Your local Conservative team

Local Conservatives won some improvements to the troubled Raeburn Avenue recycling site, but Kingston Council refused to arrange for a scheduled clean-up at the weekend.

The area has suffered from fly-tipping for many years and the overflowing recycling bins look awful and turn the place into a health hazard. A regular clean-up of the site is organised for weekdays, but the main problem seems to occur over the weekends when there isn’t a scheduled clean-up of the site.

Local Conservatives contacted local residents to find out their views and organise a petition. Residents advised us of the following problems:

Rubbish not cleared up, CCTV cameras not checked, Smashing glass during the night, No contact telephone number.

The petition was presented to the Surbiton Neighbourhood Committee, but despite showing initial support, all of the Lib Dem councillors voted

against a weekend clean-up. However, local Conservatives did win some concessions, including extra cardboard bins, an extra litter bin, a new sign advising people who to contact with problems, an occasional mechanical broom clean and a review in March 2010.

Over the coming weeks and months we will try to make regular visits to the site. A permanent solution must be found, as it is not fair to expect local residents to keep calling the Council with complaints and to have to put up with such unsightly and unclean conditions.

Lib Dem run Kingston Council has spent over £30,000 of Council Tax payers’ money on launching the ‘One Council’ initiative that is designed to save money. The event was held at the Rose Theatre. Councillor Ian George broke the story, which was reported in the press and on national websites.

•£3,068.00 was paid for catering, hire of

  crockery, tables and chairs.

•£18,819.00 was paid for ‘Event Management’,

  which includes the set, lighting and technical

  support.

•£7,500.00 for ‘World Cafe support’ –

  apparently to train facilitators!

•£1,390.20 for event handout materials.

That’s a whopping total of £30,777.20 of Kingston Council Tax payers’ money spent on launching an initiative to SAVE money.