Stockport Manifesto 2008
Contents
- Introduction
- Local Economy & Work
- Energy, Resources & Waste
- Transport
- Housing & Homelessness
- Green Spaces & Wildlife
- Food & Agriculture
- Health & Social Care
- Education
- Community Safety
- Culture & Leisure
Introduction
Twenty years ago the Ecology Party changed its name to the Green Party, but still barely registered on the political radar, having just a handful of Principal Authority councillors, none in metropolitan areas. Now, in 2008, the Party has over 100 Principal Authority councillors, with representation in major cities such as London, Brighton, Bristol, Liverpool, Manchester and Sheffield.
The changing political climate, and increasing realisation that the Greens were and are prescient about what is happening to our planet, means that there is much more interest in our views across the spectrum of issues.
This manifesto gives a flavour of key policies we would pursue if elected to Stockport MBC. To keep the manifesto down to a readable length there are many areas which are not covered, but interested readers will gain further insight by consulting the manifestos displayed on our national website.
Our overall approach looks beyond the short term, to offer a coherent long-term strategy for a sustainable future. 'Sustainable' means meeting everyone's basic needs (for safe food and water, clean air, housing, energy, education, work and play, caring for each other) without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs.
Local Economy & Work
We believe that economic activity should be locally based - i.e. as far as possible, companies should be locally owned and run, and goods and services should be traded locally. Benefits will include less need for long-distance transport of goods, more local jobs, and more money circulating locally instead of being sucked away by multinational companies.
We support flexible working arrangements (e.g. home working, job-sharing), with strong workers rights and active trade unions.
Green policies for Local Economy & Work in Stockport. We would:
- Prioritise sustainable local production for local needs over giving financial incentives to big companies to relocate here.
- Support and help develop initiatives such as credit unions, local currencies, Exchange Trading Schemes (LETS), and skill and tool shares.
- Not support planning permission for large chain-stores or shopping malls which will result in the closure of local shops.
- Initiate a review of Council purchasing policies, with the aim of buying more local and recycled goods and supporting the purchase of fairly traded goods.
- Oppose threats to public services such as the use of Private Finance Initiatives.
- Seek to promote and expand local producers' street markets, co-operatives, skills workshops, and directories of local businesses.
Energy, Resources & Waste
Few people now dispute our long-held view that the Earth's climate is changing rapidly due to human emissions of greenhouse gases. The resulting flooding, severe storms, drought, famine, loss of freshwater, and spread of diseases will cause human suffering and ecological havoc far into the future. We must act now to reverse the trends and prevent the worst consequences. Green Councillors in Kirklees have shown what is possible at local authority level, being responsible for solar street lighting and the installation of wind turbines in schools plus various energy-saving measures.
The UK's record for recycling is among the worst in Europe. .Most of our waste ends up in landfill sites, taking up a lot of space and leaching toxic chemicals into the air, soil and rivers. One of the Green Party's long-term aims is for 100% of this waste to be either eliminated or recycled. This is a realistic target which has been adopted by a number of places in the world, such as Toronto, Edmonton and New Zealand.
Green policies for Energy, Recycling & Waste In Stockport. We would:
- Promote renewable energy (e.g. solar street lighting and wind turbines), and make this a focus of local job creation schemes.
- Promote energy efficiency schemes, home insulation grants and low-energy appliances.
- Raise public awareness of the urgent need to reduce energy consumption and CO2 emissions, and the many ways of doing this.
- Require the Council and other large institutions to draw up and implement strategies for reducing waste and energy, and buying more recycled goods.
- Work with local businesses to encourage them to minimise and recycle more of their waste. Publicity would also be given to the importance of waste minimisation for individuals, together with ways of achieving this.
- Expand recycling facilities for items such as plastics, batteries and cardboard, including them in the kerbside recycling scheme where practical, and providing more collection points where none currently exist.
- Oppose GMWDA plans to site an incinerator in Stockport. Large-scale incineration, while producing energy from waste, also produces toxic emissions and often requires material to be diverted from recycling.
Transport
There is a growing acceptance that changes have to be made to the transport system to reduce pollution, congestion and inefficient use of energy - all of which affect people, harm the environment and damage the economy.
Taxation levels, emission standards, some subsidies and investment grants are set nationally but much can be done locally to create a modal shift away from damaging and unnecessary road transport, and reduce the need to travel. Public transport should be reasonably priced, have integrated ticketing and timetables, adequate capacity and frequent and reliable services.
Green policies for Transport in Stockport. We would:
- Encourage walking as a mode of transport by good maintenance and lighting of public footways and footpaths, pedestrian priority measures at road crossings, Safe Routes to School, traffic calming and enforcement of speed limits, reduced in some areas.
- Create more priority measures for cyclists and for buses to improve journey times and punctuality. Cycling to schools and places of work would be encouraged.
- Introduce a wide ranging travel plan for the Council and its employees to reduce car use.
