Plymouth Labour calls for more housing “locals can afford”

Labour Councillors in Plymouth today accused their Conservative rivals of “pricing local people out of the housing market” by reducing yet again the requirement for a number of lower cost homes to be built in the city – this time in the city centre itself.

Planning Inspector Douglas Machin, will shortly lead the Public Examination of the Council’s City Centre and University Area Action Plan proposals, along with representations from other city stakeholders. The hearing will examine in detail the robustness of the council’s plans for the development of this area over the next 11 years – and beyond.

Plymouth Labour Councillors have submitted their own written evidence which will be presented by Cllr Nicky Wildy at the hearing on Tuesday 26th of January.

Labour call for PCSOs to stay on Plymouth streets

Plymouth Labour councillors are calling upon the Conservative Group to support their call to protect Police Community Support Officers.

Cllr Mary Aspinall, who works closely with her PCSO team in Sutton & Mt Gould ward said: “The PCSO are the eyes and ears of the community and of the Force. They are well respected and valued by local residents.

“Tackling anti-social behaviour means they free up time for the police to concentrate on hardened criminals.”

Recorded crime across the country has dropped by 8% year on year, whilst in Plymouth its 10.2% down – a much better performance than the national average.

Labour Group Leader Tudor Evans said: “The Conservatives have promised to end the ring fence of money provided by Government to fund PCSOs. That means fewer PCSOs, not more.

Anger at Tory pledge to sweep PCSOs off Plymouth streets

The Labour Group on Plymouth City Council has reacted angrily at Conservative plans to take Police Community Support Officers off Plymouth’s streets, and may see them scrapped altogether. The Tories’ Shadow Home Secretary Chris Grayling MP has said that a government led by David Cameron would no longer demand that a fixed amount of money is spent on PCSOs.

Councillor Mary Aspinall, Labour Group Secretary said: “This is further proof of how out of touch David Cameron is with what really happens on our streets. I know the PCSOs in my area of Sutton and Mount Gould, and across Plymouth, are hardworking, respected figures who do a fantastic job supporting their Police Officer colleagues, who now have more time to tackle more serious incidents. To even mention ‘doing away with PCSOs’ as the Tories are considering is madness, and shows how little they value the hard work and long hours PCSOs put in on behalf of the community.”

Tories slammed by historians for allowing Plymouth heritage to be lost

Conservative Councillors in Plymouth have come under fire by history experts for allowing some of the nation’s most valuable artefacts to be lost to the city. Archivists are furious after the Council Leader Vivien Pengelly reneged on promises she made in January 2009 to prevent records from being repatriated out of the city for their own protection.

Labour’s Cllr Tina Tuohy, who is an archaeology lecturer was contacted by a colleague Todd Gray, who had been so concerned about the fate of these archives that he has been leading a campaign to protect the City’s archives.

In an email to Cllr Tuohy, Dr Gray says: “Although we had been fobbed off by the council throughout 2008, we felt we needed to give the city time to prove they could deal with us honestly. Not one promise of action has been fulfilled.”

Plymouth Council’s new parking places cost £68,000 each

The Labour Group on Plymouth City Council is calling for urgent action on the city’s West End new parking scheme before “someone is killed”.

The scheme, which was only completed a few weeks ago, has attracted much criticism from drivers and pedestrians alike. Drivers are unsure of who has priority as in places the road is one car wide. Pedestrians have experienced falls as the new cobbled paving is uneven and has led to a number of falls. Recent icy weather has exacerbated the problem.

Labour Group Leader Cllr Tudor Evans said: “Labour opposed this scheme at the time on safety and cost grounds. We warned the Tories that this scheme would lead to this. It really is an awful scheme, which has created the most expensive parking spaces in the country at over £68,000 each.

“Four years ago Labour set up a fund to repair pavements to avoid the council being sued for falls. The Council will now face an unprecedented number of claims. As they say on TV: where there’s blame there’s a claim. We are blaming the Conservatives.

