LABOUR'S 2016 MANIFESTO FOR SLOUGH

LABOUR'S 2016 MANIFESTO FOR SLOUGH

With just under a week to go until polling day Slough Labour's message to voters in Slough - 'Vote Labour for Investment and Improvement in Slough - not Conservative cuts and Closures'

We have a proud tradition of putting our promises down in writing, we want to be judged on our actions, on what we deliver, not just what we say. That is why we are regularly the only party in Slough to publish a fully costed manifesto which residents can hold us to account by. This is year is no different, please continue reading to see our promises to you

Community Investment Fund 2016/17 - Investing right across Slough

Once again Labour cabinet members have secured a £500,000 Community Investment Fund that will sit alongside our manifesto commitments to complete small scale neighbourhood projects that make small, but important contributions to a neighbourhood - such as parking bays, new trees and knee rails.

new grasscrete on Almons Way provided as part of 2015/16 Community Investment Fund

new grasscrete on Almons Way provided as part of 2015/16 Community Investment Fund

This years fund will provide the following

  •  £350k Ward walkabout projects and neighbourhood enhancements 
  • £25k Enabling measures for potential temporary ice arena provision - water and electricity connections to site
  • £40k 3x Green Gyms for parks at various locations and play/exercise equipment
  • £20k replacement shrubs/landscaping at various locations across Sloughs public realm including, but not limited to, parks, highway verges and established planted areas.
  • £35k Verge protection measures – knee rails, double kerbs, bollards at various locations around the Borough
  • £30k Towards improving casework enquiries and response services to residents
new parking bays have been installed across the Borough

new parking bays have been installed across the Borough

 

A report into the projects enabled by the 2015/16 Community Investment Fund can be found here - a brief overview is listed below:

  • New parks facilities and ground improvements
  • New street signs
  • New movable CCTV cameras to tackle ASB and flytipping
  • Ward budgets for local community enhacements
  • Wexham Road crossing
  • Allygating projects to stop ASB
  • Sough cycle hire
  • Electronic variable road signs to improve road safety

 

 

Cabinet report confirms Labour 2015 election promises kept

Slough Borough Council's Cabinet took a report which confirmed Labours 2015 pledges to the people of Slough had been kept or where on course to be kept. The document which we stood for election on in 2015 became official Council policy at the first Cabinet meeting of this current municipal year - the full report can be read here - some of the key achievements are listed below.

  • 200 new social homes
  • MAJOR IMPROVEMENTS TO BAYLIS PARK
  • ADOPTION OF A BRAND NEW LEISURE STRATEGY
  • 86 NEW CCTV CAMERAS INSTALLED
  • SMaRT MASS RAPID TRANSPORT

This animated drive-through simulation shows what the western section of A4 Bath Road Slough will look like after the scheme has been finished in summer 2016.

SLOUGH LABOUR GROUP ANNOUNCE CANDIDATES FOR 2016 ELECTIONS

SLOUGH LABOUR GROUP ANNOUNCE CANDIDATES FOR 2016 ELECTIONS

Slough Labour have today announced their candidates for the 2016 local elections, to be held on May 5th. Our team reflects the diversity of our great town, with a candidate for ever generation - our youngest being 23 and our oldest 79. Following on from our previous success of encouraging more women into politics over a third of our candidates in 2106 will be female.

SLOUGH LABOUR 2016 MANIFESTO LAUNCHED

Slough’s Labour Councillors have today launched their manifesto for the 2016 local election along with our full list of candidates. Our team reflects the diversity of our great town, with a candidate for every generation with our youngest being 23 and our oldest 79. Following on from our previous success of encouraging more women into politics over a third of our candidates in 2016 will be female.

 

The 12 months since the last local elections have seen a number of significant improvements across the Borough. We have supplied social and affordable housing to help meet local need, invested £6m in providing school places for local children, improved our parks, installed 86 new CCTV cameras, begun rolling out LED street-lighting for the whole borough and developed an ambitious Leisure Strategy to get local people more active more often

Our manifesto for 2016 sets out Slough Labour’s agenda to keep on delivering for the town. The Labour Group pledges to keep investing in and improving Slough and have made specific commitments to:

  • Build 500 new homes with 50% of these being social and affordable homes, the remainder being available to rent and buy

  • Start the construction of three new community hubs in Elliman, Manor Park and Langley

  • Start the construction of the town’s flagship new leisure centre, complete the refurbishment of our ice arena, and bring Slough Town FC back home with the completion of the towns Community Sports Facility at Arbour Park

  • Continue to work with the police to consolidate the significant reductions in crime over the past 7 years and keep Slough one of the safest urban areas in the Thames Valley

  • Install further CCTV cameras and continue gating problem alleys to tackle anti social behaviour and fly-tipping

  • Plant 250 new trees and deliver major parks improvements including the installation of green gyms and ‘trim trails’

  • Support the early evening economy in the town by opening The Curve and continue to support businesses to locate and grow in Slough to expand job and training opportunities for local people

     

    Councillor Rob Anderson, Leader of SBC said;

    “Today we set out our offer for the 2016 elections, and our promises to the people of Slough. If re-elected in May Labour councillors will once again deliver an ambitious, transformational agenda for Slough. We have not held back on our aspirations for Slough and it’s because of this ambition that we are well placed to drive our town forward and deliver the investment and improvement our town and its residents deserve.”