- Object to major road schemes in and adjacent to the borough, such as the A6 bypass.
- Restrict car parking in areas well served by public transport.
- Set up a car sharing scheme in partnership with other bodies.
- Press for the introduction of a simple integrated ticketing system for the county to encourage multi-modal travel and to attract new users.
- Use the planning process to encourage local travel by regenerating district centres.
- Argue strongly for greater investment in heavy rail including new stations, such as at Cheadle, and the retention of Reddish South.
Housing & Homelessness
Everyone in Stockport needs a decent home. A home is the "third skin" after flesh and clothes for every human being. Housing needs to keep people comfortable without wasting energy. It is vital that we move rapidly towards the situation where most new homes are 'carbon-neutral', but we also need to be very careful where we build them. Housing is too precious to waste.
Green policies for Housing in Stockport. We would:
- Encourage more affordable homes to be built on brownfield sites in Edgeley, Reddish, Heaton Norris and Brinnington, because these areas are near the centre of town with better public transport. It should be correspondingly harder to get planning permission in more rural areas in order to reduce urban sprawl.
- Support the conversion of unused industrial buildings to flats.
- Make it harder to demolish houses in order to rebuild larger ones - a practice all too common in Stockport's suburbs. We will encourage the reuse of building materials where houses are demolished.
- Promote financial incentives for insulation of existing homes (see Energy section).
- Press for new build to have a significant element of renewable energy and water filtration.
- Work with organisations such as the Empty Homes Agency to ensure that empty properties are brought back into use as quickly as possible.
- Audit the CO2 emissions caused by housing in the borough.
- Oppose the transfer of Council housing stock to a registered social landlord or to a private developer through a Private Finance Initiative.
Green Spaces & Wildlife
Urban green spaces are vital for both humans and wildlife. More needs to be done to encourage people to use these areas to observe, learn about and care for the flora and fauna. Stockport has a number of parks and gardens, which are used for relaxation, recreation and exercise. It is important that these spaces are properly maintained and that the people of Stockport should be encouraged to become involved in the maintenance and overall strategy for these.
Green Party policies for Green Spaces & Wildlife in Stockport. We would:
- Form working groups to help maintain Stockport's parks and gardens, and organise events which try to foster good use of the facilities by local people.
- Encourage schools to use their local parks as much as possible and to become involved in adoption schemes or be in close co-operation with local parks groups.
- Create favourable conditions to entice wildlife into formal parks by the use of nature landscaping and placement of bird and bat boxes in trees.
- Encourage the planting of more perennials and less use of herbicides and pesticides in parks, providing finance for the training of park staff in organic gardening methods if necessary.
- Ensure that bins for litter and dog mess are provided on all playing fields and open spaces, and that fencing is installed around children's play areas to prevent dog fouling.
- Increase the number of local nature reserves in Stockport, and draw up a conservation strategy for all major areas of open space.
- Increase the number of Tree Preservation Orders and clarify the procedures used to apply for these orders. Extra protection for trees is vital given the pressure to remove them in order to free up more land for development.
- Support the implementation of Stockport Council's Woodland strategy.
- Maintain the ban on circuses with live animals on Stockport Council-owned land.
- Support educational projects to increase wildlife awareness amongst the public, especially children.
Food & Agriculture
Healthy, nutritious food should be available to everyone, irrespective of income. Greens advocate cruelty-free farming, with priority given to local production for local needs, and to organic methods that do not pollute the soil and rivers. We are opposed to Genetically Modified (GM) crops because of the potentially harmful consequences for natural ecosystems, and because the world's food supply should not be controlled by a few biotech corporations.
Green policies for Food & Agriculture in Stockport. We would:
- Support the establishment of local producers' markets in the Stockport area.
- Encourage supermarkets, butchers and greengrocers to stock locally produced food.
- Campaign against any attempt to introduce GM food for either human or animal consumption.
- Encourage the local authority to provide locally produced food within its institutions. Where food cannot be sourced locally, organic and/or Fairtrade would be encouraged.
- Prioritise support and protection for allotments and press for further allotment sites to be created.
Health & Social Care
Stockport Green Party's aspirations for better health services involve the protection and improvement of the existing services, especially NHS provision. However, it is also clear that much ill-health is caused by environmental pollution and unhealthy lifestyles, meaning that both preventive and curative approaches need to be taken.
Although the Borough Council has no direct influence over provision of health services, it does have a major role to play in promoting healthy lifestyles and a healthy environment. Factors such as poverty, poor diet, excessive consumption of alcohol and tobacco, air quality, stress and car dependence all need to be addressed in order to improve public health and reduce the burden on the overstretched NHS services.
Green policies for Health & Social Care in Stockport. We would:
- Promote better health through policies to reduce pollution and poverty.
- Press the local Health Authority to provide accurate and up-to-date information on all public health issues so that people can make informed choices.
- Ensure that the Council, Health Authority and other agencies work together to implement the local Health Improvement Plan.
