Freezing Council Tax

A Labour led administration at Welwyn Hatfield Council would keep your council tax low. The current Labour Group voted against the Conservatives council tax hike at last month’s budget setting, whilst the Lib Dems dithered with an abstention.

With the cost of living crisis spiralling out of control, this was not the year to hike up council tax and increase the burden on local people.

The Conservatives boast they are the Party of low tax, yet all they do is raise our taxes year on year. With Conservative administrations locally and nationally, there is only one party to blame for the squeeze we are all feeling.

Labour-run Stevenage Council have kept their council tax low, without cutting services. We would do the same in Welwyn Hatfield.

Free Town Centre Parking

We understand the issues many of you face with parking in our town centres. This is why we have pledged that town centre parking would be free under a Labour-led administration.

Labour believes that free parking will encourage more residents to use our shopping districts and therefore support local business.

Where parking permit areas are in place, Labour would introduce free permits for NHS and care-workers who, currently, are being charged for permits to park up and carry out their duties, caring for our elderly and most vulnerable residents. This is not right and must change.

A Responsible Plan for Housing

The Conservatives have failed completely on their Local Housing Plan.

By failing to agree with their own party in government, the plans have been by the planning inspector inspectorate as not fit for purpose.

Put simply, because of failings by local Conservative councillors, national politicians will now have the chance to impose new housing without any local consultation.

The mishandling of this venture has left the Borough open to speculative planning applications at wholly unsuitable sites.

Any Local Plan that this Borough passes must address the infrastructure requirements of new homes. Our roads already need updating, our NHS provision is sadly lacking and we need new schools. All these things were identified but not delivered in this failed plan.

Labour would ensure our Local Plan puts people first, prioritising much needed affordable and council housing as standard.

Tackling Fly-tipping

Fly-tipping is a scourge on our Borough which urgently needs tackling. The Conservatives are failing to treat the cause of the problem whilst simultaneously failing to deal with the resulting rubbish adequately.

A Labour administration would clamp down on problem areas known for fly-tipping. We would require officers to use any means necessary to catch the perpetrators.

For too long we have had to put up with this shocking and antisocial behaviour. It is time to get tough.

Where fly-tipping is reported, we must act swiftly to clear it. We would look to introduce a reporting system fit for the twenty-first century to ensure this happens, alongside a new rapid response team.

Fixing broken Council Housing

Welwyn Hatfield owns thousands of council houses in the Borough. These properties are the homes of a huge amount of residents and are something we, as a Borough, should be very proud of. We supply homes to those who need them and they create revenue for the taxpayer. It should be a win-win situation.

Unfortunately, the Conservative council has let many of these homes fall into a terrible state of disrepair and ignored the pleas for help of their tenants.

Labour would bring all maintenance back in-house and bring these homes up to scratch for modern living. For too long many of our council tenants have had to put up with substandard living conditions.

We would make this right for them as early into our term as possible. It is unacceptable for people to be living with issues such as uncontrollable mould climbing the walls, or windows that won’t close. We can and must, do better.

Public Transport Upgraded

Good quality public transport is key to a more environmentally sustainable future. Our Labour Group voted unanimously in the chamber to declare a climate emergency in Welwyn Hatfield.

We will continue to lobby local bus operators to increase services and encourage them to utilise hybrid and electric buses.