Liberal Democrats: Manifesto for Brentwood

Brentwood Liberal Democrats

The Liberal Democrat Plan for Brentwood 2022

A Greener, Safer, Fairer Borough

• If a unitary authority is imposed on Brentwood we will oppose any plans to link us up with large areas like Basildon and Thurrock where our local identity will be lost.
• We will ensure that Brentwood High Street is not closed again without the prior authority of members of Brentwood Borough Council
• We will install openness and transparency on all the Borough Council's financial dealings.
• We will fight to save all the Libraries in our Borough.
• We will build more affordable zero carbon emission properties for local people to buy and rent.
• We will discourage any development in the green belt. Brown field site development to be encouraged provided it is supported by the right level of infrastructure paid for by the developer.
• We will call on the Police & Crime Commissioner to provide additional police resources and work towards reinstating a fully operational Police Station in Brentwood.
• We will undertake a new public consultation on the redevelopment of Brentwood Town Centre and strive to deliver a mix of retail, leisure, housing and car parking.
• We will work closely with the County Council to make our roads safer for all users and fight for the investment needed in pothole and footpath repairs.
• We will undertake a full review of car parking charges and car parking strategy across the Borough and develop a commercial strategy that encourages the viability of our economic centres.
• We will work to put in place infrastructure that will encourage cycling, walkable neighbourhoods and safer school streets. We will encourage more active travel, improving physical health and wellbeing, reducing congestion and pollution.
• We will investigate the current recycling contracts and make changes to improve them for residents if it is practically and financially responsible to do so. We will oppose any plans that would stop the weekly black bag food collection.
• We will fight moves by the Tories in central government that would prevent local areas having a say in planning, would cause increase permitted development without assessment and delegate decision making to algorithms.
• Your community Liberal Democrat councillors will……
• Continue to actively listen and engage with local residents and promote fairness, equality and opportunity in everything we do.
• Fight to keep Brentwood's identity in any move to make us part of a unitary authority.
• Provide the highest standards of openness, transparency and integrity across Brentwood Borough Council.

Our natural environment is precious, we will…..

• Lead the fight against climate change, working with you towards achieving a zero-carbon Borough by 2040.
• Search for ways to plant new trees, Borough-wide on the scale called for by the Committee on Climate Change.
• Work tirelessly to achieve a plastic- free Borough, and increase recycling and resuables.
• Tackle the serious problem of air pollution, with more monitoring and an action plan.
• Promote green transport across the Borough: electric cars and charging points, on and off road cycle and pedestrian routes, community bus schemes and a joined up plan for public transport.
• Provide a cleaner local environment - and enforce on anti-social behaviour such as littering, dog fouling. Pavement parking etc.
• Effectively tackle fly-tipping across our Borough including more CCTV to catch and prosecute offenders.
• Encourage local power generation- such as solar and wind energy in appropriate locations.

Arts, culture and leisure are essential to a healthy, happy Borough. We will…….

• Support high quality affordable sports and leisure facilities across the Borough including children's recreation and play spaces.
• Work with charities and voluntary groups to ensure arts, culture and leisure activities are accessible to all.
• Protect our local heritage and support conservation areas across the Borough

Tackling crime and keeping Brentwood safe.

• We want to see dedicated police officers for every ward in the Borough.
• We want to see the money from the sale of our Police Station and Police Houses invested back into frontline policing across the Borough, and the reinstatement of a fully operational Police Station in Brentwood.
• We will increase the number of staff in the Borough Council's Enforcement team.

Working with you, making thriving, future proof local communities through creative planning, we will……..

• Protect our environment in both the town and the villages by opposing over development and maintaining our green spaces across the Borough.
• Ensure improvements to roads, public transport, schools, health services and community facilities are funded by developers.
• Prioritise development on sustainable urban and brownfield sites.
• Develop a comprehensive Brentwood town centre plan
• Work with residents, schools and businesses to address problem parking, creating "neighbourhood zones" with improved air quality and 20mph limits on residential roads.
• Call for green renewables for all new builds
• Ensure that disability access throughout the borough is improved so that access is delivered for all our residents

We need the right type of homes to meet the varying needs of local people. We will…..

• Encourage developers to build the right mix of homes for local need, including more bungalows for the elderly and more homes with two or three bedrooms.
• As a part of the local development plan aim to build 1,000 new council owned homes across Brentwood over the next 10 years, in the right places for local people and key workers, to reduce the current housing waiting list. This will include affordable housing for our younger generations wishing to remain in the villages.
• If available we will use new government funding schemes and borrowing rates to enable the council to purchase land and to build high-quality council homes.
• Help the most vulnerable in our communities particularly those with mental health issues to find suitable housing.

The Conservatives record of shame in Brentwood………

• Borrowed £millions of council tax payers monies to invest in out of Borough developments and signed a secret gagging order so that no one can tell residents anything about it for at least three years.
• Proposed plans that could see us eventually link up with much larger areas like Basildon and Thurrock in a new Unitary Authority.
• Voted through a partnership arrangement with Rochford District Council without consulting local residents.
• Ignored the historical financial problems at the Brentwood Centre leading to it's closure.
• Failed to understand and address the on street car parking issues caused by the new leisure facilities at King Georges Park.
• Their recently approved local development plan has ignored the concerns raised by many communities, disregarded infrastructure, health, employment and congestion issues when choosing sites and done nothing to address the cumulative impact of their proposals.
• Refused to face up to the nature and scale of the challenge posed by climate change by refusing to declare a climate emergency.
• Failed to deliver a car parking strategy and are proposing to build 576 homes on four Brentwood Town Centre sites that currently provide car parking.