Going for Growth – a long-term strategy for making the Borough a great place to live and work is full steam ahead !

An ambitious and exciting strategy to ensure Bexley’s vitality for the next thirty years has been approved by Bexley’s Conservative Cabinet.

The strategy seizes the initiative, and focuses on creating communities and places where people will want to live for generations and securing new businesses and new jobs.

The Growth Strategy has been developed over the last two years, and is supported by all political parties on the London Borough of Bexley. Many public meetings and roadshows were held to develop the strategy, giving many residents and businesses the opportunities to shape the final strategy.

Read the Strategy here.

Cllr Linda Bailey, Cabinet Member for Regeneration and Growth, said:

“The new strategy sets out a long-term vision for Bexley and the principles which will underpin the growth we expect to see. If we rest on our laurels and do nothing then it won’t take long for our Borough to wither and go into decline or the growth to be ‘done unto us’ in a way that could be detrimental to Bexley residents.

That is why we have to start work now, to ensure Bexley has a bright and prosperous future, where people want to live for years to come, and where businesses want to relocate or open up, creating jobs for everyone.”

New homes created behind the Civic Offices

Cllr Bailey added: “There are children starting school who will go into jobs that don’t even exist yet, and we want Bexley to be at the forefront of securing investment and opportunities for everyone who lives here.”

A positive and optimistic future for our brilliant Bexley – Conservative administration publishes vision for the Bexley

Bexley’s Conservative administration has published its vision for the Borough for the next decade.
The new Corporate Plan, agreed by Bexley’s Cabinet, sets out the plans Conservative Councillors have to shape the future of the Borough, building on the achievements of the last decade.
A series of themes reflect the ambitions for Bexley along with specific measurements to show progress on those plans.
Commenting, Leader of Bexley’s Conservative Council, Teresa O’Neill OBE, said: “We have always had very positive and optimistic vision for our Borough and this new strategy sets out our plans for the years ahead.
Like every local council, we have been through a difficult financial period, but because we set a clear strategy for dealing with it, we are emerging in a strong position, ready to make our Borough even better!”

Based around a set of themes, the new plan focuses on:
+ Growth that benefits all

+ Clean and green local places

+ Strong and resilient communities and families

+ Living Well

+ Innovation and self sufficiency

http://democracy.bexley.gov.uk/documents/s80482/Item%204-2%20Corporate%20Plan.pdf

The plan will be published in full on the Council website, along with every individual plan tracked and progress reported for everyone to see.

A Conservative spokesperson added:
“Bexley is officially one of the happiest places in the country, with low crime, successful schools and where our Council is independently judged to offer value for money and for being effective and efficient.

None of those things are accidents but because of hard work by Conservative Councillors working hard for the Boroughs’ residents all year round.”

Bexley – the Borough built on happiness

The annual Office for National Statistics personal well being survey has been published – and once again it shows 75% of Bexley residents have great life satisfaction and are happy!

In fact, the survey also reveals that 8/10 residents think life is worthwhile and that Bexley residents have some of the lowest anxiety rates too.

This is the fourth official and independent survey to show Bexley is one of the happiest place to live in, and is the 5^th year in a row where the ONS shows that happiness level have increased.

This reflects all the positive news that has been seen across Bexley since 2014.

A range of new businesses have opened across the Borough, there are low levels of crime, new hospital facilities have opened at Queen Mary’s, a new community centre for Slade Green, the faltering bridge repaired and improved in Bexley Village, a brand new playground in Belvedere, a new visitors centre at Lesnes Abbey, local schools rated as among the best in the UK, new street lights and more investment in key council services are just some of the many improvements and achievements delivered for residents by your local Conservative Council.

The ONS report shows the personal well being ratings for Bexley:

Life Satisfaction                                             7.5/10

Life is worthwhile                                         7.8/10

Happiness                                                       7.5/10

Anxiety                                                             3.2/10

This report follows the publication of an independent Audit of Council services, which concludes Bexley’s Conservative Council provides value for money for residents, being efficient and effective.

A Bexley Conservatives Spokesperson commented:

“There are so many positive things going on across our Borough, with council services being well received and rated as efficient and effective, it is great to see this reflected by the residents of our Borough having such high levels of life satisfaction and feeling life in Bexley is worthwhile. With Bexley Conservatives, our Borough will always be built on happiness.”

 

The Beach has come to Belvedere

A new and innovative playground at the heart of Belvedere has opened!

The Belvedere Beach is a new playground which is accessible to all, with features for children with disabilities and special needs.

The fantastic opening day saw children queuing with their families around the block as the midday opening drew closer.

Prior to that, a special event organised for children nominated by their school, children supported by local charities and winners of a competiton joined the Mayor of Bexley for the formal ribbon cutting ceremony.

The Belvedere Beach project has been conceived and delivered by Bexley’s Conservative administration, and the final go-ahead was made by the Cabinet last November.

Speaking on the opening day, Cllr Peter Craske, who led the project, said: “18 months ago this was just an idea on a piece of paper and now it is here. The look of joy and excitement on the faces of the hundreds of children who came rushing in was amazing to witness. I am so proud to have created this unique playground.”

