The Liberal Democrat/Labour coalition’s first full year in charge of South Gloucestershire Council has been a ‘catalogue of failure’, Conservative councillors say.
The accusation follows a string of missteps by the administration over the past 12 months that have caused alarm and distress among residents.
The coalition was widely criticised last summer for failing to get a proper handle on the bin strikes by SUEZ staff. Residents reported stacks of rubbish and overflowing bins littered all over the district, with many fearing it would lead to a public health crisis.
It was later revealed that not a single member of the Lib Dem/Labour Cabinet had actually met SUEZ staff to see how the dispute could be resolved. Cllr Sam Bromiley, Leader of the Conservative opposition on the council, was the first councillor to meet the striking workers to help broker a resolution.
Since then, the administration has scrapped the district’s longstanding policy of keeping car parking free in all council-owned car parks, despite promising not to, and has published plans that will see large swathes of precious green belt effectively demolished.
Residents are so concerned with the plans to demolish the green belt that in December they set up the local campaign group SOGS (Save Our Green Spaces) to urge the administration to think again.
Over the past year, the coalition has also doubled the garden waste collection fee, introduced charges for blue badge applications and, in another highly controversial move, is planning to reduce the frequency of black bin collections to three-weekly.
And at a council meeting last week (Wed 15 May), the Conservative Group voted against the administration’s proposed four-year plan for South Gloucestershire on the grounds that it contained skewed priorities, lacked detail and performance targets and was littered with contradictions.
Cllr Sam Bromiley, Leader of the Conservative Group, said: “This catalogue of failure by the coalition is simply breath-taking. It’s astonishing how things can go so wrong in such a short space of time.
“The policies that the administration has pursued over the past 12 months have been extremely damaging for residents and businesses in South Gloucestershire, and it’s deeply regrettable that we will likely see more of the same this year.
“The Conservative Group has been consistent in voting against these policies, saying no to car parking charges, higher fees, the destruction of the green belt and other highly controversial proposals.
“We will continue to act as a strong voice for residents on the council while holding Cabinet to account at every opportunity.”
