What do Tonbridge People want to ask the candidates: Replies from Steve Dawe, Green Party

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  Dear Rachel,
  Children's services are limited by the division of the tax take: central government has too much and local government has been subjected to cuts, 'efficiency savings' and under-funding since the 1970s. So the main step must be, to increase the local government share from total taxation and then target the funds towards local needs. In respect of children's services, this must mean each district council area having a variety of services - including family therapy/support for you families/better access to counselling etc - at a far superiod level to that available now. Talking about families is easy - hard cash is needed to support better services.
  
  A21: Kent Green Party opposes all new trunk road building and additions to highway capacity. We have already opposed A21 widening, and with support from the Woodland Trust, making it clear that ancient woodland must be preserved. The problem is that new raod capacity creates induced traffic - longer car journeys and more of them. So you cannot reduce traffic congestion by building more road capacity - it did not happen with the M25, or the Dartford Tunnel, or the Dartford Crossing or the Newbury by-pass. And even the HIghways Agency expects a significant rise in road traffic in the A21 and surrounding areas in the immediate future. So we should spend the £125 million allocated to the A21 dualling on: bus service improvements, better travel plans to cut car use to schools, better walking and cycling routes, promotion of teleworking to cut car journeys and support the home life of citizens, etc. Green Party policy proposes allocating the £30 billion intended for new road building in the UK over the next 10 years to other transport priorities, as suggested by the list above.
  
  Economy and trade: I have personally surveyed Tonbridge High Street for two successive years and will do so again this July. I am campaigning for empty properties to be put into use, following the No Use Empty campaign approach of providing short leases to voluntary bodies rather than leaving properties and sites to rot. I am also urging through the media that commercial rents be cut, as the high rents demanded help to keep properties empty. In line with the Green Party's economic approach, I will continue to strongly advocate that consumers support sole trader and small enterprises on the High Street whenever possible, as these are the most efficient in the use of capital to create and maintain employment. They are also critical to maintain diversity. However, the biggest change I will be campaignging for is the pedestrianisation of the HIgh Street. Having seen the transformation of Canterbury from the mid-1970s onwards through pedestrianisation, I am quite sure that progressive pedestrianisation of Tonbridge High Street will boost businesses and make the town centre far more attractive than it is now. Today, the High Street is a 'canyon' full of traffic and car fumes. The area near the Roundabout is highly polluted and we need to take action to reduce traffic levels and pollution in this area, I hope by fundamentally altering the area around the rail station - which, as the busiest in Kent, is struggling to cope with the pressure of numbers of people and associated vehicles.
  
  Why is it worth voting for me? Because my commitment to a more equal and more sustainable society is exactly what our area needs for the future.
  
  Three

  By  stevedawe at 11:09 on 27/04/10

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  The problem with re-cycling is that like a lot of things we live with, there appears to be little national organisation. bearing in mind re-cycling is Government encouraged each local authority tries it's best at doing its own thing. there are many combinations of doorstep collections coupled with drive to sites throughout the UK. At the end of the day it all costs to collect and re-cycle.
  One local authority is in the news this weekend for 9 types of bins per house (including sacks).
  I wonder how much trouble other countries have with this?

  By  cllrcllr at 19:19 on 25/04/10

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  I so agree! I spent about half an hour recycling yesterday and the bins were in a terrible state and all messed up. made me not want to bother again

  By  lucyloop1 at 11:56 on 16/04/10

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  I agree about more recycling - why can't it all be collected - tins, plastic, cardboard, clothing, the lot. I am sick of going to recycling points only to find other people have just dumped their stuff in bags, or put things in the wrong bins. what's the point? if we had a better collection system this would not happen.
  
  what happens if , say, tins are dumped in a plastics bin? does the whole lot get scrapped, making a mockery of the effort the rest of us go to to do our bit for the environment?

  By  SheilaBrad at 11:48 on 16/04/10

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  There is a good example of a candidate not listening to the electorate.
  Nearly every answer is a no.
  Typical Green.
  What confidence does that give you that they will work on your/our behalf?
  Only working on what they believe.

  By  Pestsolver at 15:25 on 14/04/10

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