Election Hustings

Questions Posed by Transition Town Wimbledon: Labour response.

Q1 There are over 813 people in Wimbledon in a waiting list for an allotment. What will you do to help people who want access to land for growing fruit and vegetables?

We are aware that in 2009, Merton had the second highest allotment waiting list recorded in London. Under a Labour administration, we would consider giving priority to people who use organic and sustainable cultivation methods. We would also try to expand the number of allotments available by reviewing brownfield sites and encouraging landowners, including the railways, to donate unused land to their local community.

Q2 Will Merton Council give priority to pedestrians and cyclists in transport planning and street management? In particular will the council adopt a 20mph default speed limit across Wimbledon to encourage more people to cycle and reduce carbon emissions?

Labour Councillors believe that the pendulum needs to swing back in favour of pedestrians and cyclists. The current balance is wrong and it means our towns – Wimbledon in particular – become more like car parks than vibrant and sustainable centres for the community. So we will overhaul the council’s outdated transport planning assumptions and bring in a new approach which puts the needs of the town and of the people at the heart of planning and street management. A 20mph limit is part of this but it needs to be considered not just in Wimbledon but across the borough.

Q3 Will Merton Council ensure that, if energy performance assessment of buildings is contracted out, buildings are reliably assessed? (Contractor companies rarely fail buildings for fear of losing business, resulting in unreliable assessments.)

Labour Councillors don’t agree that Local Authorities should be able to get away with using contractors whose only concern is to keep the contract. We will only employ quality organisations who will be honest about where the council is currently failing but will work with us to identify ways of improving our energy performance.

Questions From Transition Town Wimbledon: Response from Councillor David Williams
Leader of the Council (Conservative)

Q1. There are over 813 people in Wimbledon on a waiting list for an allotment. What will you do to help people who want access to land for growing fruit and vegetables?

Merton Conservatives are delighted with the interest shown by so many residents in growing their own fruit and vegetables.

In order to free up plots for those on the waiting list, this administration has taken action against any allotment holders who have failed to maintain and work their plots and/or pay their rent. For example, in just one year we issued over 180 Non-Cultivation Notices following regular inspections of the plots.

As a result, we have reduced the waiting list substantially over the past 12 months and will continue to do so if re-elected to power, whilst also actively working with our partners at Sustainable Merton in the redevelopment of the Phipps Bridge Allotments.

Our 2010 local election manifesto includes a pledge to expand the borough’s green spaces. We are committed to reclaiming where possible land previously used for allotments that has fallen into neglect and disrepair. By bringing such land back into use, we can increase the number of workable allotment plots in the borough.

The considerable local interest in growing your own produce is also reflected in our plans for the borough’s new Acacia Intergenerational Centre – the first purpose built facility of its kind in the country. This formerly derelict site has been transformed into a real community hub for people of all ages and work is currently underway on the horticulture and garden areas in the grounds of the centre. These will enable young and old to come together in the development of a community garden scheme.

Q2. Will Merton Council give priority to pedestrians and cyclists in transport planning and street management? In particular, will the council adopt a 20 mph default speed limit across Wimbledon to encourage more people to cycle and reduce carbon emissions?

Merton Conservatives pledge to consult on 20mph speed limits where residents ask for them. We will not take steps that disadvantage any medium of transport but we will intervene to make routes safer and where possible less congested.

In line with our 2006 manifesto pledge, we have introduced ‘20’s Plenty’ schemes in a number of residential streets. These have helped improve road safety as well as encouraging more people to walk or cycle, particularly families with young children. Now we want to provide the police with a speed gun for every ward to help enforce these speed limits.

As part of our efforts to make Wimbledon town centre more pedestrian and cyclist friendly for the future, one of our major manifesto commitments is to transform the look and efficiency of Wimbledon station forecourt. Proposals for this part of the Broadway include widening of pavements, introduction of a ‘scramble’ junction, removal of unnecessary street furniture and significantly improved pedestrian access to the station forecourt. We have further aspirations to make enhancements to the entire length of the Broadway and also pledge in our manifesto to support plans for a ‘Wimbledon Walkway’ linking Wimbledon town centre and the All England Lawn Tennis Club, by working in partnership with the Merton Chamber of Commerce.

In the same way as we increased cycle parking during the recent makeover of Wimbledon Chase, we will improve parking facilities for cyclists as part of the station forecourt refurbishment. We have also worked with the Mayor of London to secure one of London’s first Cycle Superhighways from Colliers Wood to the City.

Q3. Will Merton Council ensure that, if energy performance assessment of buildings is contracted out, buildings are reliably assessed?
(Contractor companies rarely fail buildings for fear of losing business, resulting in unreliable assessments.)

Yes, we will ensure that buildings continue to be reliably assessed for their energy performance. Whether or not energy assessment is contracted out, we are committed to maintaining the highest standards.

Merton Council is at the forefront when it comes to energy saving and the wider green agenda and we will continue to lead the way. This Conservative administration has implemented the borough’s first ever Climate Change Strategy which sets out a number of actions to reduce the amount of energy being used in the borough.

We have signed up to the 10:10 initiative to reduce the carbon footprint of Council owned properties and our transport fleet by 10% in 2010. We are sourcing a Combined Heat and Power generator for the Civic Centre and plan to upgrade council vehicles with more efficient engines and pilot ‘pay as you save’ home loans for residents looking to improve the energy efficiency of their homes.

