Lib Dems welcome Stratford Tories' last minute change of mind on saving costs and keeping council taxes down

11.27.00am GMT Wed 24th Feb 2010

Nigel Rock and Hazel Wright

The Liberal Democrats on Stratford District Council have welcomed the last minute change in the District's Council Tax rise to 1.5%, unanimously supported at Monday's Council Meeting.

Cllr Hazel Wright said, 'the district's Council Tax has gone up by 124% over the past 10 years. I'm pleased that at long last the Conservatives have realised the impact that this has had and the misery it has caused for some people'.

At the same time the Lib Dems welcomed the change of mind by the Conservatives over a possible merging of senior management teams with Warwick District Council. A Lib Dem motion at the Council Meeting proposing the setting up of a working party of Councillors from Stratford and Warwick District Councils to look at the business case for the merger was voted through.

Cllr Wright said, 'there are potential savings of half a million pounds a year, according to the Chief Executive's briefing paper. We've been pushing to save money through closer working with other councils for several years. I couldn't understand why in January the Conservatives voted down proposals relating to Warwick District Council, but now at last they've agreed to look at this. This gives the District Council real potential to save large sums of money for council taxpayers. But why did it take so long for the Conservatives to accept this?'.

Cllr Nigel Rock said 'I'm pleased to see that Stratford District's Conservative Councillors seem to have had a change of heart since it was first considered last month. This sort of innovative thinking from the Lib Dems is what the public want to see coming forward. Everyone knows that public finances are under huge pressure and we need to explore every avenue to keep costs down and yet deliver the services the public want and need. Stratford and Warwick Districts could not be more closely linked geographically - Stratford District wraps around about half of Warwick District's boundary.'

NOTES:

1. Nigel Rock is the Lib Dem Parliamentary Candidate for the new constituency of Kenilworth and Southam as well as the Stratford District Councillor for Stockton and Napton.

2. The new constituency of Kenilworth and Southam is made up of parts of Stratford, Warwick and Rugby Districts.

3. In 2000/01 the Stratford District Council Tax was 57.72 for a Band D property. Next year it will be 129.34.

4. A proposal re the merger with Warwick was voted down by the Conservatives at the Overview and Scrutiny assembly meeting in January.