A RECORD OF
ACTION
A PROMISE
OF MORE
The Conservative Manifesto for
Mid Devon District Council
on 7 May 2015
CONTENTS
CONTENTS
A PERSONAL MESSAGE FROM THE CONSERVATIVE GROUP LEADER
3
WASTE & RECYCLING
4
COMMUNITY & LEISURE
5
TOWN CENTRES & LOCAL ECONOMY
6
PLANNING
7
INFRASTRUCTURE
8
ENVIRONMENT
10
HOUSING
11
COUNCIL TAX AND INTERNAL ADMINISTRATION
12
SUMMARY
13
Promoted by Lucille Baker on Behalf of Mid Devon Conservative Group , both of 9c Mill Park Industrial Estate, Woodbury Salterton EX5 1EL. 01395 233503.
A Record of Action, A Promise of More 2
MESSAGE FROM CONSERVATIVE LEADER
A PERSONAL
MESSAGE FROM THE
CONSERVATIVE
GROUP LEADER
CLLR CLIVE EGINTON
LEADER, MID DEVON DISTRICT COUNCIL
3 A Record of Action, A Promise of More
WASTE & RECYCLING
WASTE & RECYCLING
INVESTING TO IMPROVE RECYCLING
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A weekly waste food collection for every property in Mid Devon.
A collection of all plastic (except film) and cardboard for recycling
A full recycling scheme will be offered to the whole district.
A Garden waste collection will still be provided to those that need it.
Food Waste
We will introduce a weekly food collection for
all properties in Mid Devon, using a new
kerbside caddy.
Recycling
Conservative councillors in Mid Devon have
invested heavily in a new recycling fleet to
replace the older vehicles. These vehicles
have the ability to carry a far wider range of
recycled goods. In the first three months of
the new council we will widen the range of
recycling we can collect to include all plastics
(except film) and cardboard.
Unlike previously where 20% of Mid Devon,
comprising the most rural areas, did not get
the benefit of the full recycling service. These
new schemes will cover the whole district and
will significantly boost recycling rates.
Waste
We will continue to collect black sack residual
waste, on a fortnightly basis. Unlike councils
in other areas we will not impose any limits on
the amount of waste that households are able
to dispose of.
Garden Waste
A garden waste service, collected fortnightly,
will be provided year-round, for those that
require it. This is a discretionary service which
will be continued as a chargeable service at a
rate to cover the cost of the service. Currently
several other South-West councils charge for
this service including Lib-Dem run South
Somerset, Labour-run Exeter and
Independent / Lib Dem-run Cornwall.
A Record of Action, A Promise of More 4
COMMUNITY AND LEISURE
COMMUNITY & LEISURE
SUPPORT VOLUNTARY GROUPS AND SPORTS
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Conservatives have supported a wide range of local community projects over
the last four years across Mid Devon.
Invested In Leisure Centres resulting in increased user numbers.
We will introduce a trial Trimtrail in a Tiverton Park.
Grants
Conservatives have maintained our grants to
Grand Western Canal, Age UK, CHAT, Crediton
Arts Centre, Tiverton Museum of Mid Devon
Life and Tourist Information Service at a
consistent level. At the same time we have
continued to support Involve, Citizen's Advice
Bureau, Community Aid Nightstop Service,
Tiverton and District Community Transport
and Crediton and District Community
Transport. We have also created a seed fund
in 2012 which has benefitted a number of
local community projects, Conservatives will
continue to support good causes in the district
through grants.
investment we have seen a 36% increase in
users across the district. We are committed
to investing in our leisure centres to increase
their viability and will continue to do so.
Tiverton get fit
Conservatives in Mid Devon will look to find a
partner to create a Trimtrail in one of
Tiverton’s public open spaces to enable
people to exercise, get fit and have fun at the
same time. Should this be successful we
would look for opportunities within other
parts of Mid Devon.
Leisure Centres
Over the last four years we have invested in
facilities at all three of our leisure centres.
Lord’s Meadow at Crediton benefitted from a
major redevelopment, creating improved
fitness and training areas as well as a new All
Terrain Pitch. Culm Valley, Cullompton
celebrated its 30th anniversary recently with
the opening of an improved fitness suite and
refurbished reception and public areas. Exe
Valley has a newly extended car park and new
spinning equipment. We will support plans to
extend the fitness area, which will result in a
significant increase in capacity. Since this
A Record of Action, A Promise of More 5
TOWN CENTRES & LOCAL ECONOMY
TOWN CENTRES AND
LOCAL ECONOMY
A BETTER LOCAL ECONOMY
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The District Council will continue to build relationships with local businesses
through Business Forum Mid Devon.
