old charges for a week.

Finally, to put an end to some Council spin. Many will have heard that the number 17 now runs 24 hours a day. Well it has done for a long time, under the guise of route N17. Reading Buses have basically combined the two for simplicity, which I support, however, claiming it has extended the hours of the number 17 is, to put it bluntly, shameless spin.

Thanks for reading, if anyone has any problems or issues, feel free to email me at: parklibdems@hotmail.com

Post-May

I would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone who voted Liberal Democrat on May 1st. Each vote was a vote for hard work and committment to Reading. The new makeup of Reading Borough Council (Labour 19, Conservative 18, Lib Dem 8, Independent 1) means that we now hold the balance of power in the Council Chamber. This means we have been able to get part of our manifesto on the Council's agenda for the upcoming year.

We are currently in a transitional period in Reading politics. Labour are in freefall, and the Council became no overall control (NOC) for the first time in many a year. It is now time for Reading residents to speak up, and the Liberal Democrats are providing them with a platform from which to be heard.

Despite not being elected this year, I have enjoyed working for the people of Park ward for the past year. Local residents can still feel free to contact me if they have any issues or problems they wish to be resolved.

Email me at: parklibdems@hotmail.com

Dog Fouling

I recently received reports from residents in Liverpool Road about the amount of dog mess in the road. One resident even said to me she hopes it is the first thing that the new councillor does for the residents of Park ward. I was amazed. "Why should it wait until after the election?" I asked. I have been working for the people of Park over the last year and was glad to take on this issue.

Today I have received confirmation that Streetcare will install two new dog bins; one on the junction with Radstock Road and the other on the junction with Manchester Road.

Only the Liberal Democrats have been working hard for residents all year round!

Trees a crowd?

Firstly, let me apologise for a really bad pun in the heading. My agent recommended "Wood you believe it?" To be honest I don't know which is worse!

Residents of Green Road have informed me that a number of trees are being cut down to make way for the new development. However, there is one mature oak which resident are hoping Reading Borough Council will give a stay of execution to. The mature oak is situated near the junction with Whiteknights Road and is unfortunately not under a Tree Preservation Order (which for a tree of its size and age is unusual). A council worker visited the site this week and presumably cleared it to be felled and it is scheduled for Tuesday, April 22.

I have raised my concerns with the local resident and with the council and I am awaiting their response. Anyone with similar concerns should email Sarah Hanson (sarah.hanson@reading.gov.uk), Natural Environment Officer at Reading Borough Council.

Who is really working for you?

I have just received a list of all the Accolaid requests made by Councillors since the election last May. I have to say it makes interesting reading. The Accolaid system is a way of assessing how much casework your Councillors are doing.

In Redlands we have Daisy Benson (Lib Dem) 266, Kirsten Bayes (Lib Dem) 64 and in Katesgrove Gareth Epps (Lib Dem) 181 showing as putting in a lot more work that our current Park Ward Councillors. Here in Park we have Jon Hartley (Labour) on 37, Shirley Merriott (Labour) on 13 and Wazir Hussean (Conservative) on 22. This means that between them they can only manage 72 Accolaids! This is shocking! It would take 7.5 Park Ward councillors to do the work of one Gareth Epps and an incedible 11 to do the work of Daisy Benson!

Is it any surprise that all over Reading people are turning to the Liberal Democrats for action?

Over the past year I have undertaken many items of casework for local residents. These range from the everyday reporting of faulty street-lights and graffiti to the clearing up of fly-tipping and helping get unwated planning applications rejected. I have no doubt in my mind that if I was part of the Accolaid scheme I would be showing a lot better than the current Park Ward councillors.

When people are being seriously let down by the current regime, when Labour and the Tories do not work for the residents they are supposed to be representing, it comes as no surprise that the hard-working Liberal Democrats are there to pick up the pieces.

Unlike Labour and the Conservatives, I will continue to work for my fellow residents of Park just as my colleagues are doing in Redlands and Katesgrove. This way we can achieve Real Change for Reading!

Action on Graffiti

The graffiti problem in Reading is well-known to my fellow residents in Park Ward. It is damaging to property and is far from good to look at.

Recently, your local LibDem team (including Gareth Epps PPC, councillors, candidates and myself) spent a morning with the RBC Street Care team. They do an amazing job removing graffiti from increasingly challenging positions around the city, and from your walls and road signs within Park ward. Over the past year I have reported many cases of graffiti in our area, and within a week its gone.

