Mick Coats
Green Party
Norden Ward
Address
66 Rooley Moor Road
Rochdale
OL12 7BS
The Green Party agenda tries to address local issues with local solutions. Nationally we can do little to change the political situation at present, but locally we can make changes to improve the politics and prosperity of the town. This means valuing what we have and making changes which are practical and effective.
We have a completely discredited council in dire need of change. Their main concern over the last year seems to be voting themselves a 34% increase in income from their role as councillors, as well as a 51% increase for their then leader Mr Farnell (as he was 'worth it'!). I
n the Green Party we would encourage people to vote for our members where they are standing, otherwise independent candidates and people who have demonstrated they deserve our vote. There needs to be a clean sweep of all those people in the main political parties who have been in power for far too long and need to go.
We need to value what we have. The green belt must be kept and our parks and other community assets maintained and improved. We also need to be vigilant to make sure community assets do not slip out of our control. Our quality of life must not be diminished for the sake of a few people making money at our expense. We can do a lot.
In terms of employment we should be using local firms and local people. This ranges from maintenance to house building. Houses could be built by local builders on the many plots of waste land in the town, using local labour. This would protect us from being manipulated by the big national house builders who want to build on green belt land and who promise to improve the community only to renege on their promises (many thousands of pounds have been lost in this way, so called 106 money). Neither do we need the council to pay 'consultants' and 'experts' from Hull to tell us how to improve our town. Contracts from the council need to be kept local.
We do need more housing, and a lot more social housing, but first we need to use what we have. Empty council houses should be brought back into use, again by local builders. Flats above shops and old buildings could be renovated, again by local firms and local labour. We have a homeless problem which can only be solved by more housing. In addition where permission has been given for house building, builders should either be made to start building or lose their planning permission.
Long term problems also need tackling. The market is a disgrace, as is the way that the council has dealt with the highly contaminated former Turner Brothers site. The council has done nothing to resolve this problem, the only safe solution being to turn it into a country park.
Across the town we also have lots of plots of unused land. Allow local organisations to use them for allotments or even just recreational areas until a use has been found for them. Tenants and residents associations could take responsibility for the land.
We can do much to improve the town but before that happens we need to address the problem of the way the council is run. Councillors should refund the 34% increase they voted for themselves last May (when there were no council elections) and the council leader should refund his 51% increase. In addition the secret and unaccountable way it operates needs to change. There should also be a cap on how much money a councillor can 'earn' as a result of his position.
We may not get elected but a big vote for us, for our local and measured policies will send a message to to local political establishment and hopefully they may even adopt some of our ideas.
Vote for Greens, independents and for those people who deserve your vote if you want change – new people with new ideas.
