As Conservatives, we are passionate about protecting and securing our environment.
I am proud of the record this Government has in leading the world in doing this. However, Slough Labour has failed on the environment – both natural and built – and despite 10 years in control of town hall, still doesn’t seem to have a strategy. They are ripping the very fabric of our town apart in the process and leaving our neighbourhoods to rot.
When it comes to waste recycling, Slough Labour have been truly rubbish. Their recycling rates are spiralling downwards, and at less than 30% are well below the national average and those seen in our neighbouring councils. We have a Labour council who would rather burn our rubbish than do the right thing to ensure we are helping residents to do their bit to help protect our planet. However rubbish Labour might be, we want to help by campaigning to introduce a ‘GreenRedeem’ scheme, something that neighbouring Windsor and Maidenhead have successfully done.
The rubbish doesn’t end there. Residents in Chalvey and Cippenham will notice that the beautiful streams that run through these areas are filled to the brim with waste constantly. Only last month Labour councillor Ted Plenty himself admitted that the council was failing to deal with fly-tipping across Langley. Labour are letting our town fill with rubbish. We are committed to working not only to deal with fly-tipping more effectively, but also clamp down on offenders better by enhancing security of key sites and protecting them better, as well as using new laws introduced by this Government to hand out more fixed-penalty notices to those who do this to our town. We also will do more to support reducing litter in our public spaces and will work to improve the provision of bins. Let’s restore pride back into our town.
Every day we know that families dice with death to walk to and from school, and our accident rates are one of the highest in the UK. Labours failure on road safety is causing deaths to children on our roads, as has happened right outside the home of the Leader of the council himself only last year. Despite that, Labour offer nothing to help solve a problem it appears it would rather ignore. Added to that, our children suffer one of the highest rates of asthma in the UK, made worse by cars idling around schools because Labour has failed to tackle a growing problem with parking around our schools. We will put safety and health of our children first – and ensure that we invest properly to make our roads safer and to working with residents to tackle the problem with parking, particularly around schools.
Slough Conservatives are also working with local people, to help protect their green spaces. Residents should be proud of their local parks, and always know they are able to enjoy the nature in their area. That's why residents near Bowyer Recreational Ground came to us, to ask for our help because Labour, despite their promises, are putting their park at risk. Our Save our Slough Green Spaces campaign in support of them and all residents who value these parks will ensure that they are properly protected from development. It is important that Bowyer, and spaces like it, are protected.
Whilst Labour’s plans for thousands more blocks of flats take shape, this fight is more critical than ever. We are also seeing more and more in our suburban neighbourhoods the problems that a growing number of HMOs has put residents under, from increasing anti-social behaviour to pressure on local roads from increasing numbers of cars they simply cannot cope with. We view Slough as a community by and for the residents, not somewhere to simply sleep. That's why we want to implement restrictions on developments over four stories in the outlying neighbourhoods, and more stringent controls over the number of permitted HMO conversions too.
We need to protect our environment – not put it under greater and greater strain from unsustainable development that people in this town didn’t ask for. We need to cherish our green spaces, and restore pride in our public spaces and neighbourhoods, so that they are better places to live. If you're not happy with what Labour is doing to this town the area you live, we are offering an alternative that puts residents, the area they live in and our environment first.
Rhys Williams - Conservative Candidate for Chalvey