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Labour’s Promises for a Better South Norwood and Woodside
Living in the South Norwood and Woodside area you cannot help but having seen how the Conservative Council have neglected and let down this area. However on the 6th May we all have a chance to change things. We would like to tell you hear about our plans and commitments that we have developed speaking to many residents over recent months.
One of the first things the Conservatives did when they took control of Croydon Council in 2006 was to scrap the new sports centre that was to be built on Portland Road, wasting over a million pounds of local tax payer’s money to cancel it. They said they couldn’t afford to build the new centre, but then almost immediately started to plan to build it in Purley instead! We promise that a Labour Council will provide a new sports hall, a large gym, dance studio and community rooms, alongside great swimming facilities. We will also make sure that they are available for local people to use and at a price they can afford.
Many of us feel that Portland Road and Woodside’s old village centre have become really run down and need help to bring them back to life. We do have some really great shops serving the local community, but the empty shops either need to be re-opened or new uses found for them instead of flat conversions. In 2005 we worked closely with the local community to create an action plan to bring the area back to life, but unfortunately the Tories scrapped it. They have also failed to build the new business centre planned for Portland Road that would have brought lots of new jobs to this area. We promise that a Labour Council will deliver a regeneration plan for the whole area and we will make sure that those plans become reality.
We are delighted that some of the £1½ million that our Government has given to Croydon to improve parks will be spent in the Country Park. It is a fantastic place despite the neglect by the Tory Council. They are now asking local people, who are now paying the highest ever local council tax, to volunteer to clear up the rubbish in their parks. We don’t think people should pay for a service and then have to do the work themselves! The Conservative Council have ignored Woodside Green with its broken down fencing, Brickfields Meadow that is now sadly full of rubbish again and the children’s play ground off Davidson Road with its broken swings and dangerous play equipment. A Labour Council will ensure that all our local parks and playgrounds are properly looked after.
Many local people will know about Love Lane Green – the local park that the Conservatives sold off to property developers. We have stopped them building housing over it but it is now an eyesore. The Conservatives now say that they support our plans to get it back, but they have dithered, talked a lot and achieved nothing, failing to use new powers from the Government to buy back the Green. We will do all we can to ensure that that Love Lane Green is returned to the community and that local youngsters no longer have to play in the street.
We got the then Labour Council to agree that this area was to be one of the first in Croydon to get new brighter street lighting. The first phase was in the streets close to Norwood Junction station. The lights have made those streets much safer after and have reduce crime, but the Conservatives put a stop to the rest of the area getting the new lighting, and have failed to install a single new street light in four years. They said they couldn’t afford it, whilst pouring money into posh new pavements and seating in leafy Coulsdon. Now they are planning to cut the numbers of police we have on the beat in this area – the police that Labour Mayor, Ken Livingstone introduced. We are committed to keeping our local police team and ensuring that they spend more time out on the beat to help keep you and your family safe. If elected we will complete the replacement of all the dark old street lighting around here.
When Labour first took responsibility for running Croydon Council from the Conservatives there was virtually no recycling. Labour introduced the doorstep collection from people’s homes and although the Conservatives finished off the work we started, they have failed to expand it. Far too much waste is still being dumped and the Conservatives have even been talking about putting an incinerator in Croydon to burn it! We are committed to helping people recycle twice as much and to finding clean ways of disposing of our waste.
For more details of what we plan for Croydon if a Labour Council is elected on 6th May please see our manifesto.
We hope you will vote for us to help us make your area a safer and more pleasant place.
Councillors Tony Newman, Paul Scott and Karen Jewitt
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