Our 2019 Manifesto

Reduce the cost of Cllrs’ allowances/red tape by £50k by reversing Labour’s decision to increase payments to Labour Cllrs

One of the first things this Labour City Council did was give themselves a pay rise with your money. We will scrap this increase and cut through the red tape in Plymouth City Council, this will stop unnecessary council tax rises, keeping your money in your pocket.

RM 3CDO brigade in Plymouth

Our Conservative MPs have secured the government commitment that the Royal Marines 3 Commando Brigade will remain in Plymouth. We will continue to lobby the Ministry of Defence to continue investing in Plymouth to preserve our proud military heritage and keep Plymouth the home of the Royal Marines.

Homelessness

We will ensure accommodation is available so that no-one is forced to sleep rough on the streets. We support the Governments policy to eradicate homelessness by 2027, and the “no second night” initiative.

Housing

Parking and City motorists

We pledge to work to reduce the number of private parking contractors in the city, by offering land owners financial support in having the local authority manage their car parks through the placement of off street traffic orders. This would mean that motorists would have a fair and transparent parking system without the threat currently placed on them by the private sector.

We will make all motorcycles (2 wheeled) exempt from having to have residential parking permits, these currently cost £30 and are used to deter commuters. However motorcycles do take up bays in car parks which leads to a loss of space for other vehicles. Greater use of motorcyles will mean reduced congestion and emissions.

Through our Homes for Plymouth plan, we will fund, lead, innovate and engage with our housing needs, supporting our strategic £140 Million investment to deliver 5,000 needed homes. Affordable homes are needed in Plymouth and we have the plan to deliver the housing local people need, in the right place.

We will consider a change in tariff in Western Approach car park to support different sectors of society. In other cities, local authorities have Work, Shop, Eat and Play tariffs which support the community by having bespoke tariffs that encourage people to use local authority car parks

We will bring forward plans to offer bespoke parking for motorhomes to promote Plymouth as a stopover for those joining or leaving the ferry

We will investigate providing a mobility service to access the city centre from Western Approach car park, similar to the scheme in Derriford Hospital to encourage people to use the West End of the City

Free parking

Parking charges in Plymouth are hurting shoppers and our local businesses in Plymouth. We will review city centre parking charges and introduce periods of free parking in council owned car parks to save you money and support our vital local businesses.

We commit to keeping the free parking in council owned shoppers car parks so that we can support all our local communities. There isn’t enough parking for residents in Plymouth. We will also use the large car park behind the Future Inn as a temporary car park for Windsor House, Land Registry and Hospital parking to help commuters, patients and keep cars away from the nearby residential streets to allow more people the chance to park closer to their homes.

Electric charging points

Littering

There is too much litter on our streets. By working with our community volunteers, we will create a network of litter picking teams to keep our streets and greenspaces clean.

Electric cars are the future, but Plymouth doesn’t have enough electric charging points. We welcome extra money awarded by the Government and we will add electric charging points to every Plymouth City Council owned car park and insist, via the planning system, that all new build properties have the facility to charge electric cars; this means that Plymouth residents can know that there is infrastructure to support them and their electric cars. In addition we are mindful of the environment and will allow electric vehicles to park free in our car parks.We will bring forward plans to develop a car club for owners of electric vehicles based in PCC car parks across the city, on a subscription basis. This would offer electric cars drivers the facility to keep their vehicle operational at all times.

Improve our City Centre

We will continue to invest with partners to maintain the attractiveness of our city centre as a retail destination of choice. This means delivering Conservative plans to improve the look and feel of our city centre, making it a more welcoming place whilst restoring civic pride with greater focus on roundabout displays etc. We believe our city centre must change and evolve to recognise the growth in online shopping.

Improve district shopping centres

We know that local shopping centres are the heart of our communities. We will bring forward an improvement programme to increase the prospects of these centres and support our communities, landlords and traders in Southway, Whitleigh, St Budeaux, Plymstock, and Estover. This will secure the future of these centres for our residents and local communities.

Police We will work with our local Police and Crime Commissioner and Chief Constable to ensure an increased police presence on our streets, which will make Plymouth safer for all of us.

Targeted use of CCTV

We believe the use of CCTV cameras is a powerful asset that deters crime, identifies culprits, and reassures the general public. We will target the use of such cameras to those hotspots with a high level of anti-social behaviour which will help deter criminals and make our communities safer.

