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A Local Plan for Bury
The Conservative Group note the Councils desire to push ahead with ‘Places for Everyone’ formally the Greater Manchester Spatial Framework. One of the issues has been that Bury does not have a Local Plan. This budget amendment ringfences £100,000 to ensure Bury Council can create and implement a Local Plan[1].
The Local Plan will be for the future development of the Borough, drawn up by the Council in consultation with the community and third-party organisations. This will ensure we have a plan for Bury drawn up by our community not one decided by Officials outside of the Town.
The Conservative Group is dedicated to protecting the borough precious greenbelt.
Queen’s Canopy
All across the United Kingdom, people will be encouraged to “Plant a Tree for the Jubilee” through The Queen’s Green Canopy initiative[2]. Bury is no different and the Council will support schools, colleges, charities and community organisations in celebrating the Platinum Jubilee. It is hoped, homeowners and businesses will also take part in the initiative to celebrate Her Majesty’s 70th year.
Her Majesty has planted over 1,500 tress across the world throughout her 70 year reign. There is no better way to celebrate Her Majesty’s Platinum Jubilee in Bury than planting trees.
The last year has been challenging for everyone and we have benefited from our enjoying our beautiful outdoor space. The pandemic has highlighted the importance of our greenspaces and the importance that we must protect it. Bury Council will take part in the Queen’s Green Canopy which will encourage our residents, businesses and communities to come together, celebrate and improve our environment.
The Queen’s Green Canopy will be officially launched in May 2021, Bury Council will have the budget to support organisations and schools with the canopy over the next year. Everyone is encouraged to take part in creating this special gift to Her Majesty by planting, and celebrating, trees at home, and within their community[3]
A funding allocation will be agreed at a later Cabinet meeting following the announcing of the scheme in May 2021.
250 electric vehicle charging points
The Conservative Group have repeatedly called on the Council to install electric car charging points across the Borough, but little has been done other than warm words.
- Little attempt has been made to comprehensively introduce electric vehicle charging points on any of the designs for property designs across the Borough.
- Little attempt has been made to generate income for the Council from electric vehicle charging points, either as a percentage of the electricity provided, or at all.
- No attempt has been made by the Council to install street light charging points across the borough despite the Conservatives calling for this since 2018[4].
The Conservative Group believe there should be more charging points across all six townships to encourage residents to switch but also provide the infrastructure to enable the switch. This budget amendment proposes:
- 50 Electric Car Charging Points
- 200 Street Light EV Chargers
There are Councils across the country racing ahead in providing infrastructure, Bury should not be left behind
Prestwich Carbon Benches - £75,000
The Conservative Group are committed to improving the environment in our towns. Over the years the air we breathe has been affected. A recent study published by the INRIX outlined that the A56 which runs through Prestwich is ranked 5th in the league for most congested roads outside of London. The decision of the Labour Council to narrow the road has contributed to the chaos. Air Pollution in Prestwich is high and the A56 congestion is a huge factor in these high levels.
The actions of the Labour Council will be suffered for years to come but the Conservative Group believe we must improve the air quality for residents. This budget amendment commits to bringing down the pollution in Prestwich through installing 4 new benches to absorb air pollution.
Using a vertical installation of moss, the bench can absorb as much pollution as 275 trees in 1 percent of the space. The World Health Organization estimates that 7 million premature deaths occur each year from air pollution, making it one of the largest environmental health risks in the world[5].
The bench is about 13 feet high and can hold up to 1,682 pots of moss, planted in the vertical garden. The moss acts to filter out particulate matter, absorb CO2 and remove soot, dirt, and other pollutants. The use of moss, which hosts bacteria, both work to absorb particulate matter in the range of 0.1 microns to 10 microns[6].
Home Run App, £30,000
School traffic has been reduced by a third in Wiltshire and Buckinghamshire through the use of Home Run App. The App would be delivered and administered through web console for the Council and Schools as well as mobile devices for parents and pupils. The app facilitates car-pooling and provides school data to encourage parents to stop driving to schools.
This will[7]:
- Access to real school commute data
- Reduction in vehicle emissions and cars on the road
- Healthier more active children
- Empower children communities to improve their daily commutes
- Ensure impactful solutions and meaningful communications
We would contract with Home App to ensure all every school in Bury is signed up, working to reduce the number of cars on the school run on our roads. This will be implements subject to the social distancing rules and the Coronavirus, this may need to be delayed until 2022/23.
Managing parks and green spaces better
The London Borough of Wandsworth created a staff mutual from its in-house maintenance service, reducing its spending on parks by 20%. This budget amendment proposes to follow this model and set up a staff mutual[8].
