1. A small increase in Council Tax of 4.8% equivalent to 16p per week per average household in Band D. NO cuts in services. As Conservatives we will continue to seek productivity improvements from the workforce and at the same time direct more resources to improving services for the Citizens of Woking. We have not, as alleged achieved this budget by cutting services or charging vulnerable people more, or by ‘plundering reserves’.
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2. Woking is one of the safest communities in the UK. We have built upon our earlier success through the co-location of the Borough and Police teams in the Civic Offices. This received recognition when in July 2008 Woking was identified as one of the most improved communities. Our challenge for the future will be to maintain this success.
We have completed the first round of our "Tune In" events, through which we seek to engage more directly with residents and to build a stronger community.
Our Local Community Action Plan work in Sheerwater demonstrated the benefit of taking different approaches to different issues and needs. This activity led to the decision to invest in Sheerwater’s Parkview Centre which opened on the 24th January 2009.
We have delivered on our priority of a safer community and started on the journey of securing "Pride of Place".
3. The Moor Lane PFI project which will provide many new houses has received Government approval. Woking Borough Homes has been provided with some £30 million to acquire properties for rent; and already some £17 million has been committed with 66 additional properties due to be delivered shortly. We have also sought the consent of the Secretary of State to give us additional flexibility which would enable us to do more with our housing stock. In addition we continue to work with Registered Social Landlords to assist them further next year in delivering more affordable homes.
We have managed through significant hard work to balance our Housing Revenue Account. This is in spite of Woking having money withdrawn from our community by the Government; over £6 million was taken last year. Hopefully, the next Conservative Government will correct this injustice.
We have expanded the successful Home Link service, our home improvement agency. The enhanced handyman service will assist many residents with those small jobs which make a real difference to quality of life.
4. Waste and recycling has gone from strength to strength with recycling levels for the year now nearing 45%. Our commitment to the Joint Municipal Waste Strategy for Surrey has been demonstrated by our actions. We have already exceeded the target set for recycling in the Borough.
5. The Global economic crisis has meant that the economic performance in the Borough has declined when we had hoped to support its growth. Our proposals to support the commercial offer of Woking Town Centre recognise that it is a major source of our revenue income, a major employer and a well connected location for business. We propose to achieve an urban renaissance in our Town Centre, so that in future years our residents can be proud of the part we played during this economic downturn.
A four-point plan authorises Council officers to explore and bring forward proposals which could revitalise the town and provide homes to meet housing need.
1. To continue work on developing a Surrey-wide Credit Union (or community bank), which would provide affordable financial services for local people from April 2010.
2. To explore and bring forward proposals to revitalise retail activity and strengthen the retail offer in the town. The Council could use its position as local authority to lend money for the redevelopment, reconfiguration or expansion of retail activity.
3. To help Registered Social Landlords bring housing schemes forward by offering the finance facilities that are not currently available from existing financial service providers.
4. To allocate an additional £7.5 million to the Council's wholly-owned housing company, Woking Borough Homes Limited, for it to invest in providing much-needed homes in the Borough.
In Conclusion: As Conservatives we have achieved a low increase in Council Tax. We have continued to improve performance of existing services and have provided for a growth in services for the most vulnerable in the community, as well as providing more housing under very difficult economic circumstances. For the future we have issued a plan to address the unprecedented economic downturn that we are all faced with, while we remain committed to securing value for money for all residents and to maintain our commitment to low tax increases with efficient high value services for the whole community.
The full text of the Four Point Plan can be found on the Woking Borough website at: http://www.woking.gov.uk/news?item=000049A41D3A.C0A801BA.0000185A.0009