Our streets

Despite Labour’s promises, they still haven’t got the basics right. There is too much littering, too many potholes, blocked drains and too much fly tipping. Plymouth deserves better, and we will deliver it as one of our top priorities, making our streets and greenspaces cleaner and our roads safer for all Plymouth residents. We pledge not to introduce charges for garden waste collection

Plastic

As Conservatives, we are committed to leaving the environment in better condition than we inherited it. We will continue our work to eliminate single use plastics in the council by September 2019. We will work with our communities and businesses across the city to avoid plastic and switch to sustainable alternatives, reducing the amount of plastic Plymouth will use, reducing Plymouths environmental impact.

We will pioneer new innovate initiatives such as a large sea creature on the Hoe in which you can deposit plastic to create an iconic sculpture that will be recognised as special to Plymouth.

Our plan will reduce Plymouth’s environmental impact and help conserve our wonderful city for our children and for our children’s children.

We will promote the use of new technology to keep our older people safer

We Conservatives believe that older people should be supported in their homes for longer. We want to offer more digitally enabled services. New smart technology will provide greater safety and comfort to older people with the use of devices like the Amazon Echo which can act as a helpful friend to those with living with dementia, supporting them and giving comfort to their families.

We will fast track applications for blue badges, disabled facilities grants, and disabled parking spaces for those with terminal illnesses.

We will continue to lobby the Government to put in place a sustainable funding settlement for adult social care, to include increased funding to support carers and those living independently with disabilities.

More bins and crack down on dog fouling.

Tavistock Road – speed limit

Having spent millions improving traffic flow we believe it is ridiculous to restrict speed to 30-mph. We will introduce a 40-mph limit to get traffic moving.

Congestion charge for Plymouth

We will not introduce a congestion charge for Plymouth: it would be devastating to Plymouth residents and local businesses.

Nancy Astor

In 2017 we announced an initiative to crack down on dog fouling which Labour opposed. We will step up where the Labour run Council has failed to tackle this socially unacceptable behaviour to make the streets cleaner for everyone.

Nancy Astor served as Plymouth’s MP for 26 years and was the first female to take her seat in Parliament in 1919. She represented our City with distinction and has left a lasting legacy not only the Plymouth, but to the world. Plymouth Conservative Councillors have each contributed personally to the funding campaign for a centenary statue to Nancy Astor to celebrate her achievements. We commit to ensuring a suitable statute is in place for November 2019.

Food waste collections

We understand the increasing demand for weekly food waste collections and free garden waste collections, proposals contained in the Government’s latest waste strategy plans. We will seek to identify funding to introduce weekly food waste collections as soon as possible. We must move away from being a ‘throw-away’ society to conserve the environment for future generations.

Educational standards in Plymouth

Under Labour, standards at Plymouth’s schools continue to decline. This is unacceptable. We will work collaboratively with our schools via the Education Board to raise attainment levels and improve education leadership in our schools.

We believe Plymouth City Council must now build upon Ministerial support to drive and oversee immediate improvements by working with all stakeholders to bring about the urgent changes necessary to deliver good education for all our young people. We will inform parents about school performance to promote greater transparency and guidance for parents.

We have no intention to introduce fines for taking children out of school for holidays but will campaign to review holiday dates to provide an extra week in Spring/Autumn each year in the school year to benefit attainment levels and increase time spent with family.

Tamar Bridge

We believe that the tolls on the Tamar should be abolished like the Severn Bridge Crossing tolls, and we will lobby the Government accordingly.

City airport site

Conservatives welcome the Planning Inspectors' decision to safeguard the Plymouth Airport site. A Conservative Council will use its’ influence to negotiate the surrendering of the Airport lease held by Sutton Harbour Holdings and promote the reintroduction of airport operations in Plymouth.

Music venue

Conservative Councillors will work with private sector partners, developers, and all music lovers to bring forward plans to provide a new live music and event venue in the City. We see this as a significant improvement to the City’s cultural and music offer which will put Plymouth on the map.

Underground refuse bins

we will promote such arrangements on all new build housing and commercial developments

Woolwell to the George road dualling scheme

Support for start-up and small business

we will establish an investment fund, via the Council’s capital spending plans, to promote the creation of a vibrant small business sector in Plymouth

Period poverty

We welcome the Government’s decision to ensure free sanitary products will be made available in all secondary schools and colleges in England from September 2019. This follows a campaign warning that girls from low-income families can end up missing school during their periods because they are unable to afford sanitary protection and is part of a Government-wide push to end period poverty, with the NHS having previously pledged to make tampons and sanitary towels available to patients.