    Councillor James Swindlehurst, Deputy Leader of SBC and Cabinet member for regeneration said:

    “Decisions taken in difficult times mean that Slough is now transforming as a place and residents are starting to see the benefit of our strong stewardship of the Council. The next 24 months will see Labour deliver ambitious regeneration projects across the town, the social and affordable homes residents need, park improvements and green gyms and build new community hubs across Slough.’

 

 

Turning political commitments into bricks and mortar

Slough Labour promised to deliver 200 new council homes in the 2 year period following the 2014 local elections and we are proud to say that we have exceed that target by delivering 264 new council homes the Slough residents.

Cllr Swindlehurst at the Milestone site on Ledgers Road

Cllr Swindlehurst at the Milestone site on Ledgers Road

Labour has transformed Slough as a planning authority and a as a house building authority in its own right. This latest development, at our Milestone site on Ledgers Road, will see a further 70 plus units created, including 24 social homes and sits alongside the 264 new council homes we have built and the 1,000 homes of all tenures under construction at sites across Slough.

This Labour Council is committed to building more affordable homes for local people
— Cllr James Swindlehurst

There is huge potential across Slough to build the homes we need for local people who live and work here and through our regeneration partnership we hope to continue to provide the high quality, affordable homes our residents want which will only enhance what Slough already has to offer.

Construction is already well underway on Ledgers Road

Construction is already well underway on Ledgers Road


Cllr James Swindlehurst said "Both as a planning authority and increasingly now as a builder in our own right, the council is committed to providing more affordable homes for local people, despite the challenging lack of space to build in the borough.

"We have built 264 new homes in the past year alone, and 1,000 more are currently under construction - including the new homes at Milestone and at Castleview in Upton.

“We have also launched a 'call for sites' to work with residents to identify land where a change of use could supply new housing.

“The Milestone development at Ledgers Road is significant because it is the first residential development to be built by our regeneration partnership - Slough Urban Renewal.

"It is exciting to finally see our political commitment being turned into real bricks and mortar - and I look forward to seeing the finished homes.”

Delievering new flagship leisure faciltites

Slough's Labour Cabinet have approved ambitious plans to transform the leisure offer for Slough's residents. Labour will deliver a new leisure centre on Farnham Road, improve and upgrade our ice arena and deliver phase 2 of the towns Community Sports Facility at Arbour Park.

The upgraded Ice Arena

The upgraded Ice Arena

It’s no secret that as a town we need to increase the amount of sport and physical exercise we all do to become more active, more often.
— Cllr Martin Carter

These new facilities represent a fundamental transformation of how we view leisure in Slough, the cost of not helping our residents to enjoy more active lifestyles to Slough is around £24 million each year. We will work with our residents and user groups to ensure the facilities we provide our high quality and are what they want to use to enable them to make a step change in their own lives with their daily activity.

The Community Sports Stadium at Arbour Park

The Community Sports Stadium at Arbour Park

We are investing a total of £34 million in providing high quality affordable leisure facilities that are accessible to all in our town. In doing this we are looking to the future, we want people to remain healthy and fit for as long as possible and these brand new facilities give our residents every opportunity and incentive to do just that.

Councillor Martin Carter said "It's no secret that as a town we need to increase the amount of sport and physical exercise we all do to become more active, more often, and adopt exercise as a habit for life. Labour vowed to deliver a leisure strategy that tackled key health inequalities and give all our residents the opportunity to take part in a multitude of sport and exercise."

 

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Major refurbishment of Britwell Flats completed.

Slough Labour has held a long standing commitment to improve and rennovate our Council owned housing stock to ensure residents are housed in good quality, warm and enviromentally efficent homes. This sits alongside our policy of ensuring that our council stock is only available to those who meet our criteria of needing to have lived in Slough for a least 5 years before you can access council homes.

The refurbishments have vastly improved the look of the buildings, making them much nicer places to live.
— Cllr James Swindlehurst

The latest works have seen the Council complete major works to 4 blocks of council owned flats in Britwell. The flats at Eyre Green have had new insulation installed, improved damp proofing and have been fitted out with new extractor fans.

Cllr Anderson with officers and contractors outside one of the newly refurbished blocks

Cllr Anderson with officers and contractors outside one of the newly refurbished blocks

The exteriors of the buildings have also had a major facelift, with improvements to brickwork and rooves, plus new external coloured render, we have also ensured the external environment has been enhanced at the request of tennants. 

These refurbishments are part of a wider project to improve insulation at council properties in the Britwell and Langley areas. We will soon be launching a resident consultation in Langley to seek tenants views before starting similar work.

Councillor James Swindlehurst, deputy leader and commissioner for neighbourhoods and renewal, said: “These refurbishments sit alongside our 2014 manifesto committement to build 200 council homes, a target which we have exceeded having so far delivered 264 new council homes."

"The refurbishments have vastly improved the look of the buildings, making them much nicer places to live. But most importantly they’re far more energy efficient, which will save residents money on their energy bills and reduce the council’s carbon footprint. "