LIB DEM AND LABOUR COUNCIL TAX SHAME IN STOCKPORT

Stockport’s Lib Dems have voted for one of the highest council tax rises in the country at 3.25%, hitting Stockport’s families and pensioners hard in the pocket.

Since 2000, when the Lib Dems took control of the Council, council tax bills have rocketed by over 60% (or over £600 for a Band D property).

Under the Labour Government, a third of the increase in the basic state pension has been taken up in higher council tax for a typical pensioner since 1997.

Prospective Conservative MP Stephen Holland said, “A Labour Government and a Lib Dem Council have proved a lethal combination for the people of Stockport.  A Conservative Government will FREEZE council tax bills for 2 years and will give you the power to VETO these high council tax rises.  Local residents deserve better.”

Conservative Council Group Leader, Councillor Les Jones added, “It is shocking that they are putting council tax up by 3.25% at a time when many councils are going for a freeze.”

Under Labour and the Lib Dems, Stockport has the highest Band D council tax bill in Greater Manchester. It’s Time For Change!

SPEAKING UP FOR THE RESIDENTS OF DAVENPORT AND ADSWOOD

Prospective Conservative MP Stephen Holland is continuing to speak up for residents affected by Heavy Goods Vehicles that breach the weight restrictions along Kennerley Road in Davenport and Garners Lane in Davenport and Adswood.  Heavy Goods Vehicles access these routes via the A6 and Bramhall Lane.  Stephen is continuing to campaign for more enforcement against vehicles that are not complying with the weight restrictions and are having a detrimental effect on the quality of life of local residents.

Stephen said, “Local residents have complained to me about this ongoing issue.  I am currently liaising with the local Council, the Department for Transport and the local Police to press for more enforcement to help improve the quality of life of residents living along Garners Lane and Kennerley Road.  It is essential that local residents are heard and their views are taken into account.

“I myself have revisited this area several times to monitor the traffic flow. There are many side roads off Garners Lane as well as a school.  As your MP, I will have more power to tackle this issue.”

OUR PLANS TO MAKE THE PLANNING SYSTEM MORE RESPONSIVE AND ACCOUNTABLE IN STOCKPORT

Conservatives today unveiled a major new policy paper to reform England’s ‘broken’ planning system. It outlines proposals to use ‘open source’ democracy and neighbourhood involvement to encourage sustainable development.

Whitehall targets and unelected quangos will be scrapped, to be replaced with a democratic system for national infrastructure and incentives to promote local homes and jobs.

We will:

• Use collaborative democracy to allow local communities to create ‘bottom-up’ local plans, helping local residents shape and protect the character of neighbourhoods such as Edgeley in Stockport.
• Scrap the powers of the Bristol-based Planning Inspectorate to rewrite communities’ local plans.
• Abolish the undemocratic and ineffective tier of regional planning overseen by unelected regional quangos. These regional plans are ripping up the Green Belt across the country despite Gordon Brown’s pledge to protect it ‘robustly’.
• Tackle the scourge of ‘garden grabbing’ and over-development in residential neighbourhoods.

Stephen Holland said, “Our plans represent one of the biggest shifts in power in decades by giving local communities such as residents living within the Alexandra Park Conservation Area in Edgeley a greater say on planning matters in their neighbourhood.

“Labour’s planning system isn’t working in Stockport. Too many decisions are taken by unelected quangos, there is too much unnecessary red tape and there are no incentives for local residents to back sustainable development. It’s time to put local communities like Edgeley in the driving seat.”

STEPHEN HOLLAND – SPEAKING UP FOR STOCKPORT TOWN CENTRE

Prospective MP Stephen Holland has slammed the Labour Government after new figures reveal that Stockport has more empty shops than anywhere else in the North West.

According to the Local Data Company which carries out the Shop Vacancy Report every six months, more than one in five units are empty in Stockport town centre – doubling from 11.5% in June 2009 to 22.4% in December 2009.

The report names Stockport as the 7th worst location in the country for empty units.

Last year Labour Government ministers toured Stockport town centre and advocated turning any empty shops into art galleries and dance studios. This proposal was criticised by the British Retail Consortium and Conservatives who called for more direct support to help Stockport’s shops stay in business in the first place.

Stephen Holland said, “This report is bad news for Stockport. It shows that the misjudgements of Gordon Brown and his team have made the recession worse. I am very concerned about the current state of Stockport town centre.

“Last year I wrote to the Chancellor and called for more measures to help Stockport’s businesses before the Budget in April. The Chancellor did not even reply to me. Is this what he thinks of Stockport?

“Conservatives have outlined clear plans to help get Stockport back on its feet including measures to cut the headline rate of corporation tax, reduce the burden of red tape on businesses, and make small business rate relief automatic. Stockport deserves better than it is getting.”

To view Stephen’s letter to the Chancellor in April 2009, please click here:

http://www.stephenholland.org.uk/2009/04/speaking-up-for-stockport-my-letter-to-the-chancellor-before-the-2009-budget/

Stockport’s Labour MP is the Parliamentary Private Secretary of Gordon Brown’s Chancellor and works closely with him. Why doesn’t she resign from this position and back the people of Stockport?

STEPHEN HOLLAND BACKS STOCKPORT COUNTY FOOTBALL CLUB

Prospective MP for Stockport Stephen Holland has welcomed the discussion about the future of Stockport County Football Club at this week’s Council meeting and is calling for more to be done to help the struggling Club.

Stephen said, “Stockport County Football Club helps to get our town name recognition across the country. Any local business that puts Stockport on the map and helps to promote the local economy should be given support wherever possible. I welcome the discussion at this week’s Council meeting and I want to see more being done to help get Stockport County out of administration.”