Mayflower 2020

We strongly support this major national event and Plymouth’s specific historical role in this story

The Military Covenant

We will seek to strengthen our military covenant with the Armed Forces paying close attention to the on-going needs of veterans. We want to see Plymouth made a centre of excellence for veteran support.

Supporting local communities

We will seek to devolve more power to local communities in order that local people can have a greater say in determining their priorities. Conservatives recognise that family values/personal responsibility are values that strengthen local communities and we will listen and act on views expressed locally

We want to see more community lunch clubs and activities for lonely people – we will work with voluntary sector/community groups to establish a wider network of community activites directly impacting and affecting the lives of those who attend, as well as indirectly impacting family, friends and neighbours. We aim to significantly reduce social isolation and social exclusion, whilst improving the physical, mental and emotional health and well-being of the participants.

Mutley Plain

we continue to support this scheme which will allow the delivery of new housing proposals at Woolwell, whilst bringing improved traffic flows in the north of Plymouth.

To support the regeneration of Mutley Plain we will reinstate the 13 car parking spaces on a timed basis in Mannamead Road removed by the Labour Party in autumn 2018. We are disappointed that Labour haven’t confirmed their intention to remove the ugly toilet block and use the space for additional short-term car parking, and deliver new toilets on the Ermington Terrace car park. We will make Mutley Barracks car park a shopper’s car park and free for three hours

Our Waterfront

We will continue to bring forward schemes to enhance our waterfront which is accepted as being the “jewel in the crown” as part of the overall Hoe offer. This will include lighting schemes, and investment in environmental improvements

Play parks

In office Conservatives delivered a £1m improvement programme upgrading children’s play parks – Labour have dragged their feet despite being urged to do more. We will continue to provide funding to deliver a further programme of works, which will bring our play parks up to a very high standard.

City taxis

We are concerned over current Labour Party policy which increases fees and charges paid by taxi drivers. We will engage with the trade to try and come up with a better solution

City trees

We will appoint a City Tree Champion to promote tree planting and prevent the unnecessary felling of our street trees. This will improve the environment for the next generation, improve air quality, and improve our health and wellbeing.

Cruise terminal

We continue to support works to provide a better facilities for cruise liners arriving in Plymouth in conjunction with our partners Associated British Ports and Brittany Ferries at Millbay.

Our 2019 Manifesto

Reduce the cost of Cllrs’ allowances/red tape by £50k by reversing Labour’s decision to increase payments to Labour Cllrs

One of the first things this Labour City Council did was give themselves a pay rise with your money. We will scrap this increase and cut through the red tape in Plymouth City Council, this will stop unnecessary council tax rises, keeping your money in your pocket.

RM 3CDO brigade in Plymouth

Our Conservative MPs have secured the government commitment that the Royal Marines 3 Commando Brigade will remain in Plymouth. We will continue to lobby the Ministry of Defence to continue investing in Plymouth to preserve our proud military heritage and keep Plymouth the home of the Royal Marines.

Homelessness

We will ensure accommodation is available so that no-one is forced to sleep rough on the streets. We support the Governments policy to eradicate homelessness by 2027, and the “no second night” initiative.

Housing

Parking and City motorists

We pledge to work to reduce the number of private parking contractors in the city, by offering land owners financial support in having the local authority manage their car parks through the placement of off street traffic orders. This would mean that motorists would have a fair and transparent parking system without the threat currently placed on them by the private sector.

We will make all motorcycles (2 wheeled) exempt from having to have residential parking permits, these currently cost £30 and are used to deter commuters. However motorcycles do take up bays in car parks which leads to a loss of space for other vehicles. Greater use of motorcyles will mean reduced congestion and emissions.

We will consider a change in tariff in Western Approach car park to support different sectors of society. In other cities, local authorities have Work, Shop, Eat and Play tariffs which support the community by having bespoke tariffs that encourage people to use local authority car parks

We will bring forward plans to offer bespoke parking for motorhomes to promote Plymouth as a stopover for those joining or leaving the ferry

We will investigate providing a mobility service to access the city centre from Western Approach car park, similar to the scheme in Derriford Hospital to encourage people to use the West End of the City

Through our Homes for Plymouth plan, we will fund, lead, innovate and engage with our housing needs, supporting our strategic £140 Million investment to deliver 5,000 needed homes. Affordable homes are needed in Plymouth and we have the plan to deliver the housing local people need, in the right place.

Free parking

Parking charges in Plymouth are hurting shoppers and our local businesses in Plymouth. We will review city centre parking charges and introduce periods of free parking in council owned car parks to save you money and support our vital local businesses.