- Work with local employers and trade unions to reduce stress in the workplace eg. by encouraging employers to offer employees the option of flexible working hours.
- Oppose any plans to fluoridate our drinking water supply. There are safety concerns, and people should have the right not to consume it.
- Campaign for better services for elderly people, people with disabilities or with mental health problems, and their carers.
- Support Citizens Advice Bureaux and other organisations that provide help for people in need.
- Encourage the use of properly-regulated alternative therapies for holistic health care.
- Support the rehabilitation of drug users and ensure education on drugs and alcohol is provided in schools, colleges and youth groups.
- Encourage the use of methods of transport which cause least pollution and are most beneficial to health: eg walking, cycling and public transport [see Transport section].
Education
Education is a lifelong process, and we learn in many different ways. Teaching and learning should be enjoyable, and not hampered by stress, bureaucracy, league tables and narrow curricula. A fully rounded education is necessary to help people reach their full potential and is the foundation for an equitable and sustainable society. Education should encourage creativity, curiosity and active citizenship, as well as academic and vocational skills.
Green policies for Education in Stockport. We would:
- Encourage schools to run their establishments on sustainable, ecologically sound principles. Help all learning centres to actively promote sustainability through teaching and direct pupil involvement. Oppose the selling of school land for development.
- Seek an increase in the level of funding for our schools, colleges and libraries. Extra resources should be directed at improving the staff-student ratio in schools, providing state of the art teaching resources and the refurbishment of older schools. Alternative types of schooling (e.g. Steiner education, home tuition) should be supported for those parents and children whose needs are not met by the state system.
- Press for reform of the current assessment and competitive league-tabling system. We would scrap SATs for 7, 11 and 14 year olds. We would propose a more flexible education system, one that would draw on the experience of the teacher and mould it to the needs/interests of the pupil.
- Oppose tuition fees and lobby for means-tested maintenance grants for students.
- Involve young people directly in the provision of community and youth services and encourage activities which are in tune with the environmental challenges which will face their generation.
- Protect where possible small local schools, which should be developed as community resources rather than closed. Walking or cycling to school will be encouraged.
Community Safety
Many of the problems of crime, drug abuse and anti-social behaviour may be related to poverty and social exclusion. The solution can never simply be more police or more CCTV cameras; it has to involve a fundamental rebuilding of values and community relations. We need to empower individuals and communities to take control of their lives.
However, effective policing and interventions designed to minimise the likelihood of crime will also be necessary to ensure that communities and individuals can live in safety. There are six strands to our community safety strategy.
Green policies for Community Safety in Stockport. We would:
Organise the facilities of the town so that they offer fewer opportunities for crime and anti-social behaviour. License renewals for pubs, clubs and off-licences which generate the most binge drinking and disorder would be dependent on the adoption of best practice design. Licensing hours would be staggered to minimise the potential for violent attacks at closing time.
- Enable swift and thorough reaction to victim reports and citizen complaints, facilitate effective victim support and prevent the chronic victimisation of the same individuals which is characteristic of high crime areas.
- Strengthen action against noise pollution, and inconsiderate and reckless behaviour on the road and among neighbours. Traffic laws would be effectively enforced, ensuring that penalties (fines and driving bans) are stiff enough to deter reckless driving.
- Distribute policing effort across the Borough in proportion to the extent of crime and disorder in different areas. This would include more deployment of police on foot patrol where required.
- Promote self-policing in town centres by encouraging people to live there (e.g. over shops) and creating lively, well-lit pedestrian areas.
- Work with local organisations specialising in conflict resolution, coalition- building and challenging prejudice to change divisive attitudes and help create stronger communities. Children in Stockport schools would be taught how to cope with conflict and violent situations in a peaceful way.
Culture & Leisure
Stockport is a diverse and increasingly multicultural Borough, and we recognise that enjoyment of recreation and the Arts is crucial to the health and well-being of everyone.
Local control over what is provided or enabled is important, and we would welcome . collaboration between the Local Authority, PCT, voluntary sector, ethnic, cultural and religious groups to determine priorities. We look for a balance between formal provision and opportunities to create our own entertainment and recreation.
Green policies for culture and leisure in Stockport. We would:
- Support allotments and healthy gardening projects, working in partnership with individuals and groups who use allotments, parks and other green spaces [see Green Spaces] and [Food & Agriculture sections].
- Encourage healthy activities such as swimming lessons and cycling proficiency, ensuring that they are nearby, affordable and have disabled access.
- Support heritage projects and preserve Stockport's history and industrial past within museums and heritage sites.
- Promote community events and initiatives in Council owned or maintained properties such as The Art Gallery, Staircase House, Chadkirk Estate and Community Centres.
- Campaign to protect local cultural centres (theatres, cinemas, libraries and other venues) from threats of closure or cuts to services.
- Encourage a more diverse nightlife with e.g. late-night cafés, and open air events.
