Gloucester City Council
Top ten
Conservative City Council successes
1. Council Tax rises kept low to just 3% a year for three years
and only 3.9% this year.
2. Labour’s and LibDems’ debt of £10 million
repaid.
3. Regeneration taking place—including St Oswald’s Park,
Gloucester Docks and Gloucester Quays underway and a new Kings Square ‘first
phase’ completed.
4. Gloucester Park’s £1.2 million
transformation.
5. Britain in Bloom Gold award for Gloucester two years in
succession.
6. £40 million of investment secured to modernise the city’s
council housing.
7. Recycling rates more than trebled.
8. Award-winning anti-litter campaign and higher standards of
street cleaning.
9. Folk Museum saved from Labour and LibDem
closure.
10. Christmas ice rink brought to Gloucester as well as the Tall Ships
Festival.
Background on local government
Most people's main contact with government is through its local council, and yet what all the different layers of government do remains a mystery for many.
When I became a councillor I quickly found that in some places in Gloucestershire one council cuts the grass by the pavement, another is responsible for trimming the branches of trees above and a third repaints the yellow lines beside the same pavement. For most of us this work is done by 'the council' - which one is something few people know or care. It's a real challenge for local government to communicate who does what and how it's paid for.
It's your city council, for example, that collects your rubbish, provides recycling facilities, provides housing support and processes planning applications. It also owns the GL1 lesiure centre and city museums and has formed a Trust for the Llanthony Priory.
The county council's main responsibilities include education, social services and transport - so the body that deals with things like road repairs and traffic signs, advises which schools provide sixth forms, and what social services care is available.
All of us pay for both services through the council tax administered by the city council, which also covers the levy for the county's Police. A lot of people therefore think that the city council is responsible for the local tax increase, when actually its services are only a small part of the total.
Over the years people have become cynical about the ability of local councillors to deliver the services they want. Voter participation in local government electons has dropped. And yet at the same time the attention we all pay to environmental, health and education issues has increased. We're all greener now - and it's a good thing. so good local government DOES matter, and councillors give a huge amount to their communities.
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Council