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By Cotswolds LibDems, on April 13th, 2011 One of the big initiatives of our campaign is to engage local teenagers and finally take some action on Youth Services. This isn’t helped by swingeing cuts from the County Council, but we believe that we can secure the resources and take the most important step which is to ask local kids what it is THEY want to see and get involved with.
For as long as we can remember every level of local government in and around Fairford have been saying how important Youth Services are. We’ve seen brief projects such as ‘Flix in the Stix’ which have been noble in intention, but not worked out in practise. The missing element is letting our target audience lead. Over the course of the last year I (Sean) have travelled around with Paul Hodgkinson and others to visit local schools and sixth forms in the Cotswolds. We’ve taken questions on Tuition Fees and defended the new system where every graduate will pay less back per month, but we’ve also listened to what the students have had to say – and let me tell you, it makes a huge difference.
We also recently visited the Cirencester Cyber Cafe which does excellent work in giving local kids somewhere to go after school and stay off the streets. And this is where we answer the big question of why youth services is such a priority for us: Boredom is the biggest tyranny amongst the younger generation locally. Boredom is the main factor that leads to hanging around on street corners and drinking, vandalising property and so on.
If we could get the local teenagers to lead on something they care about and can get enthusiastic about then not only does it turn that energy into a creative and positive force, but perhaps most importantly it begins to develop a sense of ownership and belonging in Fairford.
We believe in a matter of months we could seriously get something going, and in turn we would see the next generation of Fairford residents playing an active role in the community – there is no end to the things we could achieve with an active Fairford Youth Group volunteering and leading out in the community.
By Cotswolds LibDems, on February 23rd, 2011 Yesterday at a full council meeting Sean Davey asked Cllr Lynden Stowe (Conservative)
 Local Campaigner Sean Davey asked Tory Leader Lynden Stowe what CDC would do to help provide affordable housing in the Cotswolds “With a massive lack of affordable housing, swingeing cut to youth services from the county council and a cabinet whose youngest member is approaching half a century, what assurances can be given that young people aren’t being forgotten or abandoned by the council?
The Conservative response was to claim “We can’t nanny every single person in this district”
- does this mean that providing affordable houses, encouraging local businesses to create jobs and helping hardworking young people to get a foot in the Cotswolds is “nannying” them? Cllr Stowe seems to be saying that despite the ridiculous housing prices (driven higher by the endless building of holiday homes) the District Council won’t put local people first, won’t offer them support or even allow eager developers (who Stowe described as “constipated vultures”!) to provide affordable housing. If you are hardworking, ambitious and want to call the Cotswolds your home but you can’t afford the prices then ‘Tough luck! Move somewhere else’ the local Conservatives seem to be saying!
This attitude is dangerously ignorant of what local people want and need. If the next generation can’t afford to buy their own houses here and are forced to move away then the sense of community and belonging in towns like Fairford will drift away and only the very wealthy will be able to live here. We do have a responsibility to maintain the beautiful Cotswolds scenery, but why can’t we develop the local towns in a way which preserves that but creates affordable housing too?
This issue was covered in Wednesday’s Gloucestershire Echo:
“Stowe – We can’t nanny every resident”
- and you can be sure you will here more from Sean Davey and your local Liberal Democrats, who will continue to stand up for the community and listen to your opinion. Affordable Houses are so desperately needed in the Cotswolds to pass on to the next generation, and with a complacent Conservative administration the best we can hope for is more holiday homes and higher car parking charges!
By Cotswolds LibDems, on November 28th, 2010  Fairford Campaigner Sean Davey inspecting the River Coln Residents continue to voice concerns over lack of flood prevention:
Back in the Summer we asked the question ‘Why don’t they listen to us?’
The question was levelled at Cotswold District Council, but it applies equally to other bodies charged with our wellbeing in the Fairford area. Like the Environment Agency for instance.
Fairford campaigner Sean Davey is backing demands from residents that more be done as he casts his mind back to the awful floods of 2007. He tells us, “Not for the first time, Fairford and Lechlade suffered serious flooding three years ago. Nearly 100 properties in Fairford alone experienced damage. There was a public outcry and the Agency promised carry out works to mitigate the problem. Fast for- ward three years and it is backtracking as fast as it can.”
Having told Fairford that the work is unnecessary after all, the Environment Agency is now trying to wriggle out of its commitment. The people who suffered in 2007 (and some in earlier years as well) beg to differ. After all, we do live on the upper reaches of one of Britain’s most substantial rivers.
Sean would like to see far more listening and acting. “The Agency is strong on quoting degrees of probability and weak on delivering on its promises. We challenge it to live up to its responsibilities towards local communities and go ahead with credible flood alleviation measures wherever they are necessary.”
By Cotswolds LibDems, on October 26th, 2010 Local campaigners Sean & Anna inspect damage to road caused by lorries thundering through.
HEAVY lorries continue to thunder through the narrowest parts of the A417 through Fairford in spite of a concerted effort by the town to re-route it. Although not responsible for transport matters, CDC has shown remarkable complacency about Fairford’s problem and has made no effort to support the town’s pleas.It even decided to extinguish the suggested route for the town’s long-promised bypass, which might have afforded a little relief. The heavy traffic issue has to be addressed seriously.
By Cotswolds LibDems, on January 21st, 2010 FAIRFORD needs more affordable homes, and that’s not just us saying it. Fairford Town Council has been banging on about it for years, and CDC’s most recent housing survey puts the town high on the list of need for new homes. The Cotswold Development Framework lists affordable homes as a key priority. Yet the council sits on its hands.
Housing charity Shelter reveals CDC’s poor performance in a survey. Its web site puts the council third from bottom in the housing development league in the south-west. It says you would now have to earn over £63,000 to afford an average priced house in the area and there are 2,224 families waiting to be housed.
Meanwhile second homes for rich city people are mushrooming right across the Cotswold Water Park, sometimes preventing local people’s enjoyment of their natural countryside.
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Your Local Liberal Democrats Laura Watts
Laura is your local Lib Dem contact for our Fairford, Lechlade & Riversmeet branch.
We are always looking for new people to get involved - whether it is fundraising, delivering, helping in the community or standing for election - whatever your interests and skills, if you are interested in finding out more and getting involved with your local Liberal Democrat team please get in touch!
You can contact Laura & the Cotswolds Liberal Democrats team using info@cotswoldslibdems.org.uk or telephone 01285 651122
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