Money secured for cleaner streets, community groups and planning enforcement
Bristol’s Liberal Democrat Councillors have secured additional money for cleaner streets, community groups, planning enforcement and more in the City Council’s draft budget, published today (22nd January).
Cllr Jos Clark (Liberal Democrat, Brislington West), Leader of the Liberal Democrat Group, said:
“We are proud to have secured additional funding towards cleaning up our streets and improving Bristol’s urban environment. With an extra £350,000 going towards street cleansing and fly tipping collection, it is good to see the Council moving in the right direction after successive years of neglect under the previous Labour administration.
“However, we know that more needs to be done to clean up Bristol and make it the best it can be. The Liberal Democrats will continue to push for more resources to tackle fly tipping, dirt and litter.”
Cllr Stephen Williams (Liberal Democrat, Westbury-on-Trym and Henleaze), Chair of the Public Health and Communities Committee, said:
“I was proud to have worked with Green Party colleagues to fully secure the libraries budget at a record-early point in the budget process, allowing the recently passed libraries strategy to produce a vision for the future of our library service with confidence. This firm backing is exactly what our library service needs after years of stealth cuts under Bristol Labour.
“I am now glad to announce that an additional £110,000 has been secured for small grants as part of the Bristol Impact Fund, which will go to local community groups. These groups make a real difference within our local community and are vital to the fabric of Bristol.
“Additionally, we welcome the commitment of £270,000 of investment towards the reprovision of public toilets. The mass closure of public toilets under Labour was a real loss for the city. We look forward to working with others to deliver new public toilets to improve our public spaces and access to them for those with medical conditions and disabilities.”
Cllr Andrew Brown (Liberal Democrat, Hengrove and Whitchurch Park), Chair of the Economy and Skills Committee, said:
“As part of the budget drafting process, I have secured £300,000 towards planning enforcement, with the money to go towards the recruitment of additional planning officers. Planning enforcement is a crucial part of our planning system, investigating breaches to planning law and ensuring developments comply with all relevant obligations. These funds will help the team deliver on the new Local Enforcement Plan agreed at the last Economy and Skills Committee Meeting.
“We also welcome the commitment of an additional £1.3m towards the Recycling Improvement Fund over two years. This will deliver measures which were backed by Liberal Democrat Cllr Tim Kent, and will see improvements such as absorbent hygiene product collection, a container refresh campaign, and an additional fly-tip collection round.”
Notes to editors:
- Draft budget: ModernGov - bristol.gov.uk
- Press release on library budget: Bristol’s library budget protected in full - Bristol Liberal Democrats
