2004 City Council election manifesto

Written by Ed Sexton and published in Manifesto on Tue 1st Jun 2004

In May 2000 the people of Cambridge elected a Liberal Democrat Council for the first time. We set a new direction for the city, based on making Cambridge a place to be proud of, by:

• concentrating on providing better basic services. After 20 years of neglect under Labour things were so bad we immediately began an emergency programme to clean up Cambridge and restore services that had been cut.

• taking action on the environment and transport, issues of great public concern in Cambridge.

• improving the effectiveness of the Council's work in housing, leisure and community services.

• making the Council more accountable and welcoming, and partnering with the community to deliver shared goals.

• listening to people, making them more confident and hopeful about what local government means to them

• playing a central role in planning for the future development of Cambridge and its sub-region.

• always putting service to the public first. The community as a whole and every individual in it matter.

We called this first programme 'A New Broom for Cambridge' because it swept away old attitudes and prejudices. This was followed by three busy years of developments under the banners of 'Going for Gold' and 'Further Steps'.

We believe we are going in the right direction as public surveys and our new annual budget consultation continue to confirm that our policies are in line with your priorities for action - street and waste services, transport and the environment, housing and homelessness.

Now we have national confirmation that Cambridge City Council is one of the best local authorities in the country. According to the Audit Commission, which has completed a Comprehensive Performance Assessment (CPA), the City Council is 'excellent'.

Placed in the top category, Cambridge now ranks among the premier authorities in the country. Cambridge is the first district council in the East of England region to achieve this rating and one of just a handful nationwide.

All councils - county, district and unitary authorities - are being assessed over time and will receive a rating of excellent, good, fair, weak or poor.

The Audit Commission highlighted strengths in ambition, prioritisation and focus, and found that the council is doing well in most areas:

There is strong community leadership and the council is ambitious about what it wants to achieve for local people, in terms of managing the proposed urban expansion

There is strong political leadership which consults widely with residents to ensure that it can take note of where local people want to see their money spent

The local environment is good. The council has been particularly successful in terms of managing traffic congestion, street cleanliness and the general quality of life for residents

Financial management is strong and there is good medium term planning to make sure the council stays focused on its priorities.

Reporting on key services such as council housing, managing public spaces and street services, the Commission found high levels of service and strong planning capability.

The council's listening skills were also commended. The council adjusts it spending to reflect what people want.

The Audit Commission came to this judgement on the basis of a very thorough inspection. We are delighted with the overall assessment that Cambridge is an excellent Council. We are very keen to focus on what matters to people and go on improving services and the environment. We will work to ensure we remain one of the best councils in the country.

Many of the council's services have been awarded the prestigious national Chartermark: the Corn Exchange, sports development, City Homes, revenues reception, central reception and telephone services, and the environmental health and waste strategy service. The Council has been awarded Beacon Status for its work on the built environment.

We have:

• Worked in partnership with statutory and voluntary sector organisations to maximise benefits for the community across a very wide range of services, sometimes overcoming historical prejudices fostered through years of Labour's doctrinaire attitudes

• Promoted a vision of sustainable growth for Cambridge which has become the basis of the new county structure plan and the draft local plan, establishing a new democratically accountable infrastructure company with other local authorities as the means of facilitating future development in the Cambridge sub-region to create much needed housing and transport networks

• Achieved high levels of performance in basic services such as street cleaning, management and maintenance of council housing, citywide doorstep recycling systems.

• Invested in rebuilt and refurbished public toilets, public car parks with improved safety, council housing including sheltered housing schemes.

• Achieved national recognition for innovative work with young people, provided free swimming for school children, built highly popular new skateboard parks and overhauled the swimming service with a new partnership

• Established a new constitution maximising accountability within the narrow bounds imposed by the Labour government, area committees, a housing management board with elected tenant representatives and public consultation on budget priorities.

• Reduced by two-thirds the number of people sleeping rough on the streets of Cambridge, establishing new services to identify individual needs and supporting 200 people who have been helped into permanent accommodation so that they have maintained their tenancies successfully.

• Worked with the police and others to tackle serious problems of anti-social behaviour including the development of mobile CCTV cameras, funding for a specialist streetlife police officer and establishing a protocol for the fair use of new dispersal order powers.

We have come a long way in four years. However we are not complacent and know there is much still to be done. We are asking you to support us again to work toward the following objectives so that we can continue to build on these successes over the coming years. With your support we aim to make Cambridge a Clean, Green and Safe City: clean to live and work in, green to visit and shop in, and safe for all the community. The Council's 'Medium Term Objectives' are for Better Services, Better Housing, A Healthy and Thriving Community, and A Strong Economy and Attractive Environment.

Better Services - We aim to:

• deliver high quality services in a fair and equal way to all sections of the community

• make decisions in an open and accessible way, so that local residents can understand the way the Council works and are able to have a say in the decisions that affect their lives

• deliver services through grant aid, external contracts or partnerships with others where these are the best option and, where possible, generate income for investment in frontline services by maximising the opportunities we have to trade with other agencies

Better Housing - We aim to:

• work to address the City's overall housing shortage and maximise the supply of affordable housing in the City

• improve the management of the housing owned by the Council in a way which involves tenants and responds to their needs

• ensuring older and disabled residents have safe and decent homes whether in supported housing or, with aids and adaptations, live in their own homes

• work with voluntary and statutory agencies to prevent homelessness in the City and tackle its consequences

A Healthy and Thriving Community - We aim to:

• support a flourishing and diverse voluntary and not-for-profit sector by providing money to local community groups, as well as the professional voluntary and not-for-profit sector

• ensure Cambridge residents can access a range of sports, arts, recreational and community facilities, particularly targeting areas and communities that are the most disadvantaged

• work with partners to achieve better health outcomes for those who live and work in Cambridge.

A Strong Economy and Attractive Environment - We aim to:

• protect and enhance both the environment and economic dynamism of the City, providing support to local communities to enhance the capacity of local people and their ability to participate in the life of the City

• provide attractive and cleaner streets, neighbourhoods and open spaces so that they enhance the well-being and quality of life of Cambridge residents and visitors

• reduce levels of crime and fear of crime in the City by working with partners to deliver the Cambridge Community Safety Strategy

• encourage sustainable waste management through recycling and waste minimisation

• reduce the impact of traffic on the City by promoting and supporting improved public and community transport, cycling and walking.