Transport & the Environment

Fight the Regional Spatial Strategy
o The Government’s Regional Spatial Strategy (RSS) would see thousands of houses built across Gloucestershire. Most of these would be built on greenfield sites around Gloucester and Cheltenham.
o The Conservatives have always opposed these policies. Gloucestershire Conservatives were the only councillors to vote against the plan at the South West Regional Assembly. We believe that there are too many houses in total and that the concentration on Gloucester and Cheltenham places too great a burden on roads, schools and other facilities.
o A future Conservative Government would scrap the RSS, scrap the remaining regional assemblies and give planning powers back to local councils.
o We will continue to fight the RSS tooth and nail. If the Government will not listen, we will look into taking legal action to stop their plans.

Oppose bin taxes
o We believe that people in Gloucestershire already pay enough tax. We don’t think that people in the county should have to pay extra to have their bins emptied, with the exception of covering the extra cost of garden waste collections. We’d rather see moves to reward good recyclers, than punish everyone with bin taxes.
o We will oppose moves to introduce charges for general household waste collection in Gloucestershire.

Increasing recycling in Gloucestershire to 70% by 2020
o Under Labour and the Liberal Democrats, just 24% of Gloucestershire’s rubbish was recycled. In just four years Conservatives have increased this to 43%. The Government has set the county a target of only 50% by 2020 – and won’t help us do better. We think Gloucestershire can do a lot better – without the need for bin taxes.
o We believe that the maximum level of recycling that can be achieved without bin taxes is around 70%. Higher levels than this have only ever been achieved on a large scale with residual waste charges. We would increase Gloucestershire’s recycling to 70% by 2020.

Improve local roads
o Adjusting for inflation, Gloucestershire’s roads needed £180m of repairs when we took over from Labour and the Liberal Democrats. Now, despite the floods and a bad winter, that figure is down to £130m.
o For many people the most important roads are the ones nearest to home. Those might be the roads on their street, their housing estate or in their village. The Government agrees that Gloucestershire’s major roads have improved under the Conservatives. The Audit Commission has said that, whilst under Labour and the Liberal Democrats Gloucestershire’s roads were amongst the worst in the country, they are now up to national standards. As a result we can now put extra money into local roads.
o We will put an extra £10m into repairing, resurfacing and upgrading local roads.

Better train services for Gloucestershire
o Conservatives have been at the forefront of the fight to improve Gloucestershire’s railways. We have lead the campaign to double the train tracks between Kemble and Swindon. Improving this section of track would allow more, faster and reliable trains from London to Cheltenham, Gloucester and Stroud.
o The Government’s Office of the Rail Regulator has refused to fund the project – despite overwhelming evidence from Gloucestershire people and businesses in favour of the project.
o We will keep campaigning for the completion of this vital project.

Nettleton Bottom
o The A417 between Swindon and Gloucester/Cheltenham is a vital Gloucestershire transport link. Despite most of the road being dual carriageway, there is still a single lane section between the Cowley roundabout and the A46 junction. This section is a cause of both considerable delay and also dangerous accidents – particularly down the notorious Crickley Hill.
o Gloucestershire businesses have highlighted the missing link as a key infrastructure concern – hindering economic development in Gloucestershire.
o We will continue to press the Government hard to put in the funds that this road so desperately needs to upgrade it to the standard Gloucestershire deserves.

Trial a car club in Cheltenham
o Car clubs give local people access to cars which can be hired for a short length of time at a low cost. For some people they can be a cheaper alternative to owning a car or a way to avoid having to buy a second car.
o We know that car clubs have worked elsewhere in the country – and indeed a car club in Stroud, which the county council helped set up. They can make people’s lives easier and more convenient – and greener at the same time. We would like to see if they would work more widely in Gloucestershire.
o We will work with a national provider of car clubs to trial the scheme in Cheltenham. If it works – and is a good deal for taxpayers too – we will look at rolling out the scheme more widely across Gloucestershire.
national leader in fighting flooding
o Under the Conservatives, Gloucestershire has delivered over £8m in extra flood defences and set up the national flood forum to fight for better flood protection.
o We will keep fighting to get the flood defences that Gloucestershire needs.
o We will maintain, continue and improve the council’s work in cutting the risk of flooding across the county.

Free on-street parking for greenest cars
o We want to reward people for being green. If you drive one of the very greenest cars in Gloucestershire, which come into the Government’s Band A category, we will give you one hour’s free parking in County Council on-street parking bays.

Keep lorries on appropriate roads
o We're running a trial programme to restrict lorries to major roads, unless they are making deliveries.  Lorries on the wrong roads can be dangerous, make life a misery for residents and damage roads.  Our Lorry Management Zone is being trialled in the AONB in the east of Gloucestershire.  If it proves a success we'll look at rolling it out across the county.