Vote Green on 2 May 2019 for a positive future in Wealden!
Wealden Green Party wants Wealden District Council to change. We want our local council to be a place where positive-thinking people come together to find solutions that improve our communities and make them better places to be.
We are realists, we know money is tight. But we also know that people in Wealden are suffering because of cuts imposed from above, and our council’s weakness in the face of corporate greed and government austerity.
Green Councillors are independent. Unlike Councillors from other parties, Greens are beholden to no-one apart from the residents they represent. Green Councillors listen to residents and trust local people. Greens believe local people have the power to transform their lives and the places they live in.
Here are the changes we want to see in Wealden:
Climate emergency.We don’t have long. The UN’s 2018 report warns that we have 11 years to take emergency action to prevent catastrophic global warming. Across the country, councils are declaring a Climate Emergency and taking action. We will work with residents to show Wealden DC how to declare a climate emergency and act to preserve our future.
Lower rents on Wealden’s social housing.In Brighton and Hove, thanks to the Greens, social rents are now pegged to local incomes, not local house prices. We want to do this in Wealden so a family on below average income can afford to live in a new council house.
Housing that local people can afford.We all know what happens. A housing developer promises Wealden DC they will build affordable housing. They start work, they do a deal with Wealden DC, they build huge, unaffordable houses that locals can’t afford. We don’t accept that this is OK because we believe that everyone has a right to a home, not just the rich. We want to see more truly affordable housing, and more social housing, and we will fight for it.
Traffic speed.All across Wealden, residents tell us how dangerous and polluting the traffic is in their area. We will work to establish 20 mph limits in villages and towns to keep us all safe and make our air cleaner.
Local, democratic power.Does your Councillor listen to you, or to their party? Many major decisions are taken by a small band of councillors in a cabinet, with no reference to the wider council – we say this is undemocratic. With a Green Councillor you know your voice will be heard, and we will push for all decisions to be made openly and democratically.
Recycling and waste.We have just lost the recycling centres in Forest Row and Wadhurst, thanks to Wealden DC’s short-sighted attempts to save money. In Wealden we recycled 51.9% of our waste beforethe closure of these sites – yet the best performing councils recycled 65%. What were they thinking? The rest of our waste, including – shockingly – our food waste, goes straight to the incinerator. So those Conservative claims of 1% of waste going to landfill don’t tell the whole story – we burn almost half of what we throw away, and that is not good for our environment. We are not winning the war on waste in Wealden, and we need to do far more.
Preserving green spaces.In some parts of Wealden there is huge pressure on green spaces from housing developments and road schemes. In the south, there are plans for the A27 to be turned into a far wider, faster highway, devastating the communities along its length, and the beautiful and important landscape it would cut through. There are powerful profit-driven forces behind this, and it is vital that we oppose the plan and keep our landscape, environment and people safe.
Fracking. The geology of the Weald means we can’t ignore the threat of fracking here. Greens have been on the front line campaigning to stop fracking and the damage to our environment and future. We say Wealden DC should only approve fracking applications that can prove they will have net zero carbon emissions. Kirklees Greens led the way with this – we need to do it here too.
