Fenland Liberal Democrat councillor in call for candidates (North East Cambridgeshire Liberal Democrats)

North East Cambridgeshire Liberal Democrats <info@fenlandlibdems.org.uk>

Fenland Liberal Democrat councillor in call for candidates

June 22, 2010 2:40 PM

Fenland's Liberal Democrat district councillor Dave Patrick is encouraging local residents to consider putting their names forward as candidates for next May's council elections.

At the last council election, in May 2007, half the seats on Fenland Council had only one candidate, letting Conservative councillors in unopposed and handing the Conservatives control of the council before a single vote had been cast.

"Fenland residents have been poorly served by councillors they haven't even had a chance to vote for," said Cllr Patrick.

"We've seen them indulging in squabbles, in-fighting and vendettas, while important decisions are batted between opposing Conservative factions or kicked into the long grass. Local residents deserve better, and one way to do that is to increase the number of contested seats and the number of Liberal Democrats on the council. The Liberal Democrats believe that it is important to have a diverse range of councillors on a council, who represent the whole community. It is not healthy to have too much representation from a particular group - for example, too many Conservatives or too many people with an involvement in property development.

Here in Wisbech, the election of a Liberal Democrat councillor in April has forced the council into a U-turn on the proposals to move the cab rank from the Horsefair. We've seen an unpopular proposal for a car wash on Lerowe Road rejected, and I've been busy helping local residents with their problems and setting up regular surgeries so that it's as easy as possible for them to contact me.

"Meanwhile Liberal Democrat town councillors Chris Howes and Christine Colbert have spent a number of years fighting issues that should have been addressed by Fenland District Council. They have identified a number of flaws and their efforts have so far resulted in significant improvements in the council's handling of new housing developments. Thanks to them the council is at last addressing the problem of failures by developers to complete roads on new estates, whilst it was also Chris and Christine who drew attention to Fenland District Council's failure to collect 'community benefit money' (under Section 106 agreements on new developments) - referred to at the time as the 'Million Pound Black Hole'.

And whilst District Council members from March took no effective steps, the same Liberal Democrats took up and resolved the problem of the public open space in Cavalry Drive which was under threat of being built upon".

Cllr Patrick concluded: "Liberal Democrat councillors make a positive difference to our local communities. I'd be delighted to hear from any Lib Dem supporter interested in being considered as a Liberal Democrat candidate to help take on the Conservatives across the whole of Fenland."

Cllr Patrick can be contacted on 07771 573489.