The Renfrewshire Green party have revealed their Renfrewshire manifesto for the 2017 Council elections.
The manifesto is intended to complement the national Council election manifesto which concentrates on three broad themes which their Councillors will prioritise if elected to Renfrewshire Council.
People living in the towns and villages around Renfrewshire require a public transport network that meets their needs. Better buses, roads, trains but also cycling and pedestrian networks are essential for connecting communities in and around Renfrewshire.
The Greens have said that they believe that efforts should be put into developing a more integrated, fairer and greener public transport network across Renfrewshire.
Three ‘Connecting Communities’ pledges are:
- Ensure that public transport is made accessible, affordable and fair by seeking to create a publicly owned bus company for Renfrewshire.
- Fight to make sure that City Deal works for the whole of Renfrewshire and is used towards a more integrated transport system across Renfrewshire communities.
- Put people’s health first and make pedestrian and cycling transport more attractive by pushing your Council to allocate 10% of its transport budget to upgrade the quality of the walking and cycling networks.
The Greens are making pleges on Housing, they said: “Renfrewshire deserves a more committed and bolder approach to housing. This means greater investment in social housing, better design to enhance accessibility and provision to support the construction of affordable, high quality and energy-efficient homes.
“But we also recognise that construction should be considerate towards the environment in which people across our communities build their lives and expect to thrive.”
Three of the ‘Creating Affordable Homes’ pledges are:
- Ensure that the benefits of any greenbelt development outweigh the costs while seeking to prioritise the redevelopment of brown-field sites.
- Support the construction of new social housing and new creative housing initiatives to engage afresh with our local rented property stock.
- Improve the quality of life within our communities by integrating new developments or redevelopments within the fabric of our towns and villages.
The Greens also want to protecting public services, they said: “We believe that schools and childcare should be at the heart of our communities because they don’t simply provide vocational training; they also contribute to forming the responsible citizens of tomorrow.
“We also believe that a high-quality social care system is essential for Renfrewshire in order to support people’s health and maintain their individual freedom, dignity and control over their lives.
“At the heart of our priorities are community involvement and listening forums where our neighbours can put forward their own needs and receive support from their elected representatives.
There of their services pledges are:
- Support schools to deliver the fundamental skills of literacy and numeracy while also emphasising learning over standardised testing.
- Campaign to support fair working practices and recognise that all social care workers should have better pay and conditions, helping Renfrewshire to recruit and retain the best staff.
- Seek to prevent the closure of schools across our villages and towns and maintain quality library resources in all schools.
A spokesperson for Renfrewshire Greens said: “Green Councillors can and will make positive changes in our communities by putting power where it belongs- in the hands of the citizens who live and work here.”
You can download the full Renfrewshire manifesto here.