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Go
for Gold!
Action for our communities
As Liberal Democrats we are fundamentally
committed to the needs and aspirations of local communities. We want
people to feel in control of their community life, so that they are
encouraged to be active and responsible citizens.
The Council's job is to provide the wherewithal,
not to interfere with the choices of local communities, and our
policies will reflect this.
The Liberal Democrats have always believed
that community action goes beyond what the council can do. We support
the work of the many voluntary and community groups in the town.
Often they can achieve things through community spirit that the
council simply could not do.
We have encouraged and supported initiative
such as the community management of Attenborough's Fields in Oxhey
by the Friends of Attenborough's Fields, where a local group is
responsible for management of a large area of public open space.
We would like to see similar schemes elsewhere in Watford.
Working with the police, the youth service and
other agencies, the council has an important role to play in tackling
crime and making sure that people feel safe in the town. A Liberal
Democrat-led council will play a full part in the battle against
crime, working in partnership and consultation with the police,
listening to and following their recommendations and using council
resources to complement their work.
Watford has low unemployment and many major
businesses have relocated here. The role of the mayor is to listen
to the business community and work collaboratively to meet their
aspirations, but remembering that there needs to be a balance between
their needs and those of our residents.
Business thrives if there is a high quality
environment and our attention to improving key services will benefit
the economic prosperity of the town.
We also recognise that there are areas where
more needs to be done to promote the prosperity of local businesses.
For example, we wish to see the regeneration of the St Albans Road
retail area and will work with local businesses to achieve this.
We take pride in Watford being a multi-racial
community and in the way that cultural diversity enriches the town.
We believe that relations between our different communities have
largely been harmonious. We will oppose racism and intolerance
in all its forms and work to combat racial abuse and harassment.
We value all Watford's citizens and will do
all we can to ensure that there is real equality of opportunity
and that everyone gets fair and equal treatment from the council,
regardless of race, age, gender, sexuality or disability.
- Develop and expand the park ranger scheme;
give the locality managers a responsibility for combatting
vandalism and graffiti.
- Accelerate
progress on 'gating' schemes
to prevent burglary and clean up back alleys.
- Work with the
police and other agencies to combat crime, for example by
encouraging Neighbourhood Watch
schemes and by 'designing-out crime' on council-owned estates
and public spaces.
- Support the work of residents and tenants
associations and other community groups in working for their
local community and improving their local environment.
- Play a full part in the Watford Town
Centre Partnership and work with local businesses and their
representatives to encourage economic prosperity in the town.
- Promote the regeneration of the St Albans
Road shopping area in partnership with local retailers and
residents.
- Encourage local groups to take on responsibility
for managing community facilities (such as open space) with
support from the council.
- Work in partnership with voluntary and
community groups to raise their profile in the town and awareness
of the work they do.
- Make the grants system open, transparent
and dependent on mutually-agreed service level agreements which
should improve the partnership between voluntary groups and
the council.
- Support voluntary groups in getting
access to other sources of funding and in developing their
own fundraising capacity.
- Take pride in the multicultural nature
of Watford; recognise how this enriches our community and work
to tackle racism and intolerance.
- Support equality
of opportunity in both recruitment and provision of services
and monitor the council's
performance in both areas.
- We are committed to the idea of building
communities that are cohesive, where people are happy to live
and work comfortably together. We will work with partner bodies
in our existing communities to make Watford a flagship for
this approach.
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