Steven Lambert talking with Police Community Support Officers about crime issues

Liberal Democrats in Aylesbury have set out their General Election plans to put more police on the beat throughout the constituency. The extra officers for Aylesbury will be funded by the savings from scrapping ID cards, and are part of the Liberal Democrats’ Safer Streets – More and Better Police manifesto commitment.

Lib Dem Prospective Parliamentary Candidate for Aylesbury said “People in Aylesbury are often telling me how they feel unsafe. Expensive ID cards aren’t going to change that, but an extra officer walking down Elm Farm Road or more police in the Town Centre on a Friday night will. The Liberal Democrats are committed to more police, and this is the only way to create safer streets.”

Recently a Thames Valley Police survey revealed that people would be happy to see their council tax go up to pay for more policing. The Lib Dem policy would negate the need to do this as we would be scrapping large expensive government projects to fund the extra police. With 4189 officers – which increased by 5.5% last year, we have a detection rate of just 24% or 15% arrests per officer.

Steven added “as Aylesbury is set to grow by thousands of homes, we need to make sure we get the police numbers we need. The Lib Dem plans would bring that to fruition along with an elected Police Authority local priorities could be set by local people for the area.”

Commenting at the launch of the nation al policy on 4th February, Liberal Democrat Leader Nick Clegg said “the Liberal Democrats are the only party that wants to cut crime by putting more police on the street. When only one in a hundred crimes ends up with a conviction in court, it is time for things to change. Labour and the Conservatives may talk tough but they are unwilling to make the crucial decisions to cut crime.”

Arrests and Detections

Police Numbers Per Force

Safer Streets More and Better Police

Liberal Democrats launch High Street plan

Liberal Democrats in Aylesbury have this week set out plans to revitalise Britain’s high streets, protect the future of the Post Office, and help small businesses establish and grow in a fairer marketplace.

The announcement comes as research shows one in eight shops is now empty after the recession. The report, published by the Local Data Company (LDC), says that vacancies shot up by 24% in the second half of 2009.

Steven Lambert, Lib Dem Prospective Parliamentary Candidate for Aylesbury said “the report shows that in Aylesbury 9.9% of High Street shops are empty, ranking it 8th lowest in the region. The financial crisis has exposed Labour and the Conservatives’ folly of being entirely dependent on the City of London. The Liberal Democrats understand that it will be small businesses that are key to building a healthy and balanced economy.”

Cllr Alan Sherwell, the Lib Dem leader at Aylesbury Vale District Council said “we need a thriving high street in Aylesbury, one with real character that allows local businesses to survive and grow. For instance this is why the Lib Dems have raised concerns over the Asda super store application at Stoke Mandeville Hospital.

Even before the credit crunch hit, small independent shops had more or less disappeared from our high street, the Government’s skewed planning system has seen supermarket giants squeeze the life out of towns like ours and now almost every high street in Britain is an identical collection of chain stores and coffee shops.

Commenting at the national launch, the Lib Dem leader, Nick Clegg, said thriving high streets are at the heart of local communities. But it has been our high streets that have borne the brunt of this recession, with boarded up shops scarring towns and villages across Britain. I believe that people value the wide range of goods and services available locally and want to see their high streets thrive and prosper.”

Background information

1. The document includes proposals to

• Encourage the development of a PostBank and free the Post Office from the Royal Mail to enable it to develop new business
• Introduce a local competition test for all planning applications for new retail developments to establish a fairer balance between local independent stores and large supermarkets
• Establish a system of Local Enterprise Funds and regional stock exchanges to ensure small businesses get access to cost effective equity that meets their needs

2. A copy of Vibrant Local High Streets is attached.

3. A copy of the LDC report into high street vacancies is attached.

Vibrant_Local_High_Streets

LDC-End-Year-Report-2009-FINAL

At a meeting of the full Aylesbury Vale District Council the Tories unveiled their ideas for the 2010/11 budget, they artificially capped the increase in Council Tax to 1.95% or 5p/week, as a result of this temporary measure the following services will be cut:

- Introducing charges for pre-planning advice, this means that you will have to pay to talk to your planning department.

- Making a reduction in the amount of funding to voluntary and community groups, this will hit the most at need in the area, services such as Relate, Citizens Advice Bureau, the Southcourt and Walton Court community project.

- Removing council funding from events such as Parklife and Buckingham Festival Fortnight, this will have a massive effect on tourism, leaving the parish council to pick up the cost if these events are to continue.

- Removing funding from the Reflex Gym in Winslow and the Buckingham Tourist Information Centre, at a time when the local economy needs tourists and the country is facing an obesity crisis these cuts can only cause harm in our area.

District Councillor and Liberal Democrat Prospective Parliamentary Candidate for Aylesbury, Cllr Steven Lambert said, “These cuts particularly to the voluntary groups will have a massive effect on those most in need, the Tories seem to be taking the view that as this section of the population do not vote Tory that it doesn’t matter if they cut the funding, that view is simply unacceptable”.

Cllr Steven Kennell the Liberal Democrat finance spokesman added “The Liberal Democrats asked that a small amount be taken from reserves to allow funding of the voluntary groups to continue, the fact that the Tories voted against this just shows how detached they are from reality, they can afford a new theatre, a new council chamber, but anything that relates to the lives of the people of our area they simply do not get”.

Other measures to fill the hole in the AVDC budget include charging villages for public toilets and an increase in car parking charges. Speaking about the effect on Aylesbury Town Cllr Mark Willis, Town Councillor for Bedgrove, said “Increasing car parking charges will drive away visitors from shopping in the town, to our rivals MK and Oxford, the Tories have the money to leave the Kingsbury water feature on all day and night, and to put flagpoles up at the parks, but supporting our local shops seems to be beyond them”.

The Liberal Democrat amendment calling for £39,000 to be taken from reserves to protect the work of the voluntary groups was defeated by the Tories, but one of their councillors later remarked that he would have voted in favour if he had realised exactly what the amendment was calling for.

Notes for editors
Steven Lambert PPC for Aylesbury can be contacted on 07884428833 for interviews.
The budget for AVDC is £20.7 million, £8.8 million is raised through the Council Tax