What has Labour achieved?

Labour has been the only party vigorously challenging how your money is being invested
in a whole series of projects, contracts and assets under this Conservative-run Council,
none of which have been well-managed. We have held them accountable to the public
for:

■ the leisure centres project: we backed the original £11.8m investment in new
facilities, but opposed the huge £3.5m cost overrun. We challenged their
privatisation and strongly challenged using a further £1.9m of cash set aside to
replace sold-off council houses, in order to sweeten the deal with the new private
operator. Completion was over a year late, and prices charged to ordinary
residents have risen sharply as we foresaw
■ the new Council offices project being driven through without proper consultation
with residents or businesses and with little if any public benefit. Loss of public land
and mature trees, no affordable housing, no contributions to health and schools,
no credible plan for parking displacement. We have been supporting resident and
business efforts to hold the Conservative leadership to account and improve or
stop it
■ Pump Room Gardens (2 years late), Newbold Comyn Golf Course (failed), Pump
Rooms and Jephson Gardens catering
■ Court St/Clement St neglected for years – and the latest housing plan dropped
■ no investment in Council housing while sitting on a strongly rising capital pot of
£36m, earning a paltry return, yet with a housing waiting list of 1900 and with an
approved Local Plan to build 225 at social rents a year
■ a lack of openness and transparency; but we succeeded in opening up
information on issues such as the viability assessments, the Council’s
private/public LLP (Limited Liability Partnership), the ten-year Creative Quarter
deal with another developer CDP (Complex Development Projects)

What are the financial and economic challenges?

■ Council budgets have been under pressure from government cuts, so savings
have to be made. But where has your money been allocated?
– to several expensive priorities with dubious long-term local benefits; for
example Shakespeare’s England and the distant Commonwealth Games
– to a series of grants amounting to some £3m in all, not fairly balanced across
community needs
– to external consultancy fees, amounting to £4m since 2015
■ Universal Credit will roll out in the District over the next two years, putting many
tenants and other residents under financial and psychological pressure
■ phase 2 leisure centres project in Kenilworth risks similar financial and operational
mismanagement as phase 1, and potential loss of a popular outdoor swimming
facility
■ businesses cannot find the office and warehouse spaces they need
■ current employment land is under threat from housing pressures
■ lack of affordable housing is forcing too many staff in our hospitality, retail and
other service businesses to live away and travel in, adding to congestion
■ the government is cutting Revenue Support Grant to all Councils to zero next year
with huge uncertainties around business rate retention which is supposed to
compensate and other short-term funding sources

What will Labour do if elected?

We will make better use of our underused earmarked reserves, for example in housing
and other areas. We will shift the spending priorities away from vanity projects and
project overspends and address the following areas:

■ reconsider the current flawed Council relocation plan – and consult widely on
alternatives
■ make best use of all Warwick District Council assets (staff and property) and
reallocate resources (HR, media, senior staffing) towards public services
■ seek to mitigate the adverse impacts of Universal Credit on our most vulnerable
disabled and low-income residents in the crucial transitional period
■ actively seek users’ views on the way leisure centre services are being delivered –
and planned in Kenilworth – and seek a better deal for residents
■ take a tight grip on contract and project management, notably in
private/partnership vehicles like the LLP and CDP/Creative Quarter.
■ reduce reliance on expensive short-term consultants and build back Council
capabilities
■ rebalance Council spending and investment priorities to projects and services in
those parts of the community who need them most
■ invest in more Council housing to meet local needs and earn a reasonable return
to reinvest back into community housing
■ bring back as much long-derelict or under-used local buildings and sites into
active use – especially those belonging to the Council (for example many buildings
in Old Town in Leamington, parts of St Mary’s Lands, Leper Hospital in Warwick)
■ work with neighbouring local authorities to share services and properties
potentially leading to towards a Unitary Authority to improve efficiencies,
communications, decision-making and accountability. Redirect administration
costs towards front-line services such as the decimated Children’s Centres and
Youth Services