Why you should vote in local elections

Town and Parish council elections get a bad rep. While around two-thirds of the voting population are motivated to get out and vote in a General Election, in elections for local “top-tier” councils (such as Central Bedfordshire Council) that don’t coincide with a General Election see turnout dropping to around a third.

For Town and Parish council elections that don’t coincide with General Elections or “top-tier” local council elections, this can drop to a paltry tenth of the voting population!

The by-election for Dunstable’s Northfields ward (covering the French’s Avenue, Beecroft, Brewers Hill Road, Chiltern Road, Printers Way and Crabtree Way areas) is on the 24th November. So why should you get out and vote?

The Town Council doesn’t cover the headline responsibilities such as roads, street lighting, refuse collection, economic development and development planning – they’re all handled by Central Bedfordshire Council. So what does the Town Council do?

There’s three main areas: Environmental, Community and Planning consultations:

Under the Environmental label the Town Council provides cemetery services, allotments, management and maintenance of 15 parks and open spaces (including 11 play areas and 17 sports pitches) and the Town Centre regeneration scheme.

For Community issues, local facilities such as Dunstable Market, Grove Corner and Grove Skate Park (for young people), older people’s services at Beecroft Community Centre and Creasey Park, general facilities such as the Peter Newton Pavilion and Downside Community Centre all require significant management.

And although the Town Council doesn’t have primary responsibility for Planning decisions, it is a statutory consultee, providing direct local input into decisions on individual planning applications and the wider Central Bedfordshire Local Plan. For Northfields, the future of the French’s Avenue tip site, the former Greenacres Residential Home and the old AC Delco site and Highways Depot on Brewers Hill Road are all yet to be determined.

What many voters don’t recognise is that they are paying for the work undertaken by all layers of government through direct taxation. For Town and Parish Councils, this is funded by a “precept” (an additional levy) on your Council Tax bill.

If you live in a Band D property in Dunstable, for 2015/16 you will pay £1,750.68 in council tax. The Town Council’s proportion of this is £171.78 (link). That doesn’t sound like much, but across all properties in Dunstable that comes to over £2m!

Unlike in General Elections, with a 10% turnout EVERY VOTE MATTERS. Even just a handful of extra voters can produce a large swing.

If you really don’t care how £2m of your money gets spent then fine, by all means, stay at home. But if you care about how your share of this gets spent on Northfields, then make the effort on the 24th.

Get off the sofa, turn off the TV, walk to your local Polling Station and make your mark.

David Gurr and Elaine Morgan are Liberal Democrat candidates for the Dunstable Town Council (Northfields) by-election on the 24th November. For information on Elaine and David’s campaign pledges please visit www.facebook.com/DunstableLibDems or www.centralbedslibdems.org.uk.

Published (hosted) and promoted by David Gurr on behalf of Elaine Morgan and David Gurr, all at 34 Appleby Gardens, Dunstable LU6 3DB.

The Rise and Rise of the Lib Dems

Vote Lib Dem in the Dunstable Town Council (Northfields) by-election on Thursday 24th November

Published (hosted) and promoted by David Gurr on behalf of David Gurr and Elaine Morgan (Lib Dem) all at 34 Appleby Gardens, Dunstable LU6 3DB

Elaine Morgan and David Gurr - our candidates for the Dunstable Town Council (Northfields) by-election

We'd like to introduce our two candidates for the by-election for the Northfields Ward of Dunstable: Elaine Morgan and David Gurr.

Elaine has lived in Dunstable for over 30 years, and worked at Moore's Department Store in High Street South for 18 years.

"For five years I was a South Bedfordshire District Councillor, and was a School Governor for 25 years. I now do voluntary work with Dunstable Travel Choices including leading local walks.

I'm married with three adult children who attended Brewers Hill, Beecroft and Northfields Schools."

Before moving to Dunstable eight years ago David was a campaigner on local planning issues in Hemel Hempstead; and for the last seven years his job has involved working with local authorities of all sizes across the country.

"My career in IT Sales and Marketing has taught me the value and limitations of computer technology and the internet, and how to influence key decision makers and communicate with large communities.

I have a son in further education, two adult step-children and two step-grandchildren."

Published (hosted) and promoted by David Gurr on behalf of David Gurr and Elaine Morgan (Lib Dem) all at 34 Appleby Gardens, Dunstable LU6 3DB

Elaine and David's commitments

Elaine and David promise to work for Northfields Ward residents by:

■ Working to ensure that older and more vulnerable members of the community gain maximum access to all local services

■ Representing local issues in local redevelopment and planning

■ Working to extend Town Centre regeneration initiatives along High Street North

Maximum access to local services for the older and more vulnerable

Whether council services or facilities provided by local businesses, it’s important that the needs of all community members are met whatever their capabilities.

We will work with key service providers (including the council) to make their services equally accessible to all, and to encourage the development of accessibility programmes to help non users gain better use of the internet.

Local Redevelopment and Planning

Northfields has three sites up for redevelopment - the Tidy Tip in French’s Avenue, the Greenacres Care Home site and the AC Delco/Highways Depot site.

Together we have first-hand experience of the ramifications of local development. There is no substitute for local knowledge in planning and the care with which the three sites mentioned above are developed will have a significant impact on the local community.

We will work to effectively represent local issues and concerns to planning committees, landowners and local developers.

Dunstable Regeneration extending into Northfields

The retail environment is a key factor in defining the atmosphere of an area. Dunstable Town Council has some great initiatives for regenerating the town centre, but we’d like to see the effects of this move up High Street North into the area between Chiltern Road and Brewers Hill Road.

We will work with the council and local retailers to help promote improvements to the local retail environment.

Published (hosted) and promoted by David Gurr on behalf of David Gurr and Elaine Morgan (Lib Dem) all at 34 Appleby Gardens, Dunstable LU6 3DB