 
Reading Borough Council have put a lot of money into fighting graffiti and we want this to continue! In other area’s near to Reading, graffiti walls have been installed as an outlet for graffiti artists which can reduce overall graffiti tagging in an area. It is the success of these projects which leads me to ask 'Why can't we have a similar scheme here in Reading?'

Whilst with the Street Care team we were taught how to remove simple graffiti and then given a graffiti-removal box. I now carry the graffiti removal wipes around with me when I’m out-and-about in the ward, to remove tags from street signs on-the-spot. Below you can see me putting my graffiti-cleaning kit into good use. These graffiti removal boxes are also available to the public for free and include training from Street Care staff. So if your street has been hit several times with the same old graffiti tags, as a community you can work together to tackle the problem. Obviously, large tags on walls should be reported to the police and to Street Care to remove with high-power hoses etc. Please don’t hesitate to contact me about persistant graffiti tagging and I will get action taken to help.

 
Street Care can be contacted on 0800 834 035

Reading Liberal Democrats - Real Action on Graffiti!

Recently, your local LibDem team (including Gareth Epps PPC, councillors, candidates and myself) spent a morning with the RBC Street Care team. They do an amazing job removing graffiti from increasingly challenging positions around the city, and from your walls and road signs within Park ward. Over the past year I have reported many cases of graffiti in our area, and within a week its gone.

 
Reading Borough Council have put a lot of money into fighting graffiti and we want this to continue! In other area’s near to Reading, graffiti walls have been installed as an outlet for graffiti artists which can reduce overall graffiti tagging in an area. It is the success of these projects which leads me to ask 'Why can't we have a similar scheme here in Reading?'

Whilst with the Street Care team we were taught how to remove simple graffiti and then given a graffiti-removal box. I now carry the graffiti removal wipes around with me when I’m out-and-about in the ward, to remove tags from street signs on-the-spot. Below you can see me putting my graffiti-cleaning kit into good use. These graffiti removal boxes are also available to the public for free and include training from Street Care staff. So if your street has been hit several times with the same old graffiti tags, as a community you can work together to tackle the problem. Obviously, large tags on walls should be reported to the police and to Street Care to remove with high-power hoses etc. Please don’t hesitate to contact me about persistant graffiti tagging and I will get action taken to help.

 
Street Care can be contacted on 0800 834 035

Reading Liberal Democrats - Real Action on Graffiti!

Real Change for Park

At a recent Central Branch meeting I am glad to inform you that I was selected to stand as the Liberal Democrats representative in the upcoming Council elections. This will see us continuing our strong showing in a Ward where we have finished a close second in two of the past three years.

The people of Reading are ready for a change, a change that is only possible with the Liberal Democrats. All over Reading people are turning to the Liberal Democrats as they seek to improve their area and where we have Councillors we have achieved results.

I have been working hard for the people of Park Ward in my role as Ward Campaigner and I want to spend the next four years working for my fellow residents as their Councillor.

With your help we can achieve this. We can achieve Real Change for Reading!

Eastern Avenue Planning Application Rejected

There was some very good news for residents of Eastern Avenue and Hamilton Road today. The planned development of five flats on the land that used to be leased for garages has been rejected. This is thanks to many local residents, the Sutton Community Association, and Reading Liberal Democrats (including myself, and Cllrs. Bayes and Benson).

The development was rejected on the following grounds:

   -  Loss of privacy and overbearing impact on neighbouring properties in Eastern Avenue and Hamilton Road
    -    It would harm the character and appearance of the South Park Conservation Area because of its bulk and its     massing
    -    Too much hardstanding to the front of the site, with little opportunity for soft landscaping, with the result that it would fail to enhance the character or appearance of the Conservation Area, which is a requirement on all new developments in the area
    -    Inadequate provision for waste collection facilities within the site. This would lead to waste collection vehicles reversing and obstructing the access way, collection of waste on the verges and carriageway, and harm to public and highway safety
    -   Inadequate provision for secure cycle storage contrary to planning policies on Transport

I am now looking at trying to get the garages back in use for residents so that more cars can be safely parked off the road.

Rubbish!

There is a good article in the Reading Post about the level of fly-tipping in Reading. (You can read it here - http://www.getreading.co.uk/news/s/2023081_so_fed_up_with_flytipping)

The levels of fly-tipping in Park Ward alone are incredible. I am reporting cases in many local areas, such as Jubilee Road, on a regular basis. It is unfortunate that this has to be done, but I don't want to live in a neighbourhood where a minority dump fridges and washing machines and so on.