The four main parties in Stratford speak to the Herald about why you should vote for them. Labour chair Cat Price answers the key questions
1. What is your top priority for the Stratford district over the next four years?
There’s an awful lot of work to be done, but top of the list has to be support for residents and businesses through the cost-of-living crisis.
2. Stratford town centre, in particular, has been described as tired and hampered by traffic issues. How would you address this?
For our town centre to thrive we have to encourage businesses that meet the needs of residents all year round as well as seasonal visitors. Once those are in place we will prioritise maintenance and accessibility. Issues around parking and potential pedestrianisation have been discussed by successive councils without ever making much progress. Labour councillors will push for action on these issues and the implementation of a detailed town centre development plan.
3. Stratford District Council has been accused of losing out to other authorities in the competition for government money. Do you agree, and if you do agree, what would you do about it?
Unfortunately, that certainly seems to have been the case. The development of business cases and bids for funding are tasks for council officers rather than councillors themselves, but councillors must be overseeing the process, setting the right priorities and ensuring that staff are supported with training where appropriate to make successful bids.
We need a clear vision of what we want to achieve and then obtaining the funding for it has to be part of our long-term development plans with details and data available to make the best possible applications for funding in a timely manner when these opportunities arise.
4. What will you do to ease the housing crisis in the district?
I think it’s important to be clear what we mean by ‘housing crisis’. Contrary to what many developers may suggest, analysis shared by CPRE shows Stratford district is on course to build plenty of houses in the coming years. The ‘crisis’ comes from the planning decisions being made on the type of properties being built, their location and the lack of infrastructure being put in place to support them. We don’t just need more homes, we need the right homes.
We need affordable properties for first time buyers so they aren’t forced to leave the district. We need homes for young families in locations where there are school places for their children along with doctors, leisure facilities and public transport. Developments should only be approved if they are meeting these needs for our communities.
I would like to see the council working more closely with organisations like WRCC to progress smaller developments with the right mix of homes for those locations. After hearing so many complaints from residents, I would also like to see an urgent review of the council’s use of Orbit to manage social housing. If Warwick council can own housing stock, why can’t Stratford?
5. How will you work with local businesses to boost the district’s economy, create jobs and increase prosperity all round?
It’s vital we build relationships with and listen to businesses. While there are some issues common to many, like the huge increase in energy costs, others are more sector or location specific, so there are no ‘one size fits all’ solutions and the council has to be open to new ideas to help. Labour would like to review council procurement processes to make it easier for local businesses to bid for contracts, keeping our tax revenue circulating in our community, building wealth and jobs.
6. Is enough being done in the district to tackle the climate crisis? What would you do?
Progress has certainly been made in some areas but we know more needs to be done. I’d particularly like the district to have more community renewable energy projects to reduce carbon footprints, further development of EV charging infrastructure and support for residents to improve home insulation. I also feel we now need to be realistic about the importance of simultaneously working on our climate resilience, preparing for increasing rates of flooding and extreme weather events like last year’s heatwave and extended cold period. We need to be responsible stewards of our fantastic green spaces around the district, protecting them and the ecosystems they support for the future.
7. What feedback have you had from voters and how are you planning to address the issues raised on the doorstep?
Stratford district covers a diverse area so we hear about a huge range of issues on the doorstep. It’s being able to help residents with their individual problems that prompted most of us to stand to be Labour councillors and why every Labour candidate has pledged to hold monthly in-person surgeries in their wards. We feel councillors should be available and responsive to residents.
Sadly the most common message we’re getting at the moment is that residents feel really let down by both the Tory council and the Lib Dem opposition. That they are taking more in council tax every year and delivering less. They are understandably outraged by the huge amount of money wasted on the aborted merger with Warwick, for which they are now footing the bill. Responsible financial planning is a priority for the Labour team and underpins all our long -term aims.
8. Why should the people of the district vote for your party?
We have a great team of local candidates with a wide range of professional experience across local government, finance, healthcare, education, IT and business, ready to put those skills to work on solving the problems facing the district from day one.
We're committed to being a strong voice for people’s priorities, improving the services they receive and using their tax money wisely.