Local Manifesto - Canterbury District Green Party

Canterbury District Green Party Local Manifesto 2023

1. Reduce carbon emissions and encourage affordable renewable energy projects.

2. Reduce traffic congestion and air pollution, investing in more dedicated cycle routes and promoting public transport.

3. Promote affordable housing for all, encourage social community-led housing projects and regulate holiday lets.

4. Protect local open space and woodland and restrict ‘cowpat’ developments.

5. Improve recycling rates and clean up our streets.

6. Reduce plastic pollution and litter on our streets.

7. Support independent small businesses and cooperatives.

8. Press for better water quality and combat sewage pollution.

9. Promote improved community health services.

10. Strengthen local democracy and accountability.

Read on for more detail…

Green councillors’ top priorities if elected in the May 2023 local council elections will be:

Ensuring action to address the climate emergency is at the heart of all Council policies and decisions
The environmental impact of any and every action taken by the Council will be a prime consideration
Monitoring our progress towards achieving all the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals

Our key concerns for the District focus on:

1. Reducing carbon emissions

develop a clear route to Net Zero for the Council
retrofit social housing and create a trained workforce for retrofitting buildings across the District
introduce Passivhaus standards for all building projects
ensure the Council’s carbon footprint has been reduced in every possible way (eg electric fleet of vehicles, electric power tools and vehicles specified in maintenance contracts)
encourage renewable energy and community energy projects

2. Reducing traffic congestion and air pollution

a park-and-ride for Whitstable and North Canterbury
clear signage for all park-and-rides on approaches to them with strong encouragement to use them
extend residents’ only parking in busy residential areas
ensure the installation of more charging points for electric vehicles in all public car parks, housing developments and on streets
20 mph speed limit in all residential areas
introduce low traffic neighbourhoods

3. Affordable housing for all

building genuinely affordable homes, such as social, community-led and co-operative housing, preferably on brownfield sites, and encouraging self-build and custom-build homes that directly meet people’s needs
bring empty properties back into use
setting up a living rent commission to make rents no more than a third of local median incomes, ensuring secure tenancies and the Right to Rent if a householder falls behind on mortgage payments
making sure all Houses in Multiple Occupation are registered and inspected so they provide high-standard accommodation

4. Maintaining open space and woodland

fight planned development on any greenfield site, especially open spaces and woodland
reduce grass-cutting where possible to encourage pollinators and reduce use of pesticides in parks and council property

5. Improving recycling rates and cleaning up our streets

carry out an intensive campaign to educate all residents on recycling and disposal of all kinds of waste
provide multi-compartment bins on high streets

6. Reducing plastic pollution

support the ‘plastic-free’ movements across the District
double compartment waste/recycling bins for beaches and parks
campaign for an alternative to the thousands of disposable takeaway cups and glasses being used by cafés, pubs and festivals

7. Helping independent small businesses and cooperatives

promote and expand local producers’ street markets, co-operatives and directories of local businesses, encouraging independent shops

8. Improving water quality

campaign for an earlier end to the dumping of raw sewage into our rivers and off our coasts
provide improved information for local residents about water pollution, including by carrying out citizen science water testing where necessary
ensure that housing development takes account of the need to deal with wastewater without dumping raw sewage into rivers and the sea

9. Providing better health services

campaign for better community health services
campaign for more doctors, dentists, mental health specialists, district nurses and midwives

10. Improving local democracy

campaign for more powers to be devolved to local councils and elections using proportional representation
campaign for the creation of unitary authorities for different parts of Kent (eg East Kent, Mid Kent, West Kent) to replace Kent County Council and take over some of the competencies of Canterbury City Council eg for waste collection. Town councils would then be set up with increased powers over planning in Canterbury, Whitstable and Herne Bay to replace Canterbury City Council
campaign to introduce higher bands of council tax for larger properties and making the tax paid more proportionate to the value of the house in order to generate more income for public services and reverse cuts
at the earliest opportunity return the Council’s governance system to a committee system to increase the involvement of more councillors in democratic decision-making

11. Increasing Council staffing

restore post of Chief Executive Officer to ensure overall vision, oversight and implementation of key Council policies
increase number of staff in key departments to add to sustainability and energy planning resources in the Council

For more detail on our policies, read on:

1. Reducing carbon emissions

We all know there are national and international targets for reducing carbon emissions in order to ensure the global temperature rise doesn’t exceed 1.5°C. Beyond that limit, extreme weather events such as droughts, hurricanes and flooding will cause serious devastation all over our planet, blighting lives, causing societal breakdown, and even threatening the survival of humankind. Action needs to be taken at every level of society from the individual to national government; local government must play its part.

Carbon emissions from our housing stock in this country are higher than many other countries in Europe. Retrofitting buildings to better insulate them and ensure they are more energy-efficient will not only ensure they don’t emit carbon, but also reduce heating bills.

New buildings can be constructed in a much more environmentally friendly way and can be made zero-carbon with Passivhaus standards.

