Southwell Liberal Democrats

We were honoured to have Bill Newton-Dunn visit our caravan on Southwell Market on Saturday 18th May. We handed out some of his Euro election leaflets to passers-by and many people stopped to have a chat.

Last night we held a "Thank you" party for our candidates, deliverers and those with stakeboards.

It was held at the appropriately named "Our Lady of Victories" church hall.

A BIG thank you for all your help - and to those unable to come.

We can now put up "Winning Here" posters again!

Yet Another Inflation Busting Rise

Council tax Bills are set to increase again in April. Overall there will be an inflation busting 4.5 per cent rise with the Conservative led County Council demanding 4 per cent more. Since austerity began, our Council tax has gone up by nearly 50 per cent.

In just three years people living in band D houses are now paying an extra £245 in Council tax.

The quality of the repairs to our pavements is a regular topic on the doorstep. The patching is almost more dangerous than the original holes.

Remember, you can report problems on-line at https://www.nottinghamshire.gov.uk/transport/ roads/potholes/report-a-pothole

When is the County Council going to ensure that Via do a decent Job?

The Government has set a 20 year deadline for the full introduction of electric vehicles. In the meantime we will need a dramatic increase in the number of charging points.

Locally progress has been slow. One single point has been put into the new Castle House car park . A year ago the Town Council asked the District Council about its plans throughout the District. A joint project installing a large number of charge points would reduce costs significantly. So far the District Council has not responded.
With the need to reduce carbon emissions becoming more and more urgent, Liberal Democrat Councillors will push hard to have these important measures installed.

Every major housing development must pay a Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) to the District Council. The charge enables the Council to invest in local infrastructure to support communities as they expand.

Developers in Southwell have paid £496,000 in CIL money since summer 2014. The Town Council originally received 15% of the levy but this increased to 25% with the adoption of the Neighbourhood Plan. The District Council decides how and where the remaining 75% will be spent. Most of the levy seems to have been allocated to projects in and round Newark instead of Southwell.

It's official; Nottinghamshire has the worst potholes in the Country.

Over the past five years the County Council has paid out £5.1 million in compensation to motorists and cyclists. This is the largest payout by any Council.
Even after two years in charge, the Conservatives are blaming the previous Labour administration for the poor state of our roads. However the decade of under-investment began when the Conservatives were running the Council until 2013.