Our Manifesto

Totnes Liberal Democrats will:

• Support more affordable housing to rent/buy for local people, particularly first time buyers.

• Support community led housing initiatives like self build, co-housing.

• Campaign for a council tax increase of 200% or local impact tax for second homeowners.

• Promote an affordable warmth policy to ensure that affordable housing is affordable to live in.

• Support more integrated workplace and home development, especially in rural areas, cutting down on travel to work.

• Support community regeneration in both market towns and rural areas.

• Tackle the crisis in agriculture by supporting local farmers through farm diversification schemes, community-supported agriculture, farmers markets, and local food production.

• Tackle rural deprivation by improving access to services with better rural transport links and more rural outreach.

• Campaign for a national flat rate for water bills.

• Support sustainable local economies where the money stays local.

• Campaign to localise business rates: establishing a statutory link between council tax and local business rates to ensure that the tax burden doesn't fall unfairly on local businesses.

• Put climate change, renewable energy and energy efficiency at the heart of policy making, especially new housing development.

• Support more fuel efficient cars and encourage the reduction of carbon emissions.

• Support community buses, voluntary car schemes and car sharing.

• Company car tax redirected into public funds for public transport.

• Co-ordinating local bus and rail services to create a more integrated public transport system.

• Encourage shop mobility schemes for the disabled and elderly.

• Support more localised collection of recyclable materials and community composting schemes.

• Encourage repair and reuse and local enterprises, which minimise waste.

• Encourage the setting up of more recycling centres across the district.

• Develop a scheme for recycling business waste including agricultural waste.

• Protect open spaces and green corridors from over development.

• Listen to young people and give them a meaningful voice through youth councils, forums and projects run and managed by them.

• Protect our historic environment by maintaining buildings at risk.

• Encourage the economic benefits of cultural tourism.

• Campaign against insensitive siting of mobile phone masts next to residential areas, until such time as they are proved to be safe.

• Apply local solutions to local problems: campaign for more opportunities for local people to take a meaningful part in decision making.