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Archive

 
National News


 

"Open Source" planning will help residents shape future of Warrington

Bold new policies to make planning system more responsive and accountable

David Mowat, Prospective Conservative MP for Warrington South welcomed major new policies from Conservatives to reform England's 'broken' planning system. A new system of 'Open Source' democracy and neighbourhood involvement will help deliver sustainable development across Warrington. Whitehall targets and unelected quangos will be scrapped, to be replaced with collaborative working and new incentives to promote and reward local homes and jobs.

This comes as official Government surveys show only 1 in 3 people think they can influence decisions in their local area, and just 1 in 5 people think they can influence national decisions.

Under a new policy initiative, entitled Open Source Planning, Conservatives will:

•Use collaborative democracy to allow local communities to create 'bottom-up' local plans, helping Warrington's residents shape and protect the character of their neighbourhoods.

•Tackle the scourge of 'garden grabbing' and over-development in residential roads, giving Warrington Borough Council new powers to protect the character of neighbourhoods.

•Increase council and police powers to tackle unauthorised traveller sites and illegal trespass.

•Change Whitehall's restrictive parking rules to ensure more parking spaces are provided in family homes and near local shops, taking the pressure off crowded residential streets such as those in Stockton Heath and Lymm

•Reward WBC and communities through incentives to encourage building new homes and businesses, in contrast to the current regime where Whitehall effectively grabs back the money raised from new homes and business.

•Maintain national Green Belt protection and other special protections for wildlife and the countryside, whilst allowing sustainable development elsewhere in accordance with the local plan.

•Abolish Labour's new unelected and unaccountable central planning quango – the Infrastructure Planning Commission, whilst retaining a fast-track process to avoid planning inquiries taking years; and give Members of Parliament a new role to vote on and ratify national planning policy.

David Mowat said:

"The Government's planning system is a source of immense frustration and concern for many residents across Warrington. Under Labour, planning rules are too complex and too many decisions are taken by unelected officials, ignoring the views of local residents.

"This bold new Conservative vision will put Warrington's residents in the driving seat to help shape our community, transferring power from Whitehall bureaucrats and Labour's unelected regional quangos. This will help deliver new homes and jobs for Warrington, whilst championing local democracy and protecting our local amenity and environment."

Read the full story here

 



Mowat Criticises the lack of a Driving Test Centre in Warrington

David Mowat today met up with several local driving instructors to add his weight to the protest against the Labour Government's recent closure of the Driving Test Centre in Orford. Warrington is now the largest town in the country without its own Test Centre. Local driving instructors have contacted David because they are alarmed at the diminishing number of clients signing up with Warrington-based schools.

Since Warrington learner drivers now have to take their test in Runcorn, many now want to learn to drive on Runcorn's roads instead and therefore book their lessons with Runcorn-based schools. Those that do continue to learn in Warrington have seen pass rates plummet because they have to drive under pressure on unfamiliar roads.



Mowat gives his backing to Barclay's Money Skills

How can six cardboard boxes help young people manage their money? Barclays Money Skills, that's how!

Young people in Warrington will today (Friday 19th February) learn how to balance their budgets effectively through a new and interactive financial capability programme developed by Trading Standards in partnership with Barclays.

With the credit crunch, rising personal debt and insecurity it is more important than ever that young people have the skills to navigate the choppy financial seas. That is why Trading Standards developed its financial literacy programme and teamed up with Barclays to enable it to be delivered to over 9000 young people across the North of England.

The resource is a fun and interactive way for young people to develop the skills that are so vital in the world of finance and banking.The boxes open to reveal six characters whose stereotypical lifestyles enable young people to learn about issues such as budgeting and banking, affordable credit, illegal money lending and subjects such as identity fraud and phishing scams.

Peter Astley, Warrington's Head of Public Protection, said:

"At Trading Standards we believe that it is vital we help young people develop the knowledge and confidence to take a greater responsibility for their financial affairs and to play a more active role in the financial services market".

Rachel Herbinson, Barclays' Community Investment Manager for the North West said:

"Our partnership with Trading Standards will ensure we equip young people with the skills and confidence to make sound financial choices, something which is at the heart of our Community Investment Programme. "

David Mowat, prospective parliamentary candidate for Warrington South:

''It's so important that young people understand money issues and it is great that Barclays Money Skills is delivering these workshops for the community with Trading Standards Services."