If elected, we pledge to:

develop a clear route to Net Zero for the Council.
use the Lewes model for pooling funds with other local authorities to retrofit social housing and create a trained workforce for retrofitting buildings across the District.
require Passivhaus standards for all building projects and seek to revise planning permit requirements to include high insulation and energy generation standards.
ensure Council buildings and activities achieve zero carbon targets.
actively campaign and advise to help businesses and households to reduce their carbon emissions.
encourage use of renewable energy by making it easier for businesses and homes to move to solar and wind power, as well as replacing boilers powered by fossil fuels.
assist Council officers in developing a Local Area Energy Plan.
promote a public transport hub at Canterbury West.
implement a robust tree-planting programme throughout the District to absorb both carbon and floodwater (Trees absorb 67 times the amount of water as compared to grassland).
promote the installation of rainwater harvesting on all new builds.
promote the installation of green roofs and sustainable urban drainage systems that reduce flooding from storms.
Encourage and stimulate development of community insulation, community green energy generation and procurement plans at scale and district heating plans across the District

Click here to read the Green Party’s plan for a #SafeClimate

2. Reducing traffic congestion and air pollution

Traffic congestion and the air pollution it causes have long been problems in Canterbury and Whitstable. They not only affect residents’ health and quality of life but are also bad for business and tourism. We were instrumental in commissioning a Sustainable Transport Blueprint for Canterbury from sustainable transport expert Dr Lynn Sloman a decade ago and have been highlighting ways of cutting congestion for all that time, aiming to make it easier to cycle, walk, share cars and use public transport.

Parking is also a problem for many, leading to a waste of time and increased costs, pollution and carbon emissions as cars drive around in search of a parking spot.

If elected, we pledge to:

install permanent park-and-ride services for Whitstable and North Canterbury.
put up clear signage for all park-and-rides on approaches to them with strong encouragement to use them.
consider setting up warehouses on the outskirts of towns in the District where all online shopping deliveries are stored for ongoing delivery by electric vehicles.
extend residents’ only parking in busy residential areas, such as Whitstable town centre.
create a genuine transport hub at Canterbury West.
put forward plans for a non-profit-making electric or biofuel hopper bus service in Canterbury linking cross-town points such as Canterbury West and East stations and the bus station, going through the Westgate Towers.
fund more comprehensive monitoring of air quality in all parts of the District, taking action if it doesn’t meet WHO standards and poses a long-term risk to health.
prioritise funding for sustainable transport.
extend pedestrian and shared vehicle-pedestrian zones.
extend bus lanes on routes into Canterbury.
campaign to provide frequent bus services from all surrounding areas.
complete as soon as possible all cycle routes identified in the Council’s Transport Strategy.
introduce 20mph speed limits in all residential areas.
encourage low traffic neighbourhoods
ensure the installation of more electric vehicle charging points.
make sure any new developments are close to major public transport hubs and well designed for access to public transport and cycling.
take steps to encourage car-sharing.

Click here to read the Green Party’s plan for #BetterTransport

3. Affordable, decent housing for all

We reject the overall number of houses proposed in the Local Plan, which has had to conform to central government’s dysfunctional top-down targets for housing and takes no real account of local need and demand.

Furthermore, the vast majority of demand is driven by internal migration and we reject this as a driver of economic growth over sustainability. The Council should plan for sustainability rather than being complicit with the national strategy for economic growth at any cost.

We oppose building large-scale developments in a few places on greenfield sites. We favour more smaller-scale developments of affordable and lifelong homes on brownfield sites without the need for extensive and expensive new infrastructure. The housing mix in the Local Plan also fails to correspond to local need and demand for more 1-2 bedroom houses.

It appears there are currently 2,371 homes in the District which have been empty for over 6 months, in some cases for over a decade. There were over 2,812 on the waiting list for social housing in Canterbury District in October 2022.

The impacts of poor-quality housing need to be considered. According to Defra, 30.4% of heat losses in the South East come from poorly insulated homes. We believe there is an urgent need to combat fuel poverty and waste of energy by means of a District-wide campaign to make houses more energy-efficient. This was addressed under 1. Above.

We also believe the Council should build up a stock of social housing and that these homes should always remain in Council hands.

To address the issue of unaffordable rents and rent rises, we will campaign to set up a ‘Living Rent Commission’, which would implement a genuinely affordable rent control policy dependent upon local median incomes and not upon local market rents.

We will also campaign for a ‘Right to Rent’ policy, meaning that home owners who are unable to meet their mortgage payments and are under threat of repossession would have a right to transfer ownership to the Council, at less than market value, in exchange for the right to remain in the home and pay rent as council tenants.

If elected, we pledge to:

build genuinely affordable homes, such as social, community-led and co-operative housing, preferably on brownfield sites, and encourage self-build and custom-build that directly meet peoples’ needs while empowering the builders/occupants.
set up a living rent commission to make rents no more than a third of local median incomes, ensure secure tenancies and the Right to Rent if a householder falls behind on mortgage payments.
campaign to charge 200% council tax on homes left empty for longer than 6 months and set aside the extra revenue received to provide free roof and cavity-wall insulation to residents in the District.
make sure all Houses in Multiple Occupation are registered and inspected so they provide high-standard accommodation.
ensure all new housing is of high quality (Passivhaus standards as under 1. above) requiring low energy and fitted with photovoltaic panels.
oppose planning permission for building on greenfield sites.
use the Sustainable Communities Act to lobby government for an end to the ‘Right to Buy’ council housing or housing association homes.
support flexibly supported housing options and access to intermittent high-need accommodation without loss of tenancy rights.

