The idea of 15 minute neighbourhoods, where daily essentials like shops, pharmacists, and so on are a reachable in a 15 minute walk, might be a noble one. However, for people living in rural areas, who are less able-bodied or need to use their cars to get about, it seems to offer less. For them, a car is not a luxury, it is a vital necessity. The concept of 15 minute neighbourhoods seem to assume everyone can walk; for an ageing population I’m not sure how sensible that is.
Conservatives believe in being genuinely pro-choice. We think residents are best able to make these decisions for themselves. Whether they want to walk, cycle, use public transport or drive, Wokingham Borough Conservative Group wants to make that easier.
To make public transport more accessible from this week the Conservative Government has extended the £2 bus fare cap in England. We want to improve cycling and walking routes, including crossing for schools that the Lib Dems have rejected or have chosen not to progress. I was very surprised at the last Council meeting that when I highlighted the case of a child being knocked down by a cyclist on Shinfield Road, the Liberal Democrats’ response was that “accidents do happen” and there was no commitment to reassessing the road for a crossing.
The concern we have is that the Lib Dems will drive ahead with the idea of trying to stop cars, rather than putting in place the infrastructure and services that are needed to support better connected and safe walking and cycling routes across the whole of the Borough. Given their track record in office, residents can hardly be blamed for thinking this.
So far, all the Lib Dems seem to want to do is punish car users. They hiked car parking charges, with Cllr Paul Fishwick openly saying it was partly to reduce the number of cars coming into our towns in “inappropriate journeys”. They seem to think they can decide for us whether our journey is appropriate or not.
These nanny state anti car policies, have been deeply unpopular in other areas. Earlier this year, there were protests in Oxford against plans to introduce Low Traffic Neighbourhoods in the city, which was part of the Labour council’s wider 15-minute city scheme.
Liberal Democrats in York lost power last May as a result of their ban on cars in the city centre, which even extended to blue badge holders.
At the heart of this unpopularity is a failure to prioritise the services and infrastructure to allow those who want to, to reduce their car use. It’s no good demanding people use public transport if you’re unwilling to find a funding solution to extend bus services or if your population is spread across many different towns and villages meaning infrequent and unreliable public transport. But the other key piece is taking local people with you and letting them decide. Consulting with residents is vital – something Liberal Democrats repeatedly fail to do. Such policies must ensure that changes go ahead with local consent, not just because it’s forced through by a group of councillors who have the luxury of not needing to use a car.
Conservative councillors in Wokingham Borough believe that decisions should be based on the wants and needs of the local community that you set out. When we ran the Council, we worked hard to involve residents, businesses and local organisations in policies that would have a significant impact on a local area and to provide genuine choice. If we are elected next year as the Council’s administration, we would commit to working to ensure that people have a genuine choice and good quality sustainable travel options.
