In this issue

Please vote Green in the City Council elections
Manifesto and election video
Did you know…
Manifesto summary
Strong Green propects
Making good use of allotments
Council to engage with young people
Recycling for flats
Save the Post Offices!
New OAP bus passes
News in brief

Please vote Green in the City Council elections

Amandine Stone (pictured left) is your Green Party Candidate for University Ward in the City Council elections on Thursday 1st May. Amandine, who lives on Earlham Road, is a postgraduate student at UEA. She has been an active campaigner in University Ward throughout the year, visiting residents, delivering newsletters and taking up issues with the Council. Recently the Green Councillors have been campaigning against proposed Post Office closures, for solar panels to be included in new housing and for 20mph speed limits on residential streets.

Help build a Greener Norwich: please elect Amandine Stone on Thursday 1st May.

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Manifesto and election video

Norwich Green Party's full Manifesto for the 1st May City Council elections is now available online and a summary is included below. If you would like a paper copy please call us on (01603) 611909.

Or… watch our election video here!

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Did you know…

There are currently ten Green Councillors at City Hall, forming a large opposition group to the Labour administration. Your area already has two Labour Councillors. Electing another one would take Labour closer to gaining overall control at City Hall. Electing a Green Councillor for University Ward would help keep the Council balanced.

Number of Green Councillors in Norwich since 2001
(now 10 City Councillors and two County Councillors):

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Manifesto summary

Among the policies that the Green Party is putting forward at this City Council election are:

• Pressing for a Quality Bus Contract, so the local councils can ensure reasonably-priced and reliable bus services.
• Preventing development on land with high levels of flood risk and land that is important for wildlife. Protecting and enhancing green spaces.
• Expanding doorstep recycling facilities and support the reuse, repair and recycling of materials through a Resource Recovery Park.
• Setting up area committees with local budgets, where ward councillors have real power to influence what happens in their areas (whether they are from the ruling party or not) and where local people can come along and have their say.
• Establishing more farmers' markets, to support local producers.
• Requiring a higher level of affordable housing in all new developments and ensuring that Council housing remains in public ownership.
• Bringing those services currently run by CityCare back under the control of the City Council so councillors can have more influence over ensuring a good service for residents.

Norwich Green Party's full Manifesto for the 1st May City Council elections is available here.

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Strong Green prospects

Photo: Green Party Councillors and members launching the party's local election campaign outside the Forum earlier this month.

On 3rd April Green Party MEP and Principal Speaker Caroline Lucas visited Norwich to launch the national Green Party campaign for the local elections. Norwich was chosen for the launch because of Norwich Green Party's strong prospects at these elections.

At the launch, Caroline Lucas talked of how all parties now speak green language but that only the Green Party has the policies for delivering green measures on the ground. She outlined some achievements of Green Councillors in different parts of the country, including in Norwich where Green Councillors have secured a commitment to renewable energy for new housing to help tackle fuel poverty and climate change.

Photo: Amandine Stone (right) with Green MEP Caroline Lucas.

Last year the Green Party was just one vote in one ward away from becoming the second party on the City Council. The Greens are hoping to make this breakthrough this year. The election of more Green Councillors would mean more Green influence over key policies decided at City Hall.

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Making good use of allotments

The City Council has adopted a Green Party motion to make better use of the city's allotments. The motion highlighted that many plots are overgrown or unused and that there are long waiting lists for city allotments.

The Council agreed that:

• there should be greater use of allotments by schools and community groups;
• potential new allotment holders should be offered a plot suitable to their needs and given support from experienced allotment holders.

The Council's Scrutiny Committee will investigate the issue later in the year to see what impact this new approach is having and what further changes are needed.

Green Councillors believe that allotments bring many benefits, from local food production to education and exercise, and would like more people to benefit from them.

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Council to engage with young people

Norwich City Council is to improve the way that it consults and engages with younger people in the city, following a successful Green Party motion to last month's full Council meeting. The Council's Scrutiny Committee will talk to young people from different parts of the city about how it can best give them a say in the Council's work. Options to be discussed include setting up a Youth Council.

This proposal is part of the Green Party's campaign for Norwich City Council to be more open, democratic and inclusive in the way it operates and the way it consults residents. For more information on Green Party policies for an Open Council please see the party's Manifesto.

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Recycling for flats

Residents living in flats in various parts of University Ward have been asking when they will be given local recycling facilities. The Green Councillors have consistently argued that flats must not be forgotten as the new recycling facilities are rolled out across the city. Some flats in Norwich have already been provided with communal bins for recycling paper, tins, plastic bottles and glass. City Council officers have produced a programme for more flats to be provided with facilities but have not yet confirmed the timescales. The Green Councillors believe that all flats need to be given these facilities as soon as possible.

In the longer term the Green Councillors would also like to see local recycling collections for food waste, batteries, different types of plastic and tetrapaks in addition to the materials listed above.

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Save the Post Offices!

The Green Party is campaigning against plans for the closure of local Post Offices. The National Post Office is currently conducting a consultation on its proposals to close 51 of Norfolk's 316 Post Office branches, including three in the City Council area. Most of the branches used by University Ward residents are not recommended for closure (Earlham Green Lane Co-op, Colman Road, UEA). However, nearby Bowthorpe Road is one of those that could be axed under the Government's closure scheme.

Councillor Adrian Ramsay, Green Party Parliamentary Candidate for Norwich South, said: "Post Offices are important local services that people need to be able to access easily. The Government should reverse its policy of large-scale closure of local Post Offices."

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New OAP bus passes

The new England-wide bus passes for free bus travel for the over 60s came into effect on 1st April. However, as reported in the local press, many residents are still without their passes.

Council officers are emphasising that residents can continue to use their old passes for free bus travel within Norfolk, while they wait for their new ones for free travel within the rest of England.

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News in brief

The long-awaited new Skateboard and BMX park is to be built in Eaton Park this summer. Keen Norwich skateboarders have been waiting for this for years. Green Councillors are disappointed by the delay but pleased that this important recreational facility will soon be available.

Plans for improving and re-opening the Memorial Gardens between the market and City Hall are now a step closer. The long-awaited planning application is set to be submitted this summer, with the work to take place between 2009 and 2011.

The Green Party and many local retailers supported the recent plastic bag free day in Norwich. The day was an opportunity to highlight the importance of re-using plastic bags, or using alternatives. This is because of the environmental problems caused by plastic bags relating to litter, landfill and harm to wildlife. Green Councillors are now pressing for more long-lasting action on the issue.

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Published by Tom Dylan, 123 St Leonard's Road, Norwich, NR1 4JN
on behalf of Amandine Stone, 137 Earlham Road, Norwich, NR2 3RG