Barclays Money Skills is being delivered to Housing Associations, prisons, young offenders institutions, Children's Centres, local community groups and schools and colleges across the North of England. If you would like to get involved please contact the team by email moneyskills@wyjs.org.uk or phone 0113 344 1688, or visit the website at www.ts.wyjs.org.uk

Read the full Barclay's Press Release here


Higher Lane Speeding

David has been working with local residents on Higher Lane in Lymm and helping them with their campaign to make the A56 safer for local people. The Higher Lane Action Group is seeking support from Warrington Borough Council to properly enforce the speed restrictions on the A56 west of Oughtrington Lane. Currently many motorists coming from the Altrincham direction disregard the change of speed limit from 60mph down to 30mph just before Oughtrington Lane and this has made crossing the road hazardous, especially for elderly people, who feel trapped in their own homes.

Although the group contacted the candidates from all the three main parties, as the article above shows, only David was concerned enough to turn up at the meeting


Become your own boss, Mowat offers Warrington's public sector workers

Public sector workers across Warrington could become their own boss and deliver better services under new Conservative plans, backed by David Mowat, Prospective Conservative MP for Warrington South, this week. Under bold proposals, public sector workers would have a powerful new right to form employee-owned co-operatives to take over the services they deliver. This will empower thousands of public sector workers across Warrington.

The new right to form employee-owned co-operatives will apply throughout the vast majority of the public sector – including JobCentre Plus offices, community nursing teams and primary schools. Employee-owned co-operatives will continue to be funded by the state so long as they meet national standards, but will be freed from centralised bureaucracy and political micromanagement. They will be voluntary sector, not-for-profit organisations; any financial surpluses would be reinvested into the service and the staff who work there, rather than distributed to external shareholders.

David Mowat said:

"Public sector workers should have the chance to become their own boss. Employee-owned co-operatives can help cut waste and deliver better services for everyone across Warrington. This could be the biggest shift of power from government to people since the right to buy your council house in the 1980s.

"This shows how Conservatives will give power to the public sector workers who are fed up with Gordon Brown's top-down control of their working lives."

Read the full release here



Give Warrington Superfast Broadband Access now, says Mowat

David Mowat, Prospective Parliamentary Candidate for Warrington South, this week welcomed new Conservative plans to deliver the roll out of superfast broadband at speeds of up to 100 Mbps across Warrington by 2017. This stands in stark contrast to the Government's new £7 per year 'phone tax' on every telephone line.

Gordon Brown's Government wants to impose a new £6 + VAT tax which will be levied on every fixed telephone line in all homes and businesses across the country. Homes with multiple lines might pay multiple times. The tax would be levied on homes with and without broadband access.

Conservatives have unveiled alternative proposals to increase competition and introduce superfast broadband across the United Kingdom. The action plan will:

·Open up BT's 'local loop' monopoly to other telecommunication operators, and review unfair business rate rules.

·Investigate the use of sewers and other utility infrastructure to lay broadband cables.

·Allow telegraph poles to be fitted with fibre optic cables, rather than old fashioned copper wire.

·Ensure that all new homes are capable of receiving superfast broadband through a fibre to the home network.

·Use money currently allocated to the digital TV national switchover to help establish a universal network, and after 2012, look at using this money to ensure superfast broadband reaches rural areas.

At present, 86% of homes in the North West have a fixed telephone line, and 63% have access to some form of broadband internet access.

David Mowat said:

"Warrington's homes and businesses deserve access to the latest 21st Century technology. It's time to end the digital divide and deliver superfast broadband to all parts of the country, including rural areas. Conservatives will open up the BT monopoly and increase competition, while Labour just want to hit homes with an unfair new phone tax. There is nothing that Gordon Brown won't tax, which is why it's time for change."

Read the full release here


David Mowat Attends Parliamentary Lobby to Support Bill which would compensate "Bad Blood" Victims.

Released Feb 5th

On Wednesday Feb 3rd David Mowat, prospective Conservative MP for Warrington South accompanied, Grappenhall based, Michael Kendrick to a parliamentary lobby in support of a bill which would force the Government to pay compensation to hundreds of UK citizens that contracted Hepatitis C from contaminated blood supplied by the NHS in the 1980's. David and Michael were joined by many members of the public and politicians of all political parties to demand that after over 20 years of neglect some provision for the victims is finally made. The parliamentary lobby was to support a Bill, introduced by Labour peer Lord Morris, to implement the findings of the Archer Report into this issue.

David said "the Government is refusing to implement the findings of it's own enquiry and pay at least some compensation to the victims of this tragedy……..but it's not just about money it's about accepting responsibility…….and working constructively to do what they can to support those that have now contracted this virus due to an NHS error."

Michael Kendrick said, "All we are asking for us is the same treatment as those who have contracted HIV as part of the same error…. I am now unable to work and need to find some way to make reasonable provision for my family…….surely that is not too much to ask…"

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