Ealing Liberal Democrats

Change that works for Ealing

Introduction

The Council that Ealing elects in May will have a major impact on the shape of the borough for at least the next 20 years. It will be responsible for the plan which will control development in the borough until 2026 and beyond. It will affect every aspect of life for present residents, their children and their grandchildren.

This is as significant as the plans which 100 years ago shaped the areas of the towns which now make up the borough. The foresight of those who built them gave us a legacy of fine public and private buildings, civic amenities and open space which led to Ealing being called the "Queen of the Suburbs".

But recently, Ealing has been declining. Older parts have decayed and have not been refreshed. Our heritage has been under attack. The Council has called for "regeneration", but has shown no sign of understanding its own responsibility. Instead of taking the initiative in partnership with its residents and other stakeholders to prepare and control a master plan, it has left this to commercial developers.

A fresh start

What is needed is a new approach. After May, there will probably be no single party with overall control. This gives the opportunity for decisions to be brought out from behind closed doors and opened up to wider public participation.

Liberal Democrats will commit to work for the new Council to

• Be more open and responsive to its residents
• Give priority to the environment
• Protect and improve front-line services

Our programme will be based on these three themes.

Some of our specific aims are set out below.

1. A more open and responsive Council

Liberal Democrats will work for more open democratic control, with better accountability. In particular, we will:

• Be more honest about the balance between maintaining services and keeping Council tax down
• Cut spending on political publicity by half, and spend the £1.5 million saved on service improvements
• Introduce a Council Customer Charter, to improve the responsiveness of the service to residents, making activities such as Parking Services more accountable
• Devolve more powers to local ward Forums, and break down the artificial boundaries between wards
• Improve consultation procedures, so that public opinion is sought before rather than after decisions are taken.

2. Greater protection for the environment

Liberal Democrats will put concern for the environment in the widest sense at the heart of all Council activities. We will fight for:

• Further improvement in recycling waste, energy conservation and the reduction of pollution, especially airborne pollution
• More rigorous protection of our green spaces and conservation areas, such as Haven Green, Hanwell and Gunnersbury Park
• Better control of town centre developments, especially in Acton, Ealing, West Ealing and Southall
• Continuing opposition to Heathrow airport expansion
• Restoration of the Conservative London Mayor's cuts of 455 uniformed police officers

3. Protect and improve front-line services

The provision of services and infrastructure to the whole of the community is a prime responsibility of the local Council. Liberal Democrats will strongly resist any moves to a Conservative "Do It Yourself" philosophy, which can only harm the most disadvantaged. Some of the service areas that need particular attention are:

• retention of Accident and Emergency services in our local hospitals
• ensuring that new housing developments include more social and affordable units, and build sustainable communities instead of squeezing more homes and people onto limited sites such as Ealing town centre, the Southall gasworks or the Green Man Lane estate without adequate social infrastructure
• restoring the cuts in services made by the present Council, such as on adult social services and the number of Park Rangers
• improving the quality of education, with special emphasis on better planning to cope with the diversity of need, while aiming for smaller classes and resisting larger school sizes (such as at Derwentwater)
• taking the initiative for improving Ealing's public transport, particularly to provide a full interchange over Ealing Broadway station and develop better north-south links.

These are just some of the main issues facing Ealing Council. As Liberal Democrats we will fight for a proper understanding of "Value for Money" in terms of protecting our unique local heritage, safeguarding our communities and providing a borough fit for the future, rather than short-term financial return. Above all, we want our Council to be open to genuine local participation so that people can feel part of the developments that affect their lives, today and tomorrow.