North East Conservatives Manifesto: May 2019 and beyond

North Conservatives

A manifesto for the May 2019

Local Elections and beyond 1

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North East Hampshire

The North East Hampshire Constituency covers part of and part of the Borough of .

The remainder of Hart is in the Constituency.

The remainder of Basingstoke and Deane is in the Basingstoke Constituency and the North West Hampshire Constituency.

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Basingstoke and Deane Hart District is led by the Borough Council is led by Liberal Democrats supported by the Conservatives their traditional coalition partner Community Campaign Hart

There are clear differences between the two councils both in their vision and their ability to deliver change.

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Our Team

We have a strong team of councillors and campaigners across the constituency – but, with your support in providing us with a majority at both Hart District Council and Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council, we could do even more for our local communities.

District and Borough Councillors and Campaigners

Bramley and Sherfield Cllr Nick Robinson* Cllr Venetia Rowland

Crookham East Seb Gidley*

Crookham West and Mike Thorne*

Fleet Central Jonathan Seale*

Fleet East Cllr Stephen Parker* Cllr Jonathan Wright Cllr Sharyn Wheale Fleet West Cllr Steve Forster Glyn Carpenter*

3 Cllr Tim Southern Spencer Farmer* Cllr Dr Anne Crampton Hook Cllr Jane Worlock Jon Hale* Liz Tomlinson* Cllr Ken Crookes Chris Dorn* Cllr John Kennett Pamber and Silchester Cllr Roger Gardiner Simon Mahaffey*

Sherborne St John Cllr Tristan Robinson

Upton Grey and the Candovers Cllr Mark Ruffell*

Yateley West Cllr Shawn Dickens*

Yateley East Chris Barnes*

* = standing for election in May 2019

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Our Team

Our local District and Borough Councillors work closely with our local Conservative County Councillors and our Member of Parliament.

County Councillors

Candovers Cllr Anna McNair Scott

Calleva Cllr Rhydian Vaughan

Fleet Cllr Steve Forster

Odiham and Hook Cllr Jonathan Glen

Member of Parliament

North East Hampshire Ranil Jayawardena MP

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2017 General Election

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Our Beliefs

North East Hampshire Conservatives believe in:

A vibrant local economy that will revitalise and regenerate our retail centre, improving communities and creating jobs.

Infrastructure for the future Better roads for everyone; faster, longer, better trains; and working to deliver new schools and new medical facilities for North Hampshire.

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Greener, cleaner, safer communities through local services that put you and your family first.

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A vibrant local economy

Where we are now: the economy of North East Hampshire in 2019

We believe that North East Hampshire is a great place to live and work.

We believe that the key to delivering a vibrant local economy is by revitalising our retail centres, improving local facilities and reviving our business districts.

We believe that having a thriving local economy is the cornerstone for making our towns and larger villages the locations for long term employment and destinations for shoppers and leisure activities.

We believe that our high streets and business districts continuously need to evolve to adapt to the changes in 6 lifestyles, working environments and shopping patterns.

We believe that we have a track record of success as Conservatives in Central and Local Government in delivering a vibrant economy.

We all remember how Labour left the economy. The Labour Chief Secretary to the Treasury Liam Byrne MP left this note for his successor (2010).

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Our record

Our record in Central Government has been to repair the economy since 2010 after it was crashed by the Labour Government in 2008. 800 700 We now have the lowest level of unemployment as a constituency in the 600 country and the highest levels of 500 employment. 400

In 2018, there were 40 youth 300 claimants, the joint second lowest 200 number as a constituency in the country. This is a reduction of 5 100 claimants from January 2018 to 0 January 2019. 2010 2017 2018

NEH: local unemployment Across the , by the end of last year (Q4 2018): • Unemployment rate was 4.0%, the 33 joint lowest since 1975; • The benefit claimant rate was 3.1%; 32 Millions • Youth unemployment was 11.8%, down 31,000 on the previous year; 7 31 • There are over 428,000 fewer young 30 people out of work since 2010; • The number of employed people was 29 32.6 million, an increase of 167,000 on the previous quarter and 444,000 28 on the previous year

Source: 27 http://researchbriefings.files.parliament.uk/documents/CBP-8503/CBP-8503.pdf 2010 2017 2018

UK: number of people in employment

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In Local Government, North East Hampshire Conservatives have played their part in regenerating the shopping areas and business districts in Basingstoke.

The Conservatives have run the Borough of Basingstoke and Deane since 2006. The Borough was ranked in the Vibrant Economy Index in 2018 as being in the top 20% of local authorities in . Unemployment halved from 2013 to 2017.

The Conservatives introduced one hour free parking in the Top of the Town in Basingstoke. Festival Place is currently increasing its footfall year on year, and is ranked in the top 20 best shopping areas in the country.

The regeneration of Basing View (one of the Borough’s key business districts) has resulted in the opening of John Lewis at Home and Waitrose, a new  hotel is on its way and a major regional 8 company is relocating its headquarters to a brand new office building, providing more good jobs locally.

