Councillor Lister writes to Putney

A low council tax is good news for everyone

If you are a pensioner surviving on a fixed income or a young family struggling with a high mortgage you know how difficult it can be coping with unwelcome household bills over which you have no control.

But while keeping costs down is important, this can never be at the expense of good quality public services.

Over the last 25 years Wandsworth has delivered the least expensive average bills in the country. We are the lowest again this year.

At the same time our services have won a record number of charter marks for excellence while the council is currently rated among the top five in the UK for its performance.

In Wandsworth fair taxes and fine services go together. They are all part of what it takes to make our borough a better place to live.

If only Wandsworth residents could get the same value for money from the Mayor of London. His bills have rocketed by 135 per cent in the six years he has been running City Hall.

Mr Livingstone is fond of telling us about all the extra police he has appointed. But few of them seem to come to Wandsworth. According to the Met’s own calculations the borough is 110 police officers short. Yet the twelve wards which are still waiting for their safer neighbourhood teams will get just 13 new police and community support officers between them. The rest will be switched from other duties in the borough.

Considering this woeful lack of resources I think our borough commander does an amazing job.

Good to see that negotiations over the relocation of the Putney War Memorial to Church Square are now finally nearing completion. Town centre manager Stephen Wallace hopes to see work starting shortly on the foundations.

Moving the memorial from its current position outside the church to a more prominent location in the new square will make it more accessible and help to blend this piece of Putney’s past with the new development.

Edward Lister

elister@wandsworth.gov.uk

March 1, 2006

Edward Lister is the Leader of Wandsworth Council and a member for Putney's Thamesfield ward.