Conservatives launch manifesto for the local elections on 5 May

Leader of the Conservative Party, Councillor Ashley Dearnley

Conservatives launch manifesto for the local elections on 5 May.

Leader of the Conservative Party locally, Councillor Ashley Dearnley, said: "The Conservative Group has always been proud to represent the interests of the local community in our Borough. Our highest priority is to serve the people to the very best of our abilities. This is achieved through a common sense approach to problems and listening to local people who know what is best for their local communities. Only the Conservatives can provide an alternative to Labour as sadly this year the Liberal Democrats did not even bother to put forward any alternatives to Labours’ budget."

Conservative manifesto

Safety

It must be a number one priority that everyone feels safe in our Borough, so to achieve this we would reinstate the Community Safety Team, which worked closely with our police for the safety of us all.

Clean and Green Borough

We will introduce a year round team to clear grot spots and keep our streets clean and free from litter.

Roads and Pavements

The condition of our roads and pavements is totally unacceptable; we will spend an extra £1m on our roads and a further £80k on our pavements.

Planning

The highest priority must be given to protecting the green belt and our green spaces. We would rigorously oppose development on them, but we also believe incentives should be given to developers to build on our brown field sites, many in areas of deprivation that would benefit for new developments.

Dealing with local issues

All our proposals have been carefully costed to ensure no greater burden is put on you, the taxpayer; there is no need for further council tax increases. We would achieve this through greater efficiency in the Council spending by reducing the number of councillors being paid to be cabinet members and assistants to cabinet members. Reconsidering again the numbers of councillors required throughout the Borough and stopping funding for paid trade union posts, as well as carefully scrutinising the Council’s reserves and balances.

The Conservative Group recognises that having an attractive and safe environment with clean streets and roads well maintained is vital in attracting and retaining businesses. We will work tirelessly to ensure that once again Rochdale has a positive reputation in which we all can be proud to live and work.