Plymouth Tories less than prudent with pensions

Plymouth’s Tories have rejected Labour calls to put aside part of the Citybus payment to cover the shortfall in CityBus pensions. This decision means the people of Plymouth will be contributing to the buying price of CityBus from the very outset.

Labour Councillor George Wheeler made a very simple yet sensible suggestion to set up a special account that would be ring-fenced to protect pension payments. Tory councillors, by a handful of votes, rejected this proposal. In doing so, they stand accused by Cllr Wheeler and his Labour colleagues of acting imprudently.

Cllr Wheeler said: “Part of the price being paid for the Citybus shares is specifically intended to cover the deficit and transfer costs of the pensions of some of the CityBus workers. This payment is estimated at around £5.6 million.

Plymouth Tories abandon consensus politics on Building Schools for the Future

A senior Labour Councillor in Plymouth today accused Conservatives in the city of abandoning mature politics and a “dash for glory” in a row over the allocation of a huge Building Schools for the Future grant from the Labour Government.

The Plymouth cabinet has agreed to set up a committee comprising three cabinet members who have voting rights, with a further Conservative member as an observer. Labour’s Children’s spokesperson has been invited but only to observe too.

Cllr Pauline Purnell, the Shadow Children’s Services spokesperson is bitterly disappointed at this change of direction. She said:

“When Labour was in power, the PFI board was an all-party group, with councillors and officers round the table. We insisted on voting membership being drawn from the main political parties. It was important to do that as major projects like this often outlast political administrations.

Serious questions remain on CityBus sell-off

Plymouth’s Tories witnessed their finance chief forced onto the defensive during an Emergency Council meeting last week.

Replying to the Labour motion calling for a full report on the CityBus privatisation process, Senior Conservative, Cllr Ian Bowyer, was forced to admit that the answer he gave at a Council meeting only two weeks go was not true.

Plymouth Labour Group had managed to secure this emergency debate amid widespread concern that Cllr Bowyer had revealed commercially confidential information by speaking openly to the press at the end of September, when normally strict rules stop politicians revealing classified details.

When invited repeatedly during the debate by Labour Councillor Bill Stevens to explain how he had come by the sensitive information Cllr Bowyer chose to remain silent.

Plymouth Labour force Council to discuss Citybus sell-off

The Labour Group on Plymouth City Council are so determined to have the issue of Citybus discussed at the next Council meeting on Monday 3rd August that they have submitted TWO motions for debate on the subject.

The first calls for the Council to be given the opportunity to discuss and vote on the next two phases of the sell-off procedure, rather than to the cabinet or individual members of the cabinet. Almost one million pounds would have been spent on consultants and staff time before the council could vote at the end of November.

Labour Group Leader Cllr Tudor Evans said:

“The decision affects the whole city and it should be discussed at every stage by the whole council…

Plymouth Labour picks local champion Tina Tuohy for Ham by-election

Plymouth Labour Party has chosen a long-standing North Prospect resident as its candidate for the Ham by-election on Thursday September 3rd.

Mrs Tina Tuohy has lived in Woodville Close, North Prospect for 31 years, and with husband Ray has raised two children and has two grandchildren. Tina is known across the area as a community stalwart who has been working on behalf of local people practically since the day she moved in.

She has been involved with a variety of community organisations, including the North Prospect Community Learning and Development group, The NP Community Development Support Group and has been a school governor at North Prospect Community School and Ham Drive Nursery.

Her pride and joy though is Group for Arts in Swilly (GAS) which she founded and chairs. Its primary aim is to give people – including young people – access and interest in the arts.

Tina said:

“I am really pleased to have been chosen by Labour to fight this seat. People across the ward know me and I’ve probably knocked on every door for other candidates in the past.

“Local people know I’m not afraid to stand up for our area. I’m a local resident and what happens to my neighbours happens to me too.”