Work to build the site started in March and was completed in time to open for school holidays.

The playground during construction

A Bexley Conservatives spokesperson added: “Labour created a Splash Park that only operated for three months a year, and was always breaking down, so was actually open even less than that. It cost a fortune to operate, and no initial budget was set aside to pay for it.We have created a playground that is open all year round, where families can spend time together at any time of the year. It is also financed properly with a kiosk operating all year round as well which will fund the running costs.”

Over a dozen Conservative Councillors from across the Borough supported the opening day, all enjoying the sight of young people enjoying themselves on the beach.

 

Who supported a cleaner and greener Bexley – and who didn’t.

On Wednesday, 1^st March, your Bexley Councillors made the biggest decision of the year – setting the Budget for 2017/18.

The budget was passed and will see £340million invested in providing local services for local people.

Libraries, cleaning streets, repairing roads, caring for adults and children in need of our help, keeping our community safe, schools, planting trees and many more services will be funded from £931,000 a day, and every household in the Borough receives double back in services than they pay in Council Tax.

After what has been a difficult time for local councils across the UK, Bexley’s Conservative administration has delivered what we promised in 2014 – to deal with the situation calmly and strategically and ensure we emerge from this period in a strong position.

While many Councils up and down the country are still slashing services, in Bexley, we have been praised by residents for getting on with the job.

Our budget proposals this year include a raft of new spending plans, to improve front line services.

Every Councillor’s vote on Wednesday night was “roll-called”, meaning every Councillor had to say whether they were FOR the budget proposals, AGAINST them, or whether they would ABSTAIN.

These are just some of the new key budget proposals put forward by your Conservative Councillors, and a note of how Councillors voted.

Waive burial preparation fees for all persons under 18.

VOTED FOR – ALL CONSERVATIVE COUNCILLORS, ONE UKIP COUNCILLOR

VOTED AGAINST – ALL LABOUR COUNCILLORS, ONE UKIP COUNCILLOR

ABSTAINED – ONE UKIP COUNCILLOR

Provide resources to ensure 6,000 vulnerable adults continue to receive the care they need.

VOTED FOR – ALL CONSERVATIVE COUNCILLORS, ONE UKIP COUNCILLOR

VOTED AGAINST – ALL LABOUR COUNCILLORS, ONE UKIP COUNCILLOR

ABSTAINED – ONE UKIP COUNCILLOR

Introducing a new budget to plant and maintain new trees across the Borough

VOTED FOR – ALL CONSERVATIVE COUNCILLORS, ONE UKIP COUNCILLOR

VOTED AGAINST – ALL LABOUR COUNCILLORS, ONE UKIP COUNCILLOR

ABSTAINED – ONE UKIP COUNCILLOR

Introduce a weekly deep clean for our main town centres for the first time ever

VOTED FOR – ALL CONSERVATIVE COUNCILLORS, ONE UKIP COUNCILLOR

VOTED AGAINST – ALL LABOUR COUNCILLORS, ONE UKIP COUNCILLOR

ABSTAINED – ONE UKIP COUNCILLOR

Increase budget for community safety by £135,000

VOTED FOR – ALL CONSERVATIVE COUNCILLORS, ONE UKIP COUNCILLOR

VOTED AGAINST – ALL LABOUR COUNCILLORS, ONE UKIP COUNCILLOR

ABSTAINED – ONE UKIP COUNCILLOR

Scrap previous plans to reduce cleaning of residential streets

VOTED FOR – ALL CONSERVATIVE COUNCILLORS, ONE UKIP COUNCILLOR

VOTED AGAINST – ALL LABOUR COUNCILLORS, ONE UKIP COUNCILLOR

ABSTAINED – ONE UKIP COUNCILLOR

Cutting the cost of politics: Manifesto pledge to cut number of Councillors delivered.

Bexley residents will be electing 30% fewer Councillors from 2018, after the Local Government Boundary Commission published its final plans for new wards across the Borough.

The review, formally triggered by Bexley’s Conservative Council, will mean that rather than the 63 Councillors who have been elected every 4 years since 2002, from now on, there will be only 45 elected, starting from the next local elections.

This delivers in full the Bexley Conservatives 2014 local election manifesto pledge to cut the number of Councillors, exactly as promised.

It follows delivery of the pledge to freeze Councillor allowances, a freeze that has been in place since 2009, and which means in real terms, allowances have actually been cut year after year.

Alongside that, Councillors in Bexley have claimed virtually no expenses.

Bexley Conservatives are the only group of Councillors in the UK to have voluntarily initiated a Boundary Commission review explicitly to reduce the number of Councillors.

Read the details

A Conservative spokesman said:

“We pledged we would cut the number of Councillors, having already delivered our previous pledge to freeze Councillor allowances.

It cannot be right to reduce costs elsewhere in the Council but leave Councillors untouched. That is why we made the pledge in our 2014 election campaign.”

The decisions are specific ward sizes and arrangements are not taken by political parties, but by the independent Local Government Boundary Commission for England.