As the year draws to a close, it provides an opportunity for me to reflect on what Wokingham Borough Conservatives have achieved in 2023.
It’s our job as opposition Conservative councillors to scrutinise the work of the Liberal Democrat administration.
We support the administration when they get things right, but strong and probing opposition is always an important check in any democracy.
We have played a full and constructive part in the scrutiny meetings in the last year, proposing alternatives and improvements, and holding the Executive to account.
The future of St Crispin’s Leisure Centre is a recent example. We sought more information from officers and extracted a promise from the Liberal Democrat Executive that sport and community usage will continue at St Crispin’s after the leisure centre is transferred to the school.
Clearly, there are pressures affecting local authorities in the current financial climate, including high inflation globally. However, Wokingham has been far better placed than most to meet these challenges, having been rated in the top 20 for financial sustainability while Conservatives were in power.
Inflation has now halved, and this year the Conservative Government increased the Council’s grant by £1.8 million or 7% which was more than the council expected, and recently announced massive extra funding for road maintenance.
Earlier in the year we presented a petition to council of more than 1,800 residents wanting to keep weekly household waste collections. The administration has repeatedly ignored them – and arrogantly pressed on even when councillors voted to keep weekly waste collections. Cllr Ian Shenton called the petition “spurious”.
In response to the council’s own consultation on waste collection, only 24% of people said they liked fortnightly collections. We agree and will continue to press the case for weekly bin collections. If elected in May, we would make savings by improving the recycling system helping residents to recycle more.
After the mess in the borough in the summer, Conservative Councillors succeeded in stopping the Liberal Democrats’ attempts to cut to public litter bins. Our petition of 2,000 residents certainly helped persuade them and I thank everyone who signed – you made a real difference.
Thanks to our pressure, the council’s executive U-turned on axing some litter bins and reduced emptying of others. Instead, a Task and Finish Group will be set up to look again at other ways the Council can save money.
The Conservative group led a campaign to scrap the proposed increases in parking charges, which included bringing a petition signed by more than 4,200 Wokingham residents to a full council meeting. We successfully forced the Liberal Democrat-led administration to make a small reduction to its punishing hike in off-street parking charges in March.
However, the increase in parking charges and the hours they are charged has been enormous and businesses have repeatedly told us they are having a negative effect. The Conservative Group would not have increased charges at a time when household budgets have already been squeezed and, if we are elected in May, we would reverse these punishing hikes.
The Liberal Democrats have dithered on a new Local Plan and as a result, have risked inappropriate development by appeal. Labour Leader Sir Keir Starmer has said he would increase housing targets and allow building on the Green Belt. So, if there is a Labour Government after the next election more housing will be pushed on us.
In the summer, I spoke to the housing minister, Felicity Buchan MP, about how Central Government housing numbers have not worked for Wokingham Borough. The numbers have been based on a flawed calculation which pushed more housing on areas that have met their targets already.
We will continue to make the case for increasing employment opportunities and growth beyond London and the South East, so that housing doesn’t need to be so concentrated in areas like Wokingham Borough.
These are just some of the things the Conservative Group have done in 2023. We listen to residents, and where the administration ignores your views, we will fight to make sure you are heard.
Cllr Pauline Jorgensen is the leader of Wokingham Conservatives and ward member for Hillside