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In Hart District, the Council is led by the Liberal Democrats who are supported by the Community Campaign Hart.

They voted down a Conservative amendment to the 2019/2020 budget to introduce free short term parking. They have failed to put forward a viable plan for regeneration of Fleet, Hook and Yateley.

When the Conservatives last ran Hart District, we built a new high quality leisure centre on a financial model that produces an income that funds local services.

The key retail centres of Fleet, Hook and Yateley, whilst still much 9 needed by local residents, are widely regarded as tired and desperately in need of revitalisation.

Only the Conservatives will deliver a vibrant local economy.

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A vibrant local economy

Our Plan for Hart District

• Discounted business rates for high street shops to stimulate the local economy

• Free parking for one hour to increase footfall for local shops

• Promoting locally based businesses that see North East Hampshire as a great place to live and work in

• Introducing major leisure facilities such as an arts centre, cinema or bowling alley

• Bringing new well-known high street businesses to Fleet, Hook and Yateley

• A transport plan that promotes 10 better transport links between Fleet, Hartley Wintney, Hook, Odiham and Yateley

• Regenerating the civic quarter in Fleet, keeping Ghurka Square as a focal point for the people of Fleet  and the wider community of Hart

• A plan to remove the tired buildings of the 1960’s and 1970’s that inhibit transformation

• A plan to acquire and assemble sites, redevelop them and create new retail, residential and community spaces

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A vibrant local economy

Our Plan for the Borough of Basingstoke and Deane

We have set out a bold vision for Basingstoke and Deane with residents – Horizon 2050 – that sets out the themes, policies and aspirations for the Borough.

We will continue the regeneration of the Basing View business district, which has already brought Waitrose and John Lewis at Home, a new hotel and more.

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We have worked for Article 4 Directions to protect business parks from permitted development office conversions to flats and will seek to implement them.

North East Hampshire Conservatives are working for the redevelopment of the Basingstoke Leisure Park, in partnership with the private sector.

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Infrastructure for the future

Where we are now

People are living longer and the pressure for new housing is intensifying. In North East Hampshire, there is a need for new housing that first time purchasers can afford to buy. There is also a need for smaller housing for the elderly to downsize.

Both those starting out on the property ladder and those downsizing all prefer to be close to the centre of our towns and villages.

Wherever new homes are built, it is vital that new infrastructure such as roads, cycle routes, schools, hospitals, medical facilities and community 12 facilities are built simultaneously.

Each year, the Government has found extra money for our hospitals to cope with winter pressures (over £4 million to Hampshire Hospitals Foundation Trust in 2018-2019). Building works are underway at the North Hampshire Hospital in Basingstoke, and Frimley Park Hospital received extra funds for Emergency Care Transformation too.

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Local schools in North East Hampshire are benefitting from an extra £3,500,000 of funding each year, compared to 2015.

An extra £8,000,000 of funding has been provided to Hampshire County Council to help them fix more potholes.

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Infrastructure for the future

We’re ambitious for our area

More trains with more carriages on our railways, with more reliable signalling. SWR has agreed to invest £1.2bn by 2024. We want to see part of that money invested in our railways.

Competition between service providers on the railway to increase the number of trains and reduce ticket prices, plus reduced travel times so that Hook to Waterloo is reduced from 60 minutes to 40 minutes.

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We want to see the Basingstoke- Bramley-Reading line electrified, so that North East Hampshire residents can get to Reading and the North and West quicker

An extension of the proposed western approach to Heathrow from Reading to Basingstoke should be run by Great Western Railway or TfL Elizabeth Line (Crossrail) to allow an interchange there with our local stations in the short term and boost our connectivity to the Thames Valley tech economy.

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We support plans for a rail link from Woking to Heathrow as well, as a longer term aim, to link into the South Western Railway directly.

A connection between the Hook-Fleet- Waterloo line and the Reading- Blackwater-Gatwick line would be of benefit too.

To help people get on a train, new parking decks at Fleet (north side) and Hook stations; bus timetables and routes should be synchronised with train times; a footbridge over the railway at Bramley; and we need better transport links between Yateley and Fleet Station.

The A30 between our towns and villages should be returned to dual 15 carriageway.

Bypasses are needed around Bramley, , Fleet, Hartley Wintney, Hook and Yateley to deal with increased traffic.

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Two M3/M4 road links:

M3 J3 (Bagshot), linking to M4 J10, as part of the long proposed M31;

M3 J7 (Dummer), as a western bypass to Basingstoke and linking the M3 to the A33 – and M4 J11;

Together, these will reduce traffic pressures in our area – and boost our area’s economy at the same time.

New medical facilities to cope with new patients, including a new Critical Treatment Hospital at M3 J7 (Dummer) and a new medical hub in Fleet.

