Wiltshire Conservatives have proposed an alternative budget for Wiltshire which would remove the need for many of the unpopular policies proposed by the Liberal Democrats.
The Conservative budget would see a boost of £6.2 million for road repairs, building on the extra £22 million of investment delivered during their time in office.
The funding has been achieved by delivering £20 million in savings by using technology rather than the Lib Dem suggestion of borrowing money and incurring interest charges.
The proposed budget includes:
· A boost for Wiltshire’s highways maintenance by £6.2 million a year
· Raising revenue and speeding up utility company roadworks with a lane rental charging scheme
· Scrapping planned Sunday parking increases to the standard day rate and reverse the extension of charged hours from 7am to 7pm
· Keeping Link and community transport schemes
· Protect funding for Link and Community Transport schemes.
· Keeping Purton and Lower Compton Household Recycling Centres (HRCs) open for at least three years, while alternatives are assessed.
· Abolishing the proposed HRC slot-booking system
Chairman of Melksham and Devizes Conservative Association Nick Botterill said:
“The Conservatives have shown how budgets can be balanced, services maintained and residents’ money protected.
“This is a stark contrast to the Lib Dems’ and their budget which fails to do all three of these things.
“We’ve seen this in their approach to Town Council budgets where they treat it like monopoly money, rather than people’s livelihoods.
“What residents want is stability in their lives, not councillors who just seem to want to hike their tax bills with huge precept increases, all while delivering less.”
Conservative group leader Cllr Richard Clewer said the budget was an alternative to the “painful” performance of the Liberal Democrats.
““It has been extremely painful to watch the Lib Dems make such a mess of Wiltshire Council over the last few months, and in particular, to worry thousands of people, and then U turn over non-sensical proposals to close Household Recycling Centres and stopping Community Transport. Not to mention proposals to squander taxpayers’ money on St Stephen’s Car Park.
“Our budget is one which protects vital services, strengthens long term financial stability, and delivers £20 million more savings than the Liberal Democrat administration — all while reducing borrowing and avoiding cuts to frontline services.”