We are also committed to extending the Merton Rule for new development – both commercial and domestic – so that 20% of the energy needs of new builds must be generated from renewable sources.

Questions from Transition Town Wimbledon: Liberal Democrat response

Q1. There are over 813 people in Wimbledon on a waiting list for an allotment. What will you do to help people who want access to land for growing fruit and vegetables?

There are no easy answers to this, but we would look at a combination of the following: – Identifying new sites for allotments through the new planning rules, the Local Development framework. Space for growing should be provided in new developments of a certain size – smaller developments could make a contribution in lieu to improve existing sites. – To allow allotment sharing/possibly splitting – anyone struggling with their lots could be allowed to cut it in half, resulting in a more manageable size to maintain. Allowing allotment sharing means that someone waiting for a plot could gain experience. – Working hard to bring derelict allotments back into use. – Campaigning to change the law to protect back gardens against inappropriate development, in conjunction with provision of information on small scale growing.

Q2. Will Merton Council give priority to pedestrians and cyclists in transport planning and street management? In particular, will the council adopt a 20 mph default speed limit across Wimbledon to encourage more people to cycle and reduce carbon emissions?
One of the main ways to improve the experience of pedestrians and cyclists is to ensure a good traffic flow – this reduces air pollution and noise from queuing vehicles and speeds up bus journeys, encouraging use. We would aim to support the London Mayor in his efforts to co-ordinate road works, but there are issues we could take action on – for example, the phasing of traffic lights at certain junctions (eg the Hartfield Road/Kingston Road junction, where we successfully lobbied to get TfL engineers to investigate if it was causing tailbacks on Kingston Road).
We support the general de-cluttering of town centre areas – removing railings etc, and the attempts to make signage consistent. We have been active in supporting 20mph zones where residents want them, and in helping residents deal with other road safety measures. Lower speeds save lives and reduce pollution. We watch the plans to re-design Wimbledon Station forecourt with interest as this will play a huge part in the look of Wimbledon town centre. We would seek to promote and increase local bike trips – planning rules must provide not only for cycle storage facilities, but we must also consider things like shower and changing facilities in council and public buildings, to make it easier to ride. The Merton Cycle Campaign Manifesto contains many good ideas that deserve further detailed consideration.
Air quality is an issue in parts of the borough, and we would support the re-introduction of monitors, so that we actually know where the problem spots are. As in question 1 above, we would seek to promote, protect and develop our open spaces and green corridors.
Parking and traffic congestion is a big issue for many. Council officers, the political parties and residents need to work together to create a fairer scheme than we currently have. A top down ‘council knows best’ system isn’t practical or fair and a piecemeal ‘every road for itself’ approach will benefit nobody in the long term.

Q3. Will Merton Council ensure that, if energy performance assessment of buildings is contracted out, buildings are reliably assessed?
(Contractor companies rarely fail buildings for fear of losing business, resulting in unreliable assessments.)
Where local authorities contract out services, they retain a duty to ensure that those services are being performed to a proper standard. This principle to apply to the provision of energy performance assements as much as to any other services. Plainly, a contractor who routinely passes buildings which should have failed an energy performance assessment is not providing an appropriate service. We would require the service level agreement for any proposed outsourcing arrangement to be sufficiently rigorous to ensure that this does not occur.

Questions from Transition Town Wimbledon: Green Party response

1. Healthy and Affordable Food: Expanding Wimbledon ‘s Allotments

Expanding access to allotments is an important part of the Green Party’s goal to promote healthy and affordable food. To achieve this in Wimbledon , we would:

- encourage the expansion of ‘community gardens’ which Sustainable Merton have already successfully pioneered in the borough. Often too much emphasis is placed on individual plots, rather than on sharing seeds, skills and experience. This is especially important to ensure that people with new plots do not lose heart.

- release available land for allotments on a temporary basis. For example, the Council has land set aside for graves and crematoria. Some of this could be released on a temporary basis, with no legal title transferred, and the land returned to its original use when needed

- promote ‘land share’ on private land, where people who have unused garden space can share the garden with those keen to grow food and vegetables; this helps to overcome the problem of allotments often being some distance from residents.

2. Transport: Giving Priority to People

For a host of reasons – economic, environmental and health – Greens want to transform transport policy in the borough so that it places priority on people not cars, encouraging walking and cycling. We would do this by:

- adopting a default 20mph speed limit in built up areas

- reallocate transport spending by the Council to ensure that at least 10% is spent on walking and cycling

3. Energy: Enabling Energy Efficiency

Britain faces an energy crisis as domestic stocks of fossil fuels dwindle and the severity of climate change forces us to accelerate the shift to clean energy. Already the average energy bill is over £1000 and this is set to increase further. The starting point in the transition to a clean energy economy is to reduce demand through comprehensive efficiency measures; accurate energy performance assessments are a starting point in this process. To raise energy standards in Wimbledon , the Green Party would:

- end any conflict of interest in the current contracting out process for energy performance assessments so that the contractor’s first duty is to provide the best quality assessment of the property

- introduce free home insulation for all homes that need it, with priority for pensioners and those living in fuel poverty

- encourage communities to band together to take advantage of the new ‘clean energy cash-back’ system so that the borough claims its fair share of our goal to have 1 million solar roofs across the country as soon as possible

- launch a ‘green new deal bond’ whereby local savers and those outside the borough can invest in projects that raise energy standards in the borough’s public sector estate (notably Council buildings, schools, police stations, hospitals etc) and earn a decent return.