Peter Walker, Liberal Democrat Borough Councillor for Stockton Heath, has welcomed the preliminary clearance of the Forge car park prior to its planned refurbishment. Tenders for the work have gone in but will have to be approved by Warrington Borough Council before the full job can get underway.
Peter says: I am pleased to see that the disused toilet block has now been demolished and the land cleared ready for an extension to this busy car park. This is a step in the right direction, but we are going to have to be patient a bit longer before the planned refurbishment is actually started.
Liberal Democrats welcome increasing support for changes to a fairer voting system. At a recent Warrington Council meeting, the Leader was asked the views of the local Labour Party on this subject.
Liberal Democrat Group Leader, Cllr Bob Barr, asked: It has recently been reported in the press that at least one hundred Labour parties in England and the Welsh Government support a policy of proportional representation. A third of Labour MPs and three quarters of Labour members are said to back this move. Would the Leader tell us if this has been considered in Warrington?
Liberal Democrats are calling on Warrington Borough Council to be more open and transparent about their commercial investments, in line with the findings of a Government-commissioned review on the transparency of local government reporting. Our Finance Spokesperson, Councillor Ian Marks says:
At the last Council meeting I asked the Labour administration about their policy on commercial investments. The Treasury Management report clearly states that HM Treasury will no longer allow local authorities to borrow money from the Public Works Loan Board to purchase commercial property if the aim is solely to generate an income stream. When I raised this at the Audit Committee I was told this wasn't a problem because we could borrow money more cheaply from elsewhere. This may be true, but goes against the spirit of Government thinking and must be questioned. I asked if this new ruling had affected any of our investment proposals.
There are still concerns and uncertainty about the Inland Border Facility at Appleton Thorn despite recent changes to the proposals. The facility will operate round the clock from 1st January.At last week's Warrington Borough Council meeting, Lymm Parish Councillor Tim Martland asked a Public Question about the impact of the facility on surrounding roads and on noise and air pollution.