Parks maintenance costs were £1.9 million a year in 2020-21, a 20% reduction in costs would create a saving of £380,000
Street Cleaning – No cost
This budget amendment ensures the frequency of street cleaning in all residential areas and on estates that have their roads and pavements blighted by rubbish is effectively managed. Any new plans to increase the frequency or change the street cleaning will be properly implemented and maintained for the longer term – not just for local elections.
‘Carbon cost’ and money cost in every report – No cost
All Council reports to include the Carbon Cost and money cost in every report. This will ensure the Council stays focused in achieving the plan to be a Carbon neutral Council.
The cost in terms of:
(a) carbon expended by a particular course of action; and
(b) the monetary cost: should both become standard features added to every report produced or co-produced by the Council, included in the template for each report, ready to be calculated, never avoided.
This will ‘hard-bake’ the carbon cost of each set of actions, and the comparative money cost for all proposals, into the management of the Council.
Bins Emptied or your money back
The Conservative Group have been 100% against the Labour Councils policy of reducing bin collection in Bury to every three weeks. This is a policy which the Conservative Group have called on the Council to reverse at a number of budgets and elections over the last decade.
However, the Conservative Group recognise that to restore grey bin collections to every two weeks as a minimum for all residents would incur a cost of around £1.2 million which would be a recurring revenue cost of £1.2m per year.
The Conservative Group acknowledge the Council have invested in fleet renewal, although not electric bin trucks, the Council have finally invested and started to implement a fleet replacement strategy. The Operations department are actively reviewing routes and looking at ways to improve bin collections.
The Conservative Group are committed to ensuring residents grey bins are collected. We therefore in this alternative budget propose a contact with residents. Every time a resident report that their rubbish has not been collected, they will receive £10 back on their council tax bill. This is providing that they have not received an e-mail due to operational matters which means their bin will be collected the following day. This policy will be capped at £120 per year per resident.
The grey bin policy will allow Bury Council to carefully manage and review the performance of the Operational Department. No resident should have to suffer and not have their grey bin collected.
£36 for 5 items means 5 items
The Conservative Group note that Fly tipping is a serious issue in our borough, and convoluted algorithms that make you get a calculator out to get rid of some ladders don't help anyone.
This amendment simplifies waste tariffs and make it easier to dispose of bulky household items simply and cost-effectively.
- Reduce the cost of collection to £30 for 5 items
- Simplify the bulky collection algorithm to ensure that one item actually means one item
- Reduce fly-tipping in our borough and support our residents, supporting a cleaner community
Increase fines for early payment of fly-tipping
We will take tougher action against fly tipping in our borough. Fly tipping fines will be increased to the legal maximum.
Increase fines for littering to the legal maximum and early payment to 75% of the maximum
Fines will be increased to the maximum, if someone litters, they will be fined. Westminster and Haringey impose the full £150 fine.
As in the Alternative Budget in 2020, we would initially introduce a 25% discount for early payment – in line with the fly-tipping fines – until further impact analysis can be done, but with a view to having no discount for early payment.
Introduce fines for littering from a motor vehicle
In 2018, councils were given powers to fine car owners if litter was thrown from their car, whether or not it could be proven that they were driving. Bury has not yet used this power and the Conservative group called for this in 2020. This amendment introduces fines to clamp down on littering.
Engine idling fines £80
The Conservative Group note a motion tabled by the Liberal Democrats which proposed engine idling fines at school, despite full Council support nothing appears to have been achieved. As in the Conservative Group 2020 alternative budget fines for engine idling will be introduced at £80. This not intended as a revenue-raising proposal, but it is likely that a small surplus would arise.
The Conservative Group note the Press Release from Bury Council in 2020: No idling – our children’s air is too important”[9]
[1] Plan-making - https://www.gov.uk/guidance/plan-making
[2] PLANT A TREE FOR THE JUBILEE - https://www.coolearth.org/projects/queens-green-canopy/
[3] The Queen’s Green Canopy https://queensgreencanopy.org
[4] Wandsworth Council now have c600 lamppost column charging points and free-standing fast points. Funding can be had for dedicated bays through partnership and funded by the Conservative Government’s Office of Low Emission Vehicles – up to 75% funded.
[5] 7 million premature deaths annually linked to air pollution - https://www.who.int/mediacentre/news/releases/2014/air-pollution/en/
[6] This City Bench Absorbs More Air Pollution Than A Grove Of Trees - https://www.forbes.com/sites/trevornace/2018/03/20/this-city-bench-absorbs-more-air-pollution-than-a-grove-of-trees/?sh=14ced6b6b8d8
[7] Home Run How it Works. www.cms.wiltshire.gov.uk/documents/s129359/appendix%201%20Home%Run20Pilot.pdf
[8]New staff mutual organisation manages key council services - https://www.wandsworth.gov.uk/news/article/13025
[9] No idling – our children’s air is too important - https://www.mynewsdesk.com/uk/bury-council/pressreleases/no-idling-our-childrens-air-is-too-important-2961169