NEW SHELTER

CAMPAIGN

A SUCCESS We are pleased to report that

after a long campaign by local

residents, supported by the Lib

Dems’ FOCUS Team, a new bus

shelter has been installed outside

Werrington Community Centre. Local Lib Dem councillor Darren

Fower said: “It’s great to see the

installation of the shelter and work

to raise the kerb completed.

“We have been working hard,

meeting lots of people and running

a petition and it just goes to show

that campaigning can pay off.

“More importantly, this means

that bus passengers should now

have a more comfortable

experience.”

Darren has also welcomed the

news that the Werrington

Neighbourhood Council has

agreed to maintain the new shelter.

He said: “It’s great that they are

wiling to help. They already do so

much throughout the ward that they

must save the city council hundreds

of pounds every year through their

efforts.”

Now, let’s take a

vote – hands up all those in favour of doing something

sensible …….good, that’s no-one ..

Planning

Committee

TEAM CONTACT DETAILS: Councillor: Darren Fower FOCUS Editor: Richard Olive Tel: 570238 or 573813 Mobile: 07932 021 349 Email: SWNG_FOCUS @peterboroughlibdems.org.uk

Ward website: www.campaigns. libdems.org.uk/SWNG Post: Cllr Darren Fower, Town Hall, Bridge Street, Peterborough PE1 1HG

FOCUS www.peterboroughlibdems.org.uk

“Working All Year Round”

SOUTH WERRINGTON and NORTH GUNTHORPE RESIDENTS’ NEWSLETTER

Edition: 53

CAR PARK FIASCO A “fiasco of the highest order” – that is how local Lib Dem councillor

Darren Fower has described the announcement that the city council will not

enforce a planning application with the developers of the Werrington

Centre to guarantee a community car park. The decision is likely to cost

local tax payers tens of thousands of pounds.

Last year the council approved a planning application for the Werrington

Centre which made developers responsible for building a community car

park on land which the council would provide. This would ensure that

people could still park free of charge when using the centre even if Tesco

(as expected) starts to charge for parking in future.

This agreed planning application cited the tennis courts at Ken Stimpson

School as the preferred location. However, there were alternative options

(such as building on other council-owned land) agreed in case any problems

arose with this preferred site.

Sadly, the council failed to check

the legal position with regards to

the Private Finance Agreement that

exists on the preferred site and so

that option became impossible.

Still, we had the back-up plans

…. but actually, no, we did not.

There is no council-owned land in

the area suitable for use. To make

matters worse, it turns out that the

city council had hugely under-

estimated the actual cost of building

a car park!

This has now led to the council’s own planning committee deciding not to

enforce the previous planning agreement.

Instead, the developers will now make a ‘contribution’ to car park

building costs which is less than the total required, leaving the council to

find the rest of the money needed.

Cllr Darren Fower, who attended the planning committee said: “Given the

financial position of the council, these latest recommendations are madness!

“The bottom line is that the developers signed the original agreement

requiring, as advocated by this very committee, that spaces be reserved

until there was an alternative site provided either by Tesco or by the

council. That will not now happen.

“At least now when people ask me how much influence Tesco has over

our local authority, I’ll be able to cite a valid example of how they can get

the local authority to change its mind and previous agreements. This

episode has proved to be a fiasco of the highest order!”

Printed by P’boro Liberal Democrat Printing Society c/o 37 Swift Close, Deeping St James PE6 8QQ. Published & promoted for & on behalf of Liberal Democrats at 92 Swale Avenue, Peterborough PE4 7GT

WARD ‘SURGERY’ DATES

Speak to Cllr Darren Fower at one of his

regular ‘surgeries’.

Brookside Methodist Church, Gunthorpe Road

Time: 6pm – 7pm Date: 3rd

Friday each month

Werrington Village Centre, Church St

Time: 6pm – 7pm Date: 1st Friday each month

BUDGET WASTE Lib Dems on the city council have attacked the Tory budget

as wasteful and misguided. They have put forward

alternatives which redirect over £1 million to more essential

services without any additional increase in Council Tax. The Lib Dems are calling for a number of cuts proposed by the

Tories to be reversed. Among them are:

• Scrapping the charge which the Tories will impose on people

who have one of their wheelie bins stolen.

• Keeping open public loos which the Tories will close.

• Reversing the cuts in bus service subsidy and the cuts in

subsidy for school meals.

• Ending the sale of allotment land to developers.

• Reducing the cuts in the adult social care budget.

We would put more money into essential services:

• Improved maintenance of street lighting.

• A speeded up programme of pavement repairs.

• Extra investment in winter road gritting and snow clearance.

• Increased support for the Primary Care Trust to help improve

the health of people in Peterborough.

This would be paid for by:

• Scrapping the propaganda sheet “Your Peterborough”.

• Postponing the Tory council leader’s pet water taxi scheme

until the need for it has been evaluated.

• Making the council employ fewer consultants. Currently it

spends £8 million a year on lining the pockets of consultants.

• Looking at cheaper options for waste management, including

scrapping plans to spend nearly £60 million on an incinerator.

Local Lib Dem councillor Darren Fower said:

“All the time, council leader Councillor Cereste tells us that the

council is short of money and the Council Tax needs to go up

yet again. Yet he is more than happy to waste money on pet

projects such as the fountains in Cathedral Square, the water

taxis and the massively expensive waste incinerator.

“To pay for all this they are proposing a staggering £15

million of cuts and borrowing over £60 million next year.”

DARREN FOR MAYOR? Liberal Democrat councillors in Peterborough

have unanimously agreed to propose that local

Lib Dem councillor Darren Fower for the post

of Mayor of Peterborough for the next official

year that starts in April.

With a huge Tory majority on the city council,

though, it is unlikely that Darren will be

donning the robes at any time soon. It is far

more likely that the Tories will (once again)

pick one of their own members for the council’s

‘top job’.

ALLOTMENT THREAT As we reported in our previous issue, the park

area between Hallfields Lane and Gunthorpe

Road is under threat because the city council

wants to turn the area into allotments.

The council needs to create new allotments to

replace those being lost at Itter Park where land

is being sold for housing development.

After raising their concerns at a recent

neighbourhood panel meeting, residents have

now collected over 400 signatures on a petition

which will be presented to the next council

meting by local councillor Darren Fower.

The recreation area separates three electoral

wards - South Werrington, Paston and Walton.

This means that there are eight councillors who

could have taken this issue up and supported

local residents. In reality only two did!

Darren has campaigned on the issue, held two

special ‘surgeries’ (one of them also attended by

Nick Sandford, the Lib Dem councillor for

Walton), met with residents, secured media

attention and is now presenting the petition.

Darren said: “Representing people is about

speaking to people, listening to their concerns

and making sure that their voices are heard.

“The council is out of touch with people in

this area. Although, given that it is a Tory-

controlled council, I’m not surprised that local

Tory councillors are failing to do their job!”

And as a lifelong Conservative, do you think you will be (A) disappointed, (B) very disappointed or (C) extremely disappointed if there is a David Cameron Tory government?