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A new non-selective secondary school for north Hampshire to make sure there are enough school places for our local children, ahead of new homes being built; and provide more choice for parents to make sure that children can find a school that’s right for them.

Two-way traffic on New Road (Top of Town) in Basingstoke so residents from the southern parts of North East Hampshire have better access to the shops and businesses in the Top of Town when visiting Basingstoke.

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Greener, cleaner, safer communities

Where we are now

North East Hampshire tops many surveys as having the highest quality of life for its residents. For that to continue, we believe that we have to ensure that all of our plans and policies are focussed on providing a greener, cleaner and safer future.

We believe that as the population increases in North East Hampshire, so the need to protect our countryside from development pressure increases.

We believe that our parks and open spaces within our towns are important places that need to be protected from development. 17

We believe that we have a role to play in ensuring that air quality is improved and residents’ health is not compromised by poor air quality. We believe that improving the environment is not about being anti-car, but being anti-pollution and pro-clean fuel technology.

Nationally, the Conservatives have led the way to reduce plastic waste to fight plastic pollution by banning plastic microbeads in personal care and cosmetic products, reducing plastic bag use by 86 percent and doubling maximum litter fines to £150.

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Conservatives have invested more than £52 billion in renewable energy, and thanks to this investment and reform, greenhouse gas emissions have fallen by almost a quarter since 2010.

Conservatives have cut harmful emissions of nitrogen oxides by 27% and put in place a £3.5 billion plan to improve air quality and further reduce emissions. Our Clean Air Strategy will help to prevent air pollution from shortening lives and damaging our economy and environment, including through ensuring only the cleanest domestic fuels and stoves are available for sale.

Conservatives have introduced over 50 zones to protect our oceans around 18 England as part of the Blue Belt. Plans have now been set out to create 41 new Marine Conservation Zones across the UK, protecting almost 12,000 square kilometres of marine habitats. Conservatives are on track to deliver over 4 million square kilometres of protected ocean around the UK Overseas Territories by 2020.

Your local Conservatives have introduced a renewed Green Infrastructure Strategy in Basingstoke and Deane. Working with nature conservation and biodiversity campaigners, an evaluation of the natural environment was carried out.

A strategy was put in place to protect and improve important open spaces and to give them ‘planning weight’ in the Local Plan.

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When last in control, your local Conservatives in Hart District introduced the Fleet Pond Management Plan and established Bramshott Farm Country Park.

The Basingstoke and Deane Local Plan contains policies designed by your local Conservatives to keep gaps between villages and towns to prevent them from joining up.

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Your local Conservatives led the way in the creation of the Edenbrook Country Park on the edge of Fleet, providing a permanent green space for local residents and wildlife.

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Your local Conservatives have worked with Hampshire County Council to secure a cycle way from Dilly Lane in Hartley Wintney to Hook – and introduced a cycling strategy for Basingstoke and Deane that has already improved cycle access into Basingstoke and will provide more safe places for bicycles to be kept and a digital map of cycle routes.

Your local Conservatives have created planning policies so that all new housing has to have the capability for electric charging points to be installed and are actively exploring the introduction of autonomous vehicles into Basingstoke.

Earlier this year, the Home Secretary proposed up to £970 million more for Police funding across the UK. This has 20 been increased by a further £100 million to tackle knife crime specifically.

In Hampshire, we will see at least £25 million more spent on policing in 2019 than in 2018.

This money will mean 200 more Police Constables on our streets and additional police staff investigators across our County, keeping us safer.

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Greener, cleaner, safer communities

We’re ambitious for our area

We should encourage a reduction in non-recyclable waste.

There should be stronger deterrents against fly tipping and littering and stronger incentives to encourage appropriate disposal of waste.

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All new homes should have electric vehicle charging points for all off street parking.

All town and village centres should have electric vehicle charging points.

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New safe cycle-ways should be created that link homes to town centres and train stations.

New homes should no longer be constructed in close proximity to the M3, if air quality is poor.

Plastic straws, stirrers and cotton buds 22 should no longer be sold.

A Deposit Return Scheme should be established for plastic bottles.

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Allotment holding should be encouraged and more allotments provided.

Biodiversity improvements should be seen as a core function of local government, not simply as a response to new developments.

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Front line policing needs to be restored to address the rise in rural crime and keep all our communities safe.

Residents should know the name of the Police Officer who has responsibility for policing the area where they live. Every area should have a Dedicated Beat Officer.

Our towns and larger villages should have a location where the Dedicated Beat Officer can be contacted.

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Our Beliefs

Others talk. We deliver. We will secure a better future for you, your family and North East Hampshire. But we can only do that with your support, for your local Conservative candidate on 2nd May 2019.

A vibrant local economy that will revitalise and regenerate our retail centre, improving communities and creating jobs.

Infrastructure for the future

Better roads for everyone; faster, longer, better trains; and working to deliver new schools and new medical facilities for North Hampshire.

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Greener, cleaner, safer communities through local services that put you and your family first.

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