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Vote 4 a Unitary Council

There is now a lot of publicity about the Unitary ballot and not all of it helpful. Many people are angry about the short consultation period and the general lack of unbiased information.

I am very angry about the way the ballot has been handled and the distorted view that has been presented to the public.

Vote in favour of Unitary.

Here are the facts, as I see them that indicated Unitary is the only way to go:

  1. ‘No change’ is not a option. Only unitary offers sufficient scope to adjust to the future needs of Shropshire and absorb the future burdens impose by Government.
  2. Only Unitary will give Shropshire a strong enough voice to stand up to the Government and safe guard the needs of local Shropshire people. 
  3. Council Tax would be less under Unitary.
    • Savings (SCC predict over £36.6m in the first 4 years) would have a compound effect, growing year on year, when compared to the status quo.
    • What BDC don’t tell you is that if you opt for the status quo it will go up considerably higher, also compounded for years to come.
  4. BDC is not local enough, frequently failing to meeting the needs of local people.
    • No affordable housing for local people to allow them to live in the community where they grew up.
  5. BDC is not strategic enough. All too often failing to grasp the big issues that face the whole district and or county.
    • Economic Development. A poor record of long term sustainable development to bring new money to the area.
  6. BDC is a secretive Council, too many decisions are hidden from public scrutiny, no public participation in planning meetings.
  7. BDC does not do enough work in the long-term, often getting side tracked by the very short term.
  8. Unitary will give local people a stronger voice in council affairs. SCC have had public speaking at meetings, including planning, for some considerable time. BDC still have none at planning.
  9. Parish Councils will also have a bigger role under Unitary. They will be able to feed issues into the Unitary from their parish Council via the area meetings, where they will have voting rights and can directly shape unitary budgets & policies according to their local priorities. 

Ask yourself the following questions before you vote for the status qou:

  • If BDC closed tomorrow, would you notice? 
  • Over the 12 years, which Council has the most appalling track record… Shropshire CC or Bridgnorth DC? You only have to read the pages of the Bridgnorth Journal to work that out. BDC
  • Which council installed new pay & display machines at a height for disabled access & too low for able bodied people, when disabled people don’t have to pay to use the car parks? BDC
  • Which Council has built 0 affordable houses last year? BDC
  • Which Council introduced the assisted rubbish collection scheme & wrote to pensioners telling them they would write to their GPs to determine eligibility in a very insensitive manner? BDC
  • Which Council was the last in the country to get a website? BDC

… you get the idea!