Dear Colin,
Herewith the reply you asked me about
In response to your letter, I give below the overall
summary of Guildford Labour Party's aims, its headline achievements over the
last 4 years - many of them in the environment area, and he section of our
manifesto on the environment. You will see from this that a number of your
points are covered.
Our aim in the environmental area, as I have said several times at GAIN
meetings, is not just to deal with waste but to deal with it in the context of
the major environmental issues of our time - to build a sustainable economy and
to combat Global Warming.
We need to make sure our actions on waste help meet these objectives. Amongst other things this means making sure
our actions are of genuine environmental benefit rather than tokenism - though
some token actions may need to be taken to prepare the way and to raise
consciousness.
So far as the Surrey Waste Plan is concerned, our greatest priority will be to
increase recycling throughout the County - the targets in the plan are far too
low - and to make sure the facilities and infrastructure are in place so that
this can happen. We also need to bring
pressure to bear at a national level, to decrease the level of waste arising.
The longer I have held my Environmental portfolio, the more confident I have
become that the 60% target (which DOES include the contribution from home
composting) can be met by 2010. Labour
were jointly responsible for setting this target and we will do all in our
power to make sure it is achieved.
Some of your points will have to await the election and deliberation of the new
Labour Group after the elections.
Speaking
personally, I can see few environmental objections to the use of pyrolysis
(which seems well suited to deal with some difficult wastes, such as clinical
waste) or gasification (many very environmentally conscious authorities outside
the UK use this) to contribute to dealing with some residual waste. There are some technical/cost problems, but
I would not wish to rule these methods out without a lot more debate and
evidence than has been forthcoming so far.
That is, of course, NOT to say that we should use them, merely not to rule them out.
Keith Chesterton
Attached - extracts from Manifesto
Labour believes Guildford people want:
to provide equally for all Guildford's
citizens
first class public services, provided
efficiently
Guildford to be a pleasure to live in
and visit, and to offer rewarding
jobs
to pass on the same benefits to our
children and grandchildren.
Guildford's Labour Councillors in the
last 4 years have held the balance
of power on the Borough Council. They
have used that to get Labour
policies implemented including -
1. Commitment to an anti- poverty
strategy: this has included no extra
charge for paying Council Tax at post
offices for those without bank
accounts; extra money for the Citizens
Advice Bureau for a debt adviser.
2. The larger park-and-ride facilities
at the Spectrum which will ease
traffic congestion
3. The extension of the green box
recycling collection throughout the
Borough
4. Opening the first
"eco-house", to show how people can save energy
and money whilst helping the
environment
5. Getting the Borough Council to
commit to two Combined Heat and Power
schemes, to reduce greenhouse gas
emissions and save money
6. Getting the Borough Council
to buy its electricity from green
sources
7. Improving facilities for the town's
football club
8. Ensuring that the Borough Council
takes its "Best Value" rules
seriously, so that Council Tax is not
wasted (though it still doesn't do
it enough!)
So the Labour Party has already made
Guildford a better town to live in.
Imagine what Labour could deliver with
more councillors. Our opponents
have blocked schemes that would help
Guildford to be a better place to
live. For example, Tories and LibDems
combined to obstruct affordable
housing in the posh areas of
Guildford.
Labour needs more councillors to
achieve even more.
For the 2003 elections, the Labour
Party has a distinctive set of policies
that concentrate on the issues that
people really care about: the best
public services, proper leisure
facilities, a real commitment to the
environment and a properly-run council.
In the following pages, we have
listed our policies in each main area,
along with the benefits coming from
the Labour government.
(Environment only given)
A cleaner and greener Guildford
Guildford Labour Party pledges:
Zero tolerance on litter and graffiti
-
* Introduction of free telephone
hotlines for
reporting dumped cars, fly-tipping and
graffiti
* All graffiti on Council property to
be cleared
within 2 days - and other property
owners pushed to do the same.
* All dumped cars cleared within a
week - dangerous or
burnt-out cars in 48 hours
* More litter bins and recycling bins
* Tougher action on fly tippers
* More frequent street cleaning in
residential areas
To raise recycling to 40% by 2007, on
the way to 60% by 2010
To increase the doorstep collections
to cover cardboard, plastics and food
waste.
To implement more Combined Heat and
Power and solar power schemes, to make
Guildford a world leader in this green
technology
To set up District Heating Schemes
that use new green technologies to heat
areas of the town
To establish a climate change strategy
for Guildford, with targets to
reduce greenhouse gas emissions
To work with the government to improve
the quality of our air by reducing
smells from sewage works
To have Guildford's council-run parks
and gardens managed as organic
gardens
Since 1997, the Labour government has
delivered:
Tougher powers to clear dumped cars
A new national park designated in the
South Downs of Sussex and an area
three times the size of Bristol added
to the greenbelt in various parts of
the country
Tough new targets for councils to
recycle 25% of household waste by 2005.