Maintain low cost long stay parking in our town centres.
Support locally driven Business Improvement Districts.
Trial an affordable retail unit scheme.
Support businesses looking to relocate to or within Mid Devon.
Working With Business
Business Improvement Districts
The Council needs to have a good relationship
with the local business community and
understand their needs. We will continue to
work with Business Forum Mid Devon and
make senior officers and members available
to answer questions from the business
community.
We will support any of our town centres,
should the Business Community wish to
create a Business Improvement District, to
help raise funding for schemes to improve the
economic prosperity of their area.
Small And Start-Up Business
Advice
We will provide a trial of one or two small retail
units within a town centre location, that will be
available at a lower rent, and a shorter
tenancy, to help new retail businesses open
within our town centres. This will allow new
retail businesses to open with a reduced risk
burden .
We will ensure that small and start-up
businesses within Mid Devon will continue to
receive access to free initial business advice
from suitable consultants.
Town Centres
We will continue to work with the existing
Town Teams in Tiverton, Crediton and
Cullompton to help them promote their towns.
Town Centre Car Parking
Conservatives in Mid Devon have introduced
£1 for 5 hours parking in our long stay car
parks in Tiverton, Crediton and Cullompton as
well as £2 for 10 hours. This benefits
businesses, visitors, shoppers and those
working in the town. We are committed to the
principle of low cost long stay parking in our
town centres.
Affordable Retail Units
Opportunities for Growth
We have recently created a full time Economic
Development post on the Council, responsible
for working with businesses, both from inside
and outside the district, to help find suitable
premises to expand into. We are committed
to working with business to help increase the
number and quality of jobs within the district.
A Record of Action, A Promise of More 6
PLANNING
PLANNING
INCREASED EMPHASIS OF DESIGN IN FUTURE PLANNING
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The Conservative Group on Mid Devon support the current Local Plan
document proposed by Mid Devon District Council
Significant Growth over the next 20 years to be targeted at Cullompton
Support more Affordable Houses where local communities want them.
Mid Devon to create a Design Guide for the district to promote better
standards of design in new development.
Tiverton
With the Eastern Urban extension, which is at
present underway, Tiverton should have
sufficient allocated growth for the future. We
would not support additional large sites coming
forward as the town has reached its natural
boundaries to the South and West, with the
North Devon Link Road and the setting of the
Grand Western Canal also drawing a line
around the town.
Crediton
Crediton is the smallest of Mid Devon’s three
towns. Whilst it is important to provide some
new housing, especially affordable housing, to
meet the needs of the town, we do not
support large scale further development
beyond that in our proposed Local Plan. We
will also lobby Devon County Council to
provide an additional primary school to serve
the North Eastern side of the town.
Cullompton
We see Cullompton as having an important
strategic role in Mid Devon’s future. We
support Cullompton Town Council’s vision to
grow the town, as it straddles the M5 and
mainline railway. Through development,
funding can be made available to provide the
infrastructure that the town needs to flourish,
including new primary schools and
improvement to the existing secondary school,
a relief road, new motorway junction and a
reinstated railway station.
Villages
Mid Devon’s proposed Local Plan does look to
allow small amounts of housing growth within
some villages. We will also look to work with
local communities who would like more
affordable housing by identifying additional
sites to meet local need.
Design
We recognise that, like all the rest of the
country, we need to build new houses to meet
a growing housing need. However we believe
that the council needs to provide more
guidance to developers in the way these are
designed so that we get new developments
that we can be proud of. To do this we will
look to create, in consultation with local
communities, a Design Guide SPD (Special
Planning Document). This will look to
promote higher standards of design and
layout in Mid Devon by setting out the key
principles that we expect to be applied to new
development in our District.
A Record of Action, A Promise of More 7
INFRASTRUCTURE
INFRASTRUCTURE
ADDRESSING THE INFRASTRUCTURE GAP IN MID DEVON
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Campaign for new schools where new housing creates a need.
We will support a second motorway junction at Cullompton.
We will lobby for a new Railway Station to serve Cullompton.
We will look to protect our existing sports facilities and work to help sports
clubs expand where possible.
Campaign to ensure broadband rollout is not delayed
Schools
We recognise that new development in our
towns will create a need for more school
places. We will work through the planning
system to make sure that Devon County
Council (DCC) provide these at the earliest
opportunity.
There is agreement with DCC that the new
urban extensions in Cullompton and Tiverton
will provide new primary schools within them.
The Conservative group believe there is also a
need for a new primary school to meet the
demand in Crediton and will look to work with
DCC to identify a suitable site.
Junction 28
We recognise that Junction 28 is at capacity.
Cullompton needs a second motorway
junction to allow better access to the network
and to relieve the current road system.
