Merton is a great place to live, but it could be better.
Waste collection and street cleaning in Merton are in chaos as a result of Labour’s failed new contract. And refuse collection is not the only issue at stake. Labour maintains a wasteful and bureaucratic approach that serves their needs and is unresponsive to yours, and that fails to hold contractors and council staff to account, allowing inefficient, ineffective and poor quality service provision to become the norm.
Change across Merton is desperately needed, and these local elections really do present an opportunity to transform the way services are delivered in our borough.
The Conservatives offer a clear plan and sound financial management, providing good quality, efficient services that residents want. We will tackle issues that matter to residents such as traffic congestion on our roads, revitalising our town centres and stamping down on crime and anti – social behaviour.
This is our plan to make your life a bit better.
Keep the weekly bin collection and ensure clean streets
Merton is a great place to live but no one wants to walk down our streets and see litter on the ground. It should not be like this. Street cleaning and emptying your bins are a basic service and one the Council must get right. Yet things are only set to get worse with Labour’s proposal to scrap the weekly bin collection. If this happens, it will be almost impossible to bring it back. So we have to stop the plan before Autumn 2018.
Our pledges to you:
- Keep the weekly bin collection
- Reintroduce weekly street cleaning
- Increase mobile CCTV to crack down on fly tipping and graffiti
Transform our town centres and shopping parades
Local residents deserve high quality high streets and town centres. They are the life-blood of communities.
Recently, we have seen a surge in developers wanting to replace existing buildings with ever taller developments. Local Conservatives will deliver town centre masterplans that ensure developments reflect residents’ priorities. We will protect historic buildings, improve design quality and deliver a better range of shops.
Our pledges to you:
- Deliver a Masterplan for Wimbledon
- Deliver Morden Regeneration
- Support residents with Neighbourhood Plans
- Improve our high streets and town centres and immediately stop further demolition works at Merton Hall
- Give communities more control over how money raised from development is spent to improve their local area
Zero tolerance of crime and anti-social behaviour
We have a plan to save Wimbledon police station. Merton Council is sitting on £91 million of reserves. If elected to run the council in May, we will offer to buy the police station and then lease it back to the police.
Our pledges to you:
- Buy Wimbledon Police Station
- Buy extra police officers to patrol crime hotspots
- Increase mobile CCTV to crack down on low level crime
- Establish a 24/7 anti-social behaviour hotline
Ensure Crossrail 2 enhances, not damages, our area
Crossrail 2 is the most significant local development for a generation impacting residents across Wimbledon, Raynes Park and Motspur Park. It could bring many opportunities to improve our local area.
Any plans need to work for the local community. We will fight to ensure Crossrail 2 does not damage our area and that residents’ voices are heard.
Build a better St Helier hospital
St Helier hospital is a vital part of our community but is held back by its ageing buildings. We will do all we can to ensure it gets the investment it needs to flourish in the longer term. Having surveyed residents, we know 92% of you agree and want to see the hospital rebuilt.
Together with residents, we are campaigning to persuade the NHS that St Helier is the best place for a new hospital. Local Conservatives are working hard to make sure you and your family receive the best possible health care now and in the future.
Our pledges to you:
- Work with the NHS to ensure St Helier gets the investment it needs so that our local hospital can be even better
- Recognise that St Helier is not closing and that the hospital’s location is critical to the community it serves
- Work with the NHS on tackling the immediate issues facing St Helier, such as replacing the old lifts which are not big enough for some of the newer hospital beds
Reduce traffic congestion and air pollution
Congestion is an increasing frustration for residents and air pollution a growing concern. Addressing this issue requires both London-wide and national initiatives but there are things we can do here in Merton to tackle congestion. We have a clear plan to get Merton moving again.
Our pledges to you:
- Fine utility companies who continually dig up the roads
- Establish a congestion hotspot fund to tackle areas where congestion is worst
- Bring in Merton-wide anti-idling measures
Fix the Council's finances
We will properly fund frontline services by focusing on wasted opportunities to generate commercial income.
Our pledges to you:
- Increase revenue generation by greater focus on commercial opportunities.
- Get a grip on budget monitoring and plan to smooth closing the medium-term budget gap over 4 years by maximising the support of our strategic partners including the NHS and Government whilst also investing in capital projects, especially community infrastructure
- Re-introduce transparency into council decision-making by reversing Labour's decision to scrap webcasting of council meetings
Make every school in Merton outstanding
We want every child in Merton to attend an outstanding school - because just good is not good enough for our children. We will deliver this ambitious target by investing in our existing teachers; attracting the best new teaching talent to the borough; and embracing innovation to improve results.
Protect the vulnerable
Merton faces growing demand for Adult Social Care services, such as day centres, meals on wheels and home care. We will use the Adult Social Care precept to protect these services and work with government to ensure sufficient funding to support the most vulnerable in our community.