AW
29 Aug 2019
News
Response to Council bid for City of Culture from Medway Liberal Democrats
Medway Liberal Democrats are concerned by the news that the Council intends to bid to become the UK City of Culture in 2025, we believe the money invested in the bidding process should be strictly limited to ensure there is not a significant draw on local government finances. John Castle, spokesperson for Medway Liberal Democrats, said "We would love to give this our wholehearted support. Medway is a high-profile, culturally rich region, however the announcement comes after news that the future of the Castle Concerts areunsustainable. We support any new initiatives that would boost Medway's cultural spirit, but we believe that the Council should take a prudent and considered approach as it looks at ways to funding the bid. That the costs incurred in bidding, would be better spent on essential services."
AW
3 Aug 2019
EAST HILL HOUSING DEVELOPMENT
Speaking ahead of the planning committee on July 24th, Chairman of Medway Liberal Democrats, Viv Parker said "Capstone Valley is hailed as Medway's green lung. Creating 800 new homes in East Hill which is adjacent to a nature reserve, would have a detrimental impact on the surrounding environment and drastically change the face of the rural area. The proposed development at East Hill will cause harm to a number of species and the nature reserve which is home to Orchids and will destroy an area of locally valued landscape.
AW
12 Jul 2019
Homelessness in Medway - the time to act
The introduction of the 'Homelessness Reduction Act' 2018 places a legal duty on Medway Council to support all eligible homeless applicants, regardless of priority need and to offer help to every eligible household threatened with homelessness. With Medway based charity 'Time for the Homeless' reporting more people relying on them for food handouts, Medway Council needs to embrace the culture of the Act for all people who are homeless in our Towns. The charity Shelter supports the Act, finding that rising homelessness is being driven by growing problems with the affordability of housing combined with cuts to housing benefit. These problems seem likely to worsen in the future. The extra funding provided to councils to implement the Act, will make vital improvements to critical support being made available to more people at an earlier stage.
AW
4 Jul 2019