Town Centre Relief Roads
While Tiverton town has a ring road and
Crediton has recently benefitted from the new
link road joining Lord’s Meadow to Exeter
Road, Cullompton still has a major congestion
issue at the heart of it’s town. Through the
planning system we will work with DCC to
bring forward a relief road. We believe
however, that there might be road building
opportunities on the east of the motorway,
and will ask DCC to consider these.
Railways
We will lobby Devon County and HM
Government to support a station at
Cullompton and the creation of a commuter
rail link between Taunton and Exeter.
We support the principle of a secondary rail
link to serve Plymouth and believe that the
best route would be via Crediton, Okehampton
and Tavistock because of the economic
benefits that the route would bring to parts of
Mid Devon and West Devon not currently
benefiting from a main line rail service. We
will lobby wherever possible to this effect.
We will also be lobbying for a greater number
of regular stops on the Tarka Line for those
stations that lie within Mid Devon.
A Record of Action, A Promise of More 8
INFRASTRUCTURE
Broadband
Sports Provision
Broadband is becoming vitally important to all of
us. We are concerned about the slow rate of
installation of High Speed Broadband to rural
areas of Mid Devon, as without this everyday
need, especially to farmers and other rural
businesses, our local economy will not flourish
and rural isolation will not be reduced. We will
campaign to ensure that rollout across Mid
Devon is not delayed and also that mobile phone
coverage is improved.
Sports facilities should remain protected
within the planning process. We will work
with sports clubs and local groups to ensure
that both their short and long term viability
are not threatened through the planning
process. Where there is a desire for a sports
club to relocate we will work proactively with
them, if possible, to help them find a
solution.
9 A Record of Action, A Promise of More
ENVIRONMENT
ENVIRONMENT
A CLEANER DISTRICT
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Encourage the use of green technology on brownfield and industrial sites.
Introduce a new litter team covering the district .
Support the campaign to designate the Exe Valley AONB.
Green Energy
Since the Conservatives took control of Mid
Devon we have invested in a range of
environmentally friendly activities to reduce
our energy usage including solar panels on
Council Houses, heat pumps in Council house
areas without gas, batteries for storage of
solar energy, solar panels on corporate
buildings, biomass boiler in Lord’s Meadow
leisure centre. The benefits of this has been a
saving in electricity bills for both the council
and tenants as well as an income from
generation. Most of this has been achieved
without any cost. We believe that brownfield,
industrial sites and where appropriate, new
build, can provide excellent opportunities to
mix Green Energy with development.
Litter
We propose creating a dedicated litter team
working daily in the area to further improve the
cleanliness of the District.
Fly Tipping
We will support the prosecution of offenders
where evidence of fly tipping is found.
Protecting our Rural And Urban
Environments
We will take all necessary measures to
ensure that owners of buildings within towns
and the countryside do not allow them to
become a hazard to the environment.
Exe Valley AONB
Currently the eastern part of our district is
recognised for its quality of landscape and is
part of the Blackdown Hills Area of
Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB). We
believe that the Exe Valley has equally
outstanding characteristics. Conservatives
will look to work with parish councils and other
local bodies to bring forward a proposal to
create an Exe Valley AONB. We believe that
that this will benefit tourism as well as offer
long term protection to a beautiful rural area.
A Record of Action, A Promise of More 10
HOUSING
HOUSING
A REFORMED HOUSING SERVICE IMPROVED FURTHER
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300 more Council Houses proposed in the next four years.
Lifeline Alarms will continue to be provided.
Provision of new care positions, to ensure vulnerable tenants receive the
right quality of care.
We will invest £25M to maintain a decent standard of housing stock.
We will proactively work with tenants to reduce arrears.
Council House Building
At the last election we promised to build new
council houses, the first in Mid Devon for two
decades. Since then we have completed
developments in Crediton and Willand as well
as having a refurbishment project in St
Andrews Street, Tiverton underway. Several
more projects are at the design stage. The
Conservative group on MDDC are proud to
have re-established a Council House building
programme in Mid Devon and believe it is
important to help meet our housing need. In
the next four years we will deliver at least a
further 300 council homes.
Lifeline Alarms
The Council will continue to provide the
Lifeline Alarm Service, which is available to
anyone in the District.
Care Services
We will introduce two new housing staff to
provide support to elderly and vulnerable
tenants that do not qualify for Devon County
Council’s care services. They will support
tenants by referring them to appropriate
agencies that can provide the necessary
assistance. This will be funded through rental
income received from council housing.
Decent Homes standard
Following significant investment all MDDC’s
housing stock has achieved government
standard for decent homes.
