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17th September 2008 - CONSERVATIVES TAKE UNPRECEDENTED ACTION TO COUNTER GREEN BELT THREAT
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Planning ahead to add to our Green Belt
Conservatives at the Royal Borough announced today that RBWM is looking to ADD new land to the Green Belt.
Cllr Alison Knight, Lead Member for Planning and Housing (Conservative, Sunninghill and South Ascot) took the unprecedented step of asking council staff to look at possible sites across the borough which might fit the criteria for inclusion in the Green Belt - in the face of instructions to review the Green Belt and build vast numbers of homes in the Royal Borough by Government.
Cllr Knight rubbished the ludicrous claims by LibDems of 'making secret plans to build in the Green Belt' and said 'I am appalled by the scaremongering tactics of the LibDems, but it comes as no surprise, residents must not be fooled. We pledged to protect the Green Belt and I hope we have found a way of doing just that.'
The borough was told by the planning inspector in 2007 that 'for the avoidance of doubt ....the [Green Belt] review should be undertaken' which forced a cross-party decision to analyse the Green Belt. This was a very reluctant move, but one that was agreed by all parties.
Cllr David Burbage, Leader of the Council said 'We face intense pressure from the Government to assess - and even release - Green Belt for future development but we are committed to protecting it. We are not making any secret plans to build. The government has concluded that we must build 8,650 homes by 2031 - an incredible amount of tarmac and concrete in our beautiful green borough - but we will be consulting fully with residents about how and where we might have to build them.
2031 is a long way away and we don't believe that the increasing amounts of development being forced on our countryside are sustainable. In the meantime I'm delighted that we may actually be able to add to the green Belt - a wonderful legacy for generations to come and a measure that will help protect more of our precious countryside.'
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24th April 2008 -Royal Borough Bottled Water Ban Backed by Cameron!
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Plastic bottles on the way out
The Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead’s bottled water ban has been backed by David Cameron. The ban, which came into force this month, is part of a drive by the borough to reduce waste and improve its carbon footprint.
Conservatives on the Council demanded that the bottles be removed and replaced by jugs to help save the environment by cutting the amount it sends to landfill sites and reduce traffic pollution.
The bottles previously supplied to the Council had travelled at least 300 miles from source to the Town Hall. This journey is most likely to have been by road, causing unnecessary pollution and extra traffic. The removal of bottled water has also saved the council £1500 a year.
The news comes just weeks after London Mayor Candidate Boris Johnson said that he would follow the Royal Boroughs lead by exploring the possibility of paying people to recycle. The scheme – known as RecycleBank – sees waste sold to recycling plants and shopping coupons given to residents in return.
David Cameron, speaking in Manchester he said:
"In my office we have moved to tap water, and in Central Office we are doing that. In restaurants, as a customer, I always ask for tap water because you sometimes feel you are being charged huge prices for bottled water you don't really want. The whole move towards tap water - which is of very good quality now - is an extremely good one."
Mr Cameron will now back plans to stop buying 250,000 bottles of water every year at the House of Commons. He said it was 'so depressing' to think of the wasted resources that went into making a plastic bottle - even before anything was put into it.
"Then you are paying all over again for the water in the bottle," he said. "It makes no sense. Ask for the jug."
Cllr Alison Knight, Lead Member for Strategy said:
“This is great news and proves that Conservatives are leading the way on the Green Agenda. Bottled water is a waste of resources and is extremely damaging to the environment. We’re delighted that David Cameron is following our lead.”
Cllr David Burbage, Leader of the Council said:
“This move will cut the amount of traffic pollution on our roads and make an immediate improvement to the environment. This is another example of a simple policy that helps the environment and saves the taxpayer money.”
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27th February 2008 - 2.4% TORY TAX TRIUMPH!
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LOWEST COUNCIL TAX INCREASE IN BOROUGH'S HISTORY
The new Conservative administration at the Royal Borough of Windsor have set council tax at 2.4% - a full 1.5% below the rate of inflation - in a budget that stripped out inefficiency and refocused spending on frontline services.
Lead member for finance, David Hilton, told a packed council chamber that prudence would deliver low tax with no resulting cuts in service. He also blamed the Liberal Democrats for raising council tax whilst leaving the authority with a debt of £57m.
Opposition leader Simon Werner argued that the success of this budget was due to a “golden legacy” of the last Liberal Democrat administration. He dismissed the £23m rise debt under the Liberals as “invest to save”. Werner’s claims were ridiculed by a boisterous Conservatives bench filled with members elected last year. A succession of new councillors – many in their 20’s and 30’s – pointed out that under the Liberals tax rose 25% whilst services were rated as ‘adequate’.
Cllr David Hilton said:
“This budget is good news for our residents. We have delivered low tax, maintaining frontline services and in many cases improved them. The Liberal Democrats don’t believe that you can cut tax and improve service, but that’s only because they couldn’t do it themselves.
Our council tax will rise by less than inflation and less than increases in state pensions making pensioners richer.”
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