Election Manifesto, Waverley Green Party, Local Elections 2023

A Fairer And Greener Future for Waverley

OUR COMMITMENT

We will protect and enhance the health, wellbeing, environment and economic security of Waverley’s residents, put sustainability* at the heart of what we do, give Town and Parish Councils greater powers to support their communities, involve our residents in decision making, and work in a decisive, constructive, collaborative, open and inclusive way for the benefit of all, including young people who may not yet be of voting age.

Greens will push for:

  • incorporating formally in all decision making processes the impact on health, well-being and economic security of Waverley residents, particularly those with limited means and the most vulnerable, alongside the impact on climate and the carbon footprint;
  • the creation of a role for scrutinizing and monitoring the impact of Waverley’s actions and decisions on future generations;
  • making sustainability* key to everything we do
  • the development of a “fast track” process for the devolution of assets to Town and Parish Councils;
  • the establishment of a Waverley Youth Council;
  • the establishment of a “Parish Climate and Ecological Forum” to support parishes in their efforts to reduce carbon emissions and promote biodiversity.

Greens are committed to Waverley Borough Council:

  • being more democratic, responsive and accountable through greater involvement of residents outside election periods;
  • targeting the greatest support to those in the borough of Waverley to whose need is greatest, including the marginalized and disadvantaged;
  • creating a better, cleaner environment and responding proactively to the climate and ecological emergency;
  • promoting local sustainable businesses and developing a circular economy;
  • making planning decisions that are more responsive to local needs, and take full account of the climate and ecological emergency;
  • facilitating a shift from fossil fuel vehicles to more sustainable and active transport across the borough; and,
  • meeting local housing need, particularly encouraging the provision of sustainable and energy efficient social housing.

Democracy, Accountability and Governance

Greens will work to establish a Citizens’ Assembly to involve our residents in deciding the best way to reach our goal of net zero carbon emissions by 2030.

We shall support:

  • an approach to running the council that fully involves the community in decision making and that is open and transparent;
  • continuing to share expertise, experience and resources with Guildford to make best use of our assets by working together;
  • giving more responsibility to our Town and Parish Councils so that decisions are made by those closest to the issue; and,
  • actively involving residents in the process of developing policy and making recommendations for action using Citizens’ Panels or Juries.

* Sustainability

The UN define it as: meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.

For something to be sustainable, it needs to be able to be done in a way that means it can continue to happen without having a negative impact locally or remotely either immediately, progressively, or eventually. Most of our existing industrial, agricultural, and social practices are not sustainable.  They work on a linear, extractive, degenerative model, of extract -> make –> use –> discard.  The end result is an accumulation of waste at one end, and a reduction in usable resources at the other.  A sustainable approach would require a circular, regenerative model, of convert –> make –> use –> recycle and back to convert (i.e. taking the output of one cycle and transforming it into a product for the next).

A second fundamental concept for underlying sustainability is fairness. An unequal society where access to or control of resources is unevenly distributed, while the needs of all are not being met, suggests the desires of some are being met at the expense of the needs of others. A fair and sustainable society would be one that meets the needs of all without compromising the ability of future generations to meet all their needs.

All would include the global ecosystem. Sustainability operates within the physical limits of the available planetary resources (planetary boundaries) including energy.

There are three layers to sustainability:  Environmental, Social and Economic.  Our economy depends on society which in turn depends upon the environment.  Since the environment is maintained by natural processes, including those arising from interactions between different lifeforms (i.e. ecosystems), a healthy ecosystem is necessary to maintain a sustainable environment.  Therefore ensuring the survival of all life that makes up a thriving ecosystem is a necessary prerequisite for a sustainable society and hence economy.

Investing in our communities

Greens will:

  • encourage local organisations and business to become more sustainable;
  • grow Waverley Training Services by identifying and targeting local skills gaps;
  • tackle the shortage of local nursery places by establishing Council delivered places; and,
  • look for ways to fund local climate initiatives, for example using Climate Bonds.

We will ensure that Waverley Borough Council:

  • continues to work collaboratively with Guildford Borough Council to pursue greater efficiencies and stronger partnerships within our respective communities;
  • invests in our local economy to improve skills and promote the development of sustainable local businesses and a circular economy;
  • responds to local need as rapidly and as effectively as possible – providing an effective local response to the cost-of-living crisis, housing need and support for hungry families.
  • develops in-house rather than contracted-out services in Waverley, including housing maintenance, green spaces, waste provision and leisure services;
  • expands the scope of local services provided by Waverley Borough Council, to meet unfulfilled local needs; and,
  • becomes a Living Wage Employer.

Housing

Greens will seek:

  • the establishment of a Council-run home energy support line in Waverley with capacity to conduct energy audits; and,
  • the establishment of a direct labour force to retrofit Waverley social housing, so as to make it as energy efficient as possible, with capacity to sell with capacity to sell, as an inexpensive service, energy audits and decarbonization retrofits.