Click here to read the Green Party’s plan for #DecentHomes

4. Maintaining open space and woodland

It is vital that every person in Canterbury District has access to open space. All open space should be valued as a community asset; the walk to the shops should be as welcoming as a walk in the park.

UPDATE: We support the preservation of Dukes Meadow, Old Park and Chequer’s Wood, Chaucer Fields and Duncan Down as community open spaces and the creation of a riverside walk/cycle path all the way from Chartham to Sturry.

We would fight planned development on any greenfield site, especially open spaces and woodland.

If elected, we pledge to aim for the following provisions for all residents:

recreational amenity (exercise, dog walking, sports)
functional/social amenity (allotments)
visual amenity (a still and empty green open space has a value in itself)
all within a 5-10 minute walking distance from home

5. Improving recycling rates and cleaning up our streets

We believe that public services should be in public hands, not using taxpayers’ money to provide profits for private companies and shareholders. We are delighted that waste collection has been brought back into the public sector.

If elected, we pledge to:

carry out an intensive campaign to educate all residents on recycling and disposal of all kinds of waste.
provide multi-compartment bins on high streets and beaches.
ensure that bins and inserts lost through no fault of the householder or tenant are replaced without charge.
make landlords and letting agencies responsible for ensuring their tenants are familiar with and comply with regulations concerning refuse disposal and collection.

1. 6. Reducing plastic pollution

As a coastal area, we have a particular responsibility to protect the seas from plastic pollution. Local action is needed to tackle this global problem that so badly affects our living planet. We also need to protect the food chain. Plastic that goes into the sea eventually makes its way into the fish we eat and we know there are now microplastics everywhere in the world and in our bodies. The Green Party promotes the culture of reducing, reusing and refilling, and has a long-standing commitment to the circular economy.

If elected, we pledge to:

support the activities of ‘plastic-free’ campaigns across the District.
make sure the Council continues its commitment to banning single-use plastic on its premises and by its contractors and licensees.
install double compartment waste/recycling bins for beaches and parks. These are increasingly used in other areas, leading to disposal of less plastic and other recyclable materials in landfill sites.
campaign for an alternative to the thousands of disposable takeaway cups and glasses being used by cafés, pubs and festivals.
increase the number of free public water dispensers

Click here to read the Green Party’s plan for a #ProtectedEnvironment

7. Helping independent small businesses and cooperatives

Greens support local shops throughout the District, keeping money circulating in the local economy.

Large numbers of visitors are important for our local economy. Many of them arrive on the high-speed rail service to Canterbury West.

If elected, we pledge to:

promote and expand local producers’ street markets, co-operatives and directories of local businesses.
protect visitor attractions and heritage sites.
make sure the gateways to Canterbury, like St Dunstan’s, are welcoming and attractive.

Click here to read the Green Party’s plan for a #FairEconomy

8. Improving water quality

The scandal of hundreds of millions of litres of raw sewage being discharged into our seas and rivers by Southern Water, which charges its customers to safely treat their sewage, has rightly shocked all of us who thought such a thing could never happen in a developed country with the sixth largest economy in the world. This practice has been going on for years and is still going on because the company has allowed the sewer infrastructure to crumble, propping it up with make-and-mend measures for years. Vital pumps at sewage works are broken and human effluent has been stored illegally for weeks in tanks that are then opened to allow the noxious poisons to flow into the sea.

If elected, we pledge to:

continue citizen science water testing and alerting the public to health hazards from swimming off our beaches.
make developers accountable for impacts of sewage on rivers, coasts, etc.
campaign for the renationalisation of water companies and the urgent upgrading of all sewage treatment plants.

9. Providing better health services

Canterbury City Council isn’t responsible for NHS services in the District but we would press for better community health services with more doctors, dentists, mental health specialists, district nurses and midwives.

10. Improving local democracy

Local people know best how money should be spent in their areas. We should have more control over the decisions that affect our lives.

If elected, we pledge to:

campaign for more powers to be devolved to local councils and elections using proportional representation.
campaign for the creation of unitary authorities for different parts of Kent (eg East Kent, Mid Kent, West Kent) to replace Kent County Council and take over some of the competencies of Canterbury City Council eg for waste collection. Town councils would then be set up with increased powers over planning in Canterbury, Whitstable and Herne Bay to replace Canterbury City Council.
campaign to introduce higher bands of council tax for larger properties and make the tax paid more proportionate to the value of the house in order to generate more income for public services and reverse cuts.

11. Increasing Council staffing

The Council’s officers have been reduced to a skeleton staff, unable to deal with all their duties adequately. They also lack the necessary oversight.

If elected, we pledge to:

restore the post of Chief Executive Officer to ensure vision, oversight and implementation of key Council policies.
increase number of staff in key departments to add to sustainability and energy planning resources in the Council.