We commit to keeping the free parking in council owned shoppers car parks so that we can support all our local communities. There isn’t enough parking for residents in Plymouth. We will also use the large car park behind the Future Inn as a temporary car park for Windsor House, Land Registry and Hospital parking to help commuters, patients and keep cars away from the nearby residential streets to allow more people the chance to park closer to their homes.

Electric charging points

Littering

There is too much litter on our streets. By working with our community volunteers, we will create a network of litter picking teams to keep our streets and greenspaces clean.

Improve our City Centre

We will continue to invest with partners to maintain the attractiveness of our city centre as a retail destination of choice. This means delivering Conservative plans to improve the look and feel of our city centre, making it a more welcoming place whilst restoring civic pride with greater focus on roundabout displays etc. We believe our city centre must change and evolve to recognise the growth in online shopping.

Improve district shopping centres

We know that local shopping centres are the heart of our communities. We will bring forward an improvement programme to increase the prospects of these centres and support our communities, landlords and traders in Southway, Whitleigh, St Budeaux, Plymstock, and Estover. This will secure the future of these centres for our residents and local communities.

Police We will work with our local Police and Crime Commissioner and Chief Constable to ensure an increased police presence on our streets, which will make Plymouth safer for all of us.

Electric cars are the future, but Plymouth doesn’t have enough electric charging points. We welcome extra money awarded by the Government and we will add electric charging points to every Plymouth City Council owned car park and insist, via the planning system, that all new build properties have the facility to charge electric cars; this means that Plymouth residents can know that there is infrastructure to support them and their electric cars. In addition we are mindful of the environment and will allow electric vehicles to park free in our car parks.We will bring forward plans to develop a car club for owners of electric vehicles based in PCC car parks across the city, on a subscription basis. This would offer electric cars drivers the facility to keep their vehicle operational at all times.

Targeted use of CCTV

We believe the use of CCTV cameras is a powerful asset that deters crime, identifies culprits, and reassures the general public. We will target the use of such cameras to those hotspots with a high level of anti-social behaviour which will help deter criminals and make our communities safer.

Our streets

Despite Labour’s promises, they still haven’t got the basics right. There is too much littering, too many potholes, blocked drains and too much fly tipping. Plymouth deserves better, and we will deliver it as one of our top priorities, making our streets and greenspaces cleaner and our roads safer for all Plymouth residents. We pledge not to introduce charges for garden waste collection

Plastic

As Conservatives, we are committed to leaving the environment in better condition than we inherited it. We will continue our work to eliminate single use plastics in the council by September 2019. We will work with our communities and businesses across the city to avoid plastic and switch to sustainable alternatives, reducing the amount of plastic Plymouth will use, reducing Plymouths environmental impact.

We will pioneer new innovate initiatives such as a large sea creature on the Hoe in which you can deposit plastic to create an iconic sculpture that will be recognised as special to Plymouth.

Our plan will reduce Plymouth’s environmental impact and help conserve our wonderful city for our children and for our children’s children.

We will promote the use of new technology to keep our older people safer

We Conservatives believe that older people should be supported in their homes for longer. We want to offer more digitally enabled services. New smart technology will provide greater safety and comfort to older people with the use of devices like the Amazon Echo which can act as a helpful friend to those with living with dementia, supporting them and giving comfort to their families.

We will fast track applications for blue badges, disabled facilities grants, and disabled parking spaces for those with terminal illnesses.

We will continue to lobby the Government to put in place a sustainable funding settlement for adult social care, to include increased funding to support carers and those living independently with disabilities.

More bins and crack down on dog fouling.

Tavistock Road – speed limit

In 2017 we announced an initiative to crack down on dog fouling which Labour opposed. We will step up where the Labour run Council has failed to tackle this socially unacceptable behaviour to make the streets cleaner for everyone.

Having spent millions improving traffic flow we believe it is ridiculous to restrict speed to 30-mph. We will introduce a 40-mph limit to get traffic moving.

Congestion charge for Plymouth

We will not introduce a congestion charge for Plymouth: it would be devastating to Plymouth residents and local businesses.

Nancy Astor

Nancy Astor served as Plymouth’s MP for 26 years and was the first female to take her seat in Parliament in 1919. She represented our City with distinction and has left a lasting legacy not only the Plymouth, but to the world. Plymouth Conservative Councillors have each contributed personally to the funding campaign for a centenary statue to Nancy Astor to celebrate her achievements. We commit to ensuring a suitable statute is in place for November 2019.