This is a
significant improvement from when the
Conservatives took control of the council. Eight
years ago the housing service was rated as
Poor with no likelihood of improvement, but
today we are one of the leading housing
service providers in the country. Over the next
four years we will maintain our stock with a
likely investment of around £25million by
reinvesting the rental income we receive.
Rent Arrears
We currently are among the top performing
councils in the country for collecting rental
income. This means that the number of
tenants suffering eviction is low as our team
now work with them to make sure they don’t
fall deeply into debt. This change in working
practice was brought in by the Conservatives
on MDDC. We will continue to carry on these
good practices in the future.
A Record of Action, A Promise of More 11
COUNCIL TAX & INTERNAL ADMINISTRATION
COUNCIL TAX AND
INTERNAL ADMINISTRATION
LOWER TAX, VALUE FOR MONEY AND CLEAR DECISION MAKING
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We will continue our commitment to low council tax.
We will deliver additional apprenticeships over the next four years.
Save money by increased use of digital media, reducing printing and paper.
We will retain the current system of governance, but work with all
councillors to improve it.
Council Tax
of the next council we will encourage
councillors to use digital media.
At the last election Conservatives on MDDC
pledged to keep council tax low. Since then
we have frozen Mid Devon's proportion of the
Tax. We are committed to maintain Council
Tax at as low a level as possible.
Governance
Revenue Collection
Mid Devon have a high rate of collection for
business rates and council tax. We are
committed to maintaining those standards.
We are committed to a fair process and will
look to take appropriate action on those that
try to defraud the district.
Apprentices
In the last four years Mid Devon District
Council has taken on apprentices in several of
their departments. Conservatives are looking
to further widen the use of apprentices in the
council and will commit to every department
of the council taking on at least one
apprentice.
We believe that the Cabinet system of
governance offers the most effective way of
running a council. Previous committee
systems have been slow to make decisions,
often passing the same report back and forth
between committees before reaching an
eventual conclusion. Currently all members
have an opportunity to sit on a range of
different committees. Some, like Licencing
and Planning make outright decisions, others
like the various Policy Development Groups
and Scrutiny present their recommendations
for the Cabinet to consider. In the vast
majority of cases these are agreed without
further amendment.
However we do accept that no system of
governance is perfect and will look to work
with all councillors to make sure everyone has
their voice heard effectively.
Digital Media
We will encourage the widespread use of
digital media throughout the council, reducing
the amount Mid Devon spend on paper and
printing. We believe that councillors should
lead the way by example and in the first year
A Record of Action, A Promise of More 12
SUMMARY
DELIVERING OUR
PLEDGES TO YOU
CONSERVATIVES HAVE NOW RUN MID DEVON DISTRICT COUNCIL
FOR FOUR YEARS AS THE MAJORITY PARTY, BUILDING UP A
RECORD OF ACTION AND DELIVERING ON OUR PROMISES.
A RECORD OF ACTION
A PROMISE OF MORE
A promise to keep Mid Devon’s portion of the
We still believe that we should keep council tax
council tax low, was followed by no rises in the low, keeping any rises down and providing
four years since the last election.
value for money.
Conservatives at the last election pledged to
restart council house building, with 45 new
houses promised. These are now either built
or in production.
We will continue our council house building
programme, bringing forward another 300
properties in the next council cycle.
MDDC have always performed well on recycling We will widen the range of recycling we collect,
and this was recognised by winning a national to include all plastics (except film) and
recycling award recently.
cardboard, together with a weekly food waste
collection to the whole district.
We introduced low cost long stay parking within We are committed to the principle of low cost
our town centres with £1 for 5 hours fees to
long stay parking within our town centres.
make parking more affordable for both
shoppers and workers.
We have invested in our leisure centres to
attract more users, seeing a 36% increase,
thereby improving the viability of the centres.
We will continue to look at future investment
projects within our leisure centres that will
increase the number of users and will make
better facilities within the centres.
We have improved the way we work with
business, setting up the Business Forum Mid
Devon and arranging for free business advice
for our small and start-up businesses.
A dedicated Economic Development team will
look to work with established and new
businesses within the area to help them to
grow in the improving economic climate.
The Conservatives on MDDC have under-taken
a complete review of our Local Plan, identifying
Cullompton as having the strategic role for
growth and investment in the next 20 years.
With sites allocated for new housing in the
Local Plan. Mid Devon will publish a Design
Guide SPD, to give clear direction to
developers, improving the quality of property
design in the district.
We will commit to taking on apprentices in
every department within the council, to help
bring forward the next generation of workers in
Mid Devon.
We will establish a dedicated litter team to help
further improve the cleanliness of the district.
13 A Record of Action, A Promise of More