Torridge and West Devon Liberal Democrats
PeopleLiberal Democrats Representatives and Prospective Candidates at all levels of government. Adam Symons
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Local NewsJune 2011For more information on any of the news items below contact our Parliamentary Spokesman Adam Symons on 01237 431498 or 07786 277470 Government’s back down on weekly bin collections welcomed.Communities Should be Free to Determine Local ServicesFriday 17 June 2011 The Government’s back down on forcing Councils to collect rubbish bags weekly has been welcomed by Torridge District Councillor Adam Symons. The Conservative Party had proposed in it’s manifesto that it would force all councils to reinstate weekly rubbish collections if it won the general election. Now, the Conservative Communities Secretary of State, Eric Pickles, has backed away from that promise saying that making councils do this would be ‘too expensive.’ Clovelly Bay Councillor Adam Symons said: “The Government keeps talking about giving power back to communities. Therefore, it always seemed ridiculous that they were so adamant that Councils should collect rubbish according to what central Government wanted, not according to what communities wanted.” “I believe that communities, through their local councillors, should be free to determine how local services are delivered in their local areas. Else we might as well just go home and let Government Ministers run our local services. Torridge District Council should be free to pursue whatever system they deem necessary in order give the most efficient, cost effective and customer friendly service they can give.” “Torridge District Council’s waste and recycling team achieve good performance at low costs to the Council Tax Payer. They regularly achieve very high levels of customer satisfaction. There are no plans for Torridge to move away from weekly collections of rubbish.” Councillor Elected as Holsworthy Advisory ChairHelping to Protect Local ServicesThursday 16 June 2011 Torridge District Councillor Adam Symons has been elected as Chair off Holsworthy Area Advisory Group at its meeting this week. The Advisory Group is composed of representatives from the Parish, Town and District Councils from around the Holsworthy area, and meets to raise and discuss local issues common to the local authorities involved. Councillor Adam Symons, who was elected to be Chair of this group for the second time said: “I am honoured to have been elected as Chair of this Group. I see my job as working with the various local authorities to solve common problems, but also to hold organisations such as South West Water and Devon County Council to account. The communities around Holsworthy face a real struggle protecting their local services from the agenda of cuts, and making sure their roads get maintained.” “The Group have already asked to have representatives from Devon County Council to meet with them at the next meeting to talk about the state of the roads, together with representatives from South West Water to talk about Holsworthy's sewerage system. Concerns have also been expressed about Torridge's handling of the Gypsy and Travellers site at Derriton. This group will need to tackle these issues head on.” Note: The next meeting of this group is Monday 19th September at 7pm. Lib Dems welcome action on 20mph schemesGovernment Measures to Reduce Bureaucracy14 June 2100 West Devon Lib Dems have welcomed the recent announcement by the Coalition Government of measures to reduce the bureaucracy for councils wanting to implement 20mph schemes. Lib Dem Transport Minister Norman Baker said, ‘if councils and local communities want to put in place 20 mph schemes on residential roads or use common-sense measures such as variable speed limits outside schools, then they should be able to do so without spending time and money satisfying unnecessary Whitehall diktats.’ The key changes in the process:
Locally Lib Dems have campaigned for action on road safety and led calls for the introduction of 20mp zones within some of our residential areas. Lib Dem Spokesperson Cllr Alison Clish-Green was full of praise for the changes and said: ‘Thanks to action by Lib Dems in the coalition government we stand a better chance of persuading DCC to implement 20mph zones within some residential areas of West Devon. This is an important step forward in removing some of the red tape and costs that make putting in 20 mph zones such an onerous task. 20 mph zones are one of the key issues in making residential roads safer for all their users, pedestrians, cyclists and motorists alike.’
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