Food waste collections

We understand the increasing demand for weekly food waste collections and free garden waste collections, proposals contained in the Government’s latest waste strategy plans. We will seek to identify funding to introduce weekly food waste collections as soon as possible. We must move away from being a ‘throw-away’ society to conserve the environment for future generations.

Educational standards in Plymouth

Under Labour, standards at Plymouth’s schools continue to decline. This is unacceptable. We will work collaboratively with our schools via the Education Board to raise attainment levels and improve education leadership in our schools.

We believe Plymouth City Council must now build upon Ministerial support to drive and oversee immediate improvements by working with all stakeholders to bring about the urgent changes necessary to deliver good education for all our young people. We will inform parents about school performance to promote greater transparency and guidance for parents.

We have no intention to introduce fines for taking children out of school for holidays but will campaign to review holiday dates to provide an extra week in Spring/Autumn each year in the school year to benefit attainment levels and increase time spent with family.

Tamar Bridge

We believe that the tolls on the Tamar should be abolished like the Severn Bridge Crossing tolls, and we will lobby the Government accordingly.

City airport site

Conservatives welcome the Planning Inspectors' decision to safeguard the Plymouth Airport site. A Conservative Council will use its’ influence to negotiate the surrendering of the Airport lease held by Sutton Harbour Holdings and promote the reintroduction of airport operations in Plymouth.

Music venue

Conservative Councillors will work with private sector partners, developers, and all music lovers to bring forward plans to provide a new live music and event venue in the City. We see this as a significant improvement to the City’s cultural and music offer which will put Plymouth on the map.

Underground refuse bins

we will promote such arrangements on all new build housing and commercial developments

Woolwell to the George road dualling scheme

Support for start-up and small business

we will establish an investment fund, via the Council’s capital spending plans, to promote the creation of a vibrant small business sector in Plymouth

Period poverty

We welcome the Government’s decision to ensure free sanitary products will be made available in all secondary schools and colleges in England from September 2019. This follows a campaign warning that girls from low-income families can end up missing school during their periods because they are unable to afford sanitary protection and is part of a Government-wide push to end period poverty, with the NHS having previously pledged to make tampons and sanitary towels available to patients.

Mayflower 2020

We strongly support this major national event and Plymouth’s specific historical role in this story

The Military Covenant

We will seek to strengthen our military covenant with the Armed Forces paying close attention to the on-going needs of veterans. We want to see Plymouth made a centre of excellence for veteran support.

Supporting local communities

We will seek to devolve more power to local communities in order that local people can have a greater say in determining their priorities. Conservatives recognise that family values/personal responsibility are values that strengthen local communities and we will listen and act on views expressed locally

We want to see more community lunch clubs and activities for lonely people – we will work with voluntary sector/community groups to establish a wider network of community activites directly impacting and affecting the lives of those who attend, as well as indirectly impacting family, friends

we continue to support this scheme which will allow the delivery of new housing proposals at Woolwell, whilst bringing improved traffic flows in the north of Plymouth.

and neighbours. We aim to significantly reduce social isolation and social exclusion, whilst improving the physical, mental and emotional health and well-being of the participants.

Mutley Plain

To support the regeneration of Mutley Plain we will reinstate the 13 car parking spaces on a timed basis in Mannamead Road removed by the Labour Party in autumn 2018. We are disappointed that Labour haven’t confirmed their intention to remove the ugly toilet block and use the space for additional short-term car parking, and deliver new toilets on the Ermington Terrace car park. We will make Mutley Barracks car park a shopper’s car park and free for three hours

Our Waterfront

We will continue to bring forward schemes to enhance our waterfront which is accepted as being the “jewel in the crown” as part of the overall Hoe offer. This will include lighting schemes, and investment in environmental improvements

Play parks

In office Conservatives delivered a £1m improvement programme upgrading children’s play parks – Labour have dragged their feet despite being urged to do more. We will continue to provide funding to deliver a further programme of works, which will bring our play parks up to a very high standard.

City taxis

We are concerned over current Labour Party policy which increases fees and charges paid by taxi drivers. We will engage with the trade to try and come up with a better solution

City trees

We will appoint a City Tree Champion to promote tree planting and prevent the unnecessary felling of our street trees. This will improve the environment for the next generation, improve air quality, and improve our health and wellbeing.

Cruise terminal

We continue to support works to provide a better facilities for cruise liners arriving in Plymouth in conjunction with our partners Associated British Ports and Brittany Ferries at Millbay.