Bower's Contract: 4. Fixing Planning

Local planning policies are broken. I want to see an end to garden grabbing, insufficient parking on new developments, the sacrifice of open spaces and the destruction of Cambridge's heritage.

Many of our problems derive from national rules, including effective maximum parking restrictions and crazy housing targets. Indeed the threat to Marshall was a consequence of Labour's housing targets, as warned by local Conservatives but dismissed as scaremongering by Labour councillors. Yet the city is suffering from a lack of family housing - a problem that the current mass development plans don't address.

However, the city council's own rules (the 'local plan') and the manner of their implementation make problems much worse.

If elected I would add my voice to that of Chris Howell's in calling for a rapid rethink of the plan, along with strategic development plans to take advantage of what we must all hope will be a new Conservative government's cancellation of Regional Spatial Strategies and reform of planning rules.

Even without a Conservative government, however, I would call for the city council to strengthen the plan to protect Cambridge's heritage, to remove the crazy tighter local requirement for maximum parking provision that is currently ensuring chaos for the future and to cut down on garden-grabbing developments.

Bower's Contract: 3. Working Hard

My third pledge if elected at this election is to work hard for Coleridge residents throughout the year, keeping residents regularly informed by newsletters and on the blog and being accessible to residents.

There is currently only one Conservative on the city council in Chris Howell, who punches well above his weight at the Guildhall. Electing another Conservative would make us twice a effective. And with the Conservatives you don't just hear from the person who is next up for election - the whole team works hard.

Much of our work over the last year can be scrutinised on this blog.

A Conservative government would also be excellent news for Coleridge and Cambridge. I urge you to vote for Nick Hillman for MP to help us get the changes we badly need nationally as well as locally on issues like planning. However, when it comes to the crunch I will always put local residents first.

Bower's Contract: 2. No Congestion Charge

My second main pledge to Coleridge if I am elected as city councillor on Thursday is to continue to oppose congestion charging for Cambridge.

Congestion charging is not the right answer for Cambridge. I have campaigned hard against the charge ever since it was proposed in 2007.

Cambridge badly needs funding for transport infrastructure to match the huge developments being forced on it but the Labour government's answer was to blackmail the county council saying funding would only be available if a congestion charge were implemented, via the Transport Innovation Fund (TIF).

Congestion charging would be a complete disaster for Cambridge, fail to raise enough revenue to pay for its network of spy cameras and adversely impact most those on low incomes who rely on motor vehicles for trade.

Many Conservatives on the county council voted against the TIF bid but Coleridge's Labour county councillor voted for congestion charging with a spirited defence of the Labour government. The Lib Dems and the Greens are also right behind this lunatic plan and are desperate to resurrect the now dormant plan for congestion charging.

Fortunately the TIF scheme has been proven to be unworkable and the government has found it necessary to replace it.

I will stay vigilant to the risk to Cambridge of any renewed attempts to introduce congestion charging.

Bower's Contract: 1. Lower Council Tax

This is the first of a series of posts running up to the city council election on Thursday in which I will cover my five main pledges to Coleridge to which I would work if elected.

Every Conservative should put the taxpayer foremost when dealing with taxpayers' money. That means that every pound is spent well.

Cambridge City Council has been increasing council tax by 4.5% year on year. For this general election year only they are raising it by only 2.5% but have planned to raised it by 3.5% and then 4.5% in the following years. That means an Olympic-sized cumulative tax rise of 11% by the Olympic year of 2012.

I would push for the city council to keep council tax rises down to 2.5% or lower for the next two years so that they can benefit from the council tax freeze promised by the Conservatives nationally if, as we all must hope, they get elected. In contrast the Conservative-run county council is planning 2.5% rises for those years, meaning council tax bills would be frozen.

The graph above shows council tax rises after the application of the Conservative national council tax freeze for frugal councils that keep their rises below 2.5% by 2.5% matching funding.

The full Conservative policy on the city council for keeping council tax low is on pages 10 and 11 of our manifesto.

We need a new culture at the city council to keep council tax under control. Instead of incremental budget changes that are thoroughly opaque we should instigate 'zero-based budgeting' whereby all expenditure is justified afresh and the council doesn't just keep on doing things which may not be to taxpayers' benefit because they haven't been identified.

David Cameron has the right idea when he talks about Labour’s ‘carnival of waste’:

I know there are those who will hear us talking about cut waste and say "you'll be no different, you'll have your pet projects, you'll go native when you start living in the land of bureaucrats". So let me explain why we'll be different. We'll be different because we are different. First, our attitude is different. Conservatives loathe waste. Efficiency is in our DNA. We never forget that fundamental fact about public money, which is that it's public, it's yours, not ours. It doesn't undergo some magical transformation at the Treasury to become government money. Those are the same pounds that were earned by you on the factory floor, on the hospital ward, in the office and we will never forget that we have a moral duty not to spend your money but to save it where we can.

Good government costs less with the Conservatives!

I would do my best to keep council tax down, following the best practices of Conservative councils across the UK and taking a lead by calling for councillor allowances to be cut by 10%.

Campaign Pledges

All Coleridge residents should have received a copy of my first campaign newsletter - if you are a Coleridge resident who hasn't received it, be in touch and I'll dig out a spare.

As is tradition with these things, I have some campaign pledges. The Conservatives aren't about to take control of Cambridge City Council (we don't have any Councillors at all at the moment!), so it is difficult to promise how things will change, but these pledges describe what I think the key issues are in this election, and how having a Conservative Councillor will be able to make a difference.

1. Putting the council tax payer first
I will stand up for the Council Tax payer, continually question why our tax bills are so high and suggest cost savings where possible.
2. Planning for the future
I will fight plans that overdevelop sites around Coleridge, such as the airport and campaign to ensure all new developments are high quality and include significant transport improvements.
3. Tackling antisocial behaviour
I will work with the Council, police and management at trouble spots like the Leisure Park, looking for solutions that will reduce anti-social behaviour and make those who cause problems responsible for their actions.
4. Oppose plans for Congestion Charging in Cambridge
Labour is trying to blackmail Cambridge into agreeing to a congestion charge. I will oppose these plans.
5. Working harder for Coleridge Ward
I will fight tirelessly for local residents on ward issues. I will hold regular surgeries, and keep in touch regularly through newsletters and the internet.

I've already blogged on some of these issues, including Council Tax, Congestion Charging and Anti-social behaviour.

Planning is a huge topic - but some of the most important changes to Cambridge for centuries will be made over the next decade, with mind-boggling levels of new housing planned. Don't be mislead (particularly if you have been a keen student of some of Labour's literature in this election campaign!) - this housing is coming as a result of the Labour government attempting to force thousands of houses onto us by central dictat - the County Council was obliged to put together a structure plan that including vast levels of new housing, and the Lib Dems running the City Council (who really don't seem to care at all for Coleridge) insisted that the airport site should be chosen for thousands of high density houses. Government planning rules try to dictate in great detail how sites are developed, and as Councils demand the right to determine who lives in as many of the houses as possible, at vast cost paid for by some of those who can least afford it. The result is poor quality housing, failures to meet best environmental standards, lacking distinctive design, lacking facilities, lacking parking lacking decent transport and causing transport chaos for existing residents. Local objections to these grand plans appear to count for absolutely nothing, so we are in the crazy situation when many people desperately need housing in the area, yet every potential development is fought tooth and nail because people know it is going to be so horrible. It is hard to know what one Councillor can do, but I would like to argue the case for high quality new development, that local people will welcome, and we can be proud to look back on in a generation's time and say Cambridge is the better for it.