Our Policies
Providing better opportunities for leisure
Keeping the local economy healthyLabour will focus on local job creation after the massive cuts in support programmes under the Liberal Democrats and recent major job losses. We will continue to promote York as a Science City . We will particularly focus on adequately paid jobs for those who have been displaced by traditional employers in York, and who find it difficult to acquire new professional skills. York has very low unemployment thanks to Labour’s previous work. However, it is important that any new jobs primarily benefit York residents. Given the need to balance impacts on housing, transport and the historic character of the City, we will not support a simplistic growth policy that increases congestion and forces house prices up to the detriment of less well off York residents. We want to make sure that York school leavers, and other York residents seeking work or better paid jobs have the right skills, qualifications and attitudes to make the most of the new jobs. Labour Councillors have already commissioned work to see how well the Council and Science City’s initiatives match York’s job requirements – particularly in meeting the needs of those losing well paid jobs at Nestle, British Sugar and Norwich Union. Getting about effectively
Making neighbourhoods work
Tackling the housing crisisYork is in the grip of a housing crisis. The Council’s 2006 draft housing market assessment showed that:
We will act urgently to increase the overall number of sustainably designed new homes, particularly affordable & family houses, but we will not simply let the City be over-developed with unaffordable buy to let flats. We will also oppose the sub-division of needed family housing. Labour will seek a higher housing allocation, and to bring housing sites forward. We will not go down the Lib Dem / Green line of reducing house building, and forcing the less well off to move out of York. We fully support a higher affordable homes target; Oxford has reached a level 46% on new developments, which shows it can be done. We will also explore other innovative ways to tackle the housing crisis, including working with our partners in the Golden Triangle of Leeds, York & Harrogate, where house prices are also high. Community Safety
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Widening the choice and improving the quality of active leisure pursuits will be an important area for us, with its links to
promoting good health and well-being.
The Liberal Democrats have been an absolute disaster in this area - the Barbican Pool closed, the Edmund Wilson refurbishment put back
four years, and then substituted with a reduced size pool at Oaklands and the Barbican sports facilities not properly replaced.
We need to do substantially more than the Lib Dems have done to respond to the continued rapid rise in car ownership and usage.
Part of the solution is a major upgrade to the Northern Ring Road, along with measures to get unnecessary through
traffic out of the City centre and to avoid secondary problems on roads feeding on to the Northern ring road.
We will make it a priority to promote a bid to bring forward the large amount of funding required for this vital project,
and to significantly improve public transport and traffic management systems in the City.
We will introduce neighbourhood management for key local services, like street cleaning, and tackling anti social behaviour. We will consult on proposals affecting your neighbourhood and use surveys to seek your views and ideas on improvements and how to achieve them. A local charter will incorporate what is agreed. You will be listened to, decisions taken will be explained and local performance monitored and reported back. By acting together with residents Local Labour can help local communities to solve the problems in their own areas.
Feeling safe from crime is very important. No one should feel afraid of venturing out of their front door, to go down the street to the local shops, to the park or to bingo. Labour will support continued spending on community safety such as lighting, alleygating and community rangers. We want ward based Police beats and regular reporting to ward meetings. We will work to revitalise the Safer York Partnership, which coordinates Citywide safety but which has been neglected and starved of funds by the Liberal Democrats. We will ensure the active and effective participation of Council staff in delivering an updated Crime Reduction Strategy with strong, firm measures against nuisance behaviour and vandalism and support for the Youth Offending Team.