We will ensure Waverley Borough Council will:

  • invest directly in the provision of housing that is genuinely affordable and for social rent;
  • require that all new build social housing is sustainable in use and in construction;
  • decarbonize the existing housing stock, so that:
    • every council home is energy efficient, thereby reducing energy use and tenants’ energy bills; and,
    • every council home reaches the highest standards of energy efficiency and sustainablity by 2030, using sustainable heat sources, local generation of renewable energy and high-quality insulation;
  • improve and extend tenant engagement so that council tenants are involved in shaping the future of their homes;
  • promote “20 minute neighbourhoods” in which most of our daily needs can be met within a short walk or cycle;
  • assess the number of empty homes in Waverley and, where possible, bring them back into use.

Planning and the Built Environment

Greens will push for:

  • the establishment of sustainability hubs, hosted by Waverley Borough Council, in each of our main centres of population, to allow small sustainable businesses to operate there on a small scale, with minimal overhead costs;
  • developing wildlife corridors across Waverley land, while facilitating such corridors in other key strategic areas for promoting biodiversity; and,
  • seek maximum possible Biodiversity Net Gain in Planning.

We will ensure that Waverley Borough Council:

  • re-shapes the Local Development Plan to ensure that it reflects the priorities of residents particularly in relation to:
    • protecting the Green Belt, Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB), Areas of Great Landscape Value (AGLV) and countryside beyond these designated areas;
    • increasing biodiversity;
    • encouraging and enabling genuinely sustainable development;
    • expanding Waverley affordable and social housing; and,
    • promoting essential infrastructure that is sustainable and resilient;
  • continues our programme to revitalize our high streets, giving priority to the development of local, sustainable businesses;
  • increase housing in the town centres without this being at the expense of facilities for residents;
  • expand provision of good quality, sustainable, energy efficient social housing;
  • continues to challenge government support for unsustainable development such as fossil fuel extraction and urges the reform of national planning policy to shift the balance of power away from private developers and towards local needs; and,
  • supports localism in planning, including local neighbourhood plans, so that local needs and wishes are given priority.

Environment & Sustainability

Greens will push for:

  • the introduction of “quadruple bottom line accounting” (i.e. financial, social, environmental and governance) so that the impact on people and planet is taken into consideration in all decision making;
  • a feasibility study into the possible establishment of different types of Low Emission Zones within the borough, for cleaner, healthier air;
  • decarbonizing our bin lorry fleet by converting from diesel to electric, as part of our project to become a net a zero borough by 2030. This will include introducing 4 weekly rather than fortnightly residual waste collections with savings directed towards this decarbonization; and,
  • becoming a zero-waste borough. This will involve eliminating residual waste, extending food waste and garden waste collection, and promoting repair and re-use as well as recycling.

We will work to ensure Waverley Borough Council:

  • applies a holistic approach to ‘true sustainability’ which contributes to the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development;
  • uses an accounting framework that goes beyond triple-bottom-line to incorporate four dimensions of performance: social, environmental, financial and governance;
  • extends the Climate Emergency declaration to include the Ecological Crisis;
  • supports town and parish councils in creating and maintaining comprehensive and fully equipped Emergency Plans;
  • reaffirms its commitment to net zero carbon emissions (Scope 1, 2 and 3) by 2030;
  • works with others to promote and facilitate a net zero carbon borough by 2030;
  • lobbies and challenges government to deliver on and extend its net zero commitment;
  • develops local renewable power generation e.g. solar and wind power energy, such as solar canopies in council car parks;
  • facilitates local community-led renewable energy initiatives;
  • promotes the recovery of biodiversity across the borough by setting an example on biodiversity net gain across all borough land;
  • opposes any proposal to extract fossil fuels in Waverley;
  • brings waste collection services and the management of our green spaces back in-house, rather than contracting out these services;
  • stops using toxic chemical pesticides such as the herbicide glyphosate in all but exceptional circumstances within two years in line with the Waverley Pesticides Policy; and,
  • encourages a positive reuse and repair culture within communities to support the reduction of waste, so saving residents money, reducing consumption, and keeping usable items circulating locally.

Transport

Greens will push for:

  • any increase in parking charges to be used to provide more sustainable transport (e.g. the purchase of electric shuttle buses);
  • establishing an electric bike hire scheme in Godalming (to support the Guildford-Godalming Greenway) and in Farnham, as well as investigating the viability of such schemes in Haslemere and Cranleigh;
  • effective and connected walking and cycling networks into central Farnham, reflected in the Farnham Local Cycling and Walking Infrastructure Plan (LCWIP) and the Farnham Infrastructure Project;
  • ensuring that the Guildford-Godalming Greenway project is progressed as rapidly as possible; and,
  • opening up the Downs Link as a sustainable transport corridor.

We will ensure Waverley Borough Council:

  • promotes an integrated transport network across Waverley which improves connectivity and accessibility, bringing together sustainable and active travel systems;
  • engages with community stakeholders to ascertain local transport needs, paying attention to isolated communities, such as park home residents;
  • works with Surrey County Council to proactively secure funding for the expansion of the walking and cycling infrastructure across Waverley such as the Guildford-Godalming Greenway;
  • introduces low-fare shuttle buses connecting the main centres of population reducing the need to bring cars into the town centres, and incentivising residents to switch to more sustainable transport, starting with a pilot scheme in at least one of the main centres of population by 2024; and,
  • arranges for all vehicles operated by the council and its contractors to be zero emission by 2027.