Coventry Conservatives have unveiled the full details of their alternative budget as Coventry City Council prepares to debate Labour’s proposals for the year ahead.
The plans include key pledges to protect Sure Start, give help to local traders and support local volunteers. Conservatives would also increase the money available for Highways Maintenance and make a landmark commitment to replace Coventry’s aging Sports Centre in Fairfax Street, including its 50m Olympic Pool, by selling the City Council’s share holding in Birmingham International Airport.
The alternative Budget proposals also honor pledges made in recent months to save the Coventry Direct Express Bus, cap the price of Meals on Wheels for the vulnerable, scrap plans for car parking charges in War Memorial Park and retain the current system of Discretionary School Bus Passes. The Conservative Group will also support plans to spend additional money on Child Protection Services and use Government funding to freeze Council Tax.
Cllr Kevin Foster, the Deputy Leader of the Conservative Group, said: “The Labour Group is trying to make out they have no choice when making their Budget decisions, yet we are clear there are choices they can make which will both protect vital services and deliver real improvements. The Conservative Group’s Budget unveiled today would see Sure Start protected, local traders supported and additional roads repaired. It would also keep our promises on residents parking and saving the Coventry Direct Express.”
“I hope the Labour Group will take a second look at their proposals this afternoon and back our plan to leave a major Olympic legacy in Coventry by making over £12m of funding available to pump prime the replacement of our aging Sports Centre in Fairfax St, including the 50m pool at its heart. This would be a lasting legacy for our City and a real investment in our future.”
In relation to Conservative plans to dispose of the City Council’s shareholding in Birmingham International Airport Cllr Foster commented: “Public resources should be used to support Council Services in Coventry, not Business Class Lounges in Birmingham. The return on the Council’s investment in recent years has been less than the interest this amount would have received in a High Street savings account. The Airport needs investment, but this should not be off the back of Coventry Council taxpayers. I believe that the figure we have incorporated in our Budget could be far higher in reality as purchasing Coventry’s shares would be of real advantage to anyone looking to invest in the Airport.”
He concluded: “Unlike the Labour Group’s tactics over the last 6 years, I believe that an alternative Budget should show what you actually would do in control. No sales of unidentified assets, no complaining about the use of reserves whilst proposing to spend more and real choices made about Coventry’s future, not just a list of complaints. That is what these proposals do and what we will look to implement if elected in May.”