Answering Your Questions - Part 2

Why have you pinned your colours to the Conservative party?

I am a local resident who happens to believe that the Conservative party is the closest to my personal values. As a member of your and my community I am keen to be involved with a party that brings new ideas and ambitions to the borough’s outer lying areas such as North Cheam and Worcester Park. And lastly but importantly, when we as residents opposed the planning permission for the Sainsbury Local development in Central Road, I interacted with all our local Councillors and experienced first hand the Conservative Councillors real commitment to the residents they represent.What are you going to do to make a difference?

What are you going to do to make a difference?

I am not a stock politician. I am a Hampton Road resident, I run a local business and have children in several local schools. I share many of your concerns. I believe that a local ward councillor should be a champion for our area in Sutton’s Civic Offices. Too often, politicians become mouthpieces for the Council when speaking to residents rather than the other way around. Taking the correct approach can highlight the real problems in the area and attract attention and remedial action. As part of a resurgent Conservative Council group, I will be able to champion action for our area in their manifesto for the 2010 local council elections.

What are you going to do to enable my wife to drive her small Mini on the streets now that the current council have installed even more speed bumps making it almost impossible for her to go down a street without scraping the bottom of her car?

Speed bumps have long been the default option in the Council’s attempt to slow traffic. The new ramps in Church Hill Road have already been marked where cars have bashed the surface as they pass over. Firstly we need to look at other measures to bring traffic to a sensible speed. We can start removing speed bumps as we resurface roads, if a majority of residents wish us to do so.

What are you going to do to improve recycling collection so it happens more than once every other week?

Recycling is a complicated topic, largely dictated by European and national legislation. Changes were made to our waste collection system last year to try to reduce the amount going to landfill. This is because the council has stringent targets set by Europe and will be massively fined if it exceeds them. Of course, these will be passed on to the council taxpayers. Collecting food waste separately for composting, as is being trialled in parts of the borough, removes this from the brown bins, so reducing smells etc. However, it will be difficult and expensive to increase the frequency of collecting recyclables. One thing that may improve the situation is to introduce more small recycling centres, places that people can walk to and drop off small amounts of recycling. As well as the main centres like the ones at Sainsburys and Staines Avenue, the Council could encourage new developments to include shared facilities. Last year’s u-turn on the £35 per bag green garden waste charge suggested that the council had lost sight of what services residents wanted.

Answering Your Questions - Part 1

As a result of the survey that many residents will have seen, I've had an email from a resident in Marlow Drive asking some interesting questions of me as he decides how to vote in the by-election on 2nd July. I thought that highlights of the exchange

may help:

Should police have powers to move on groups of youths in our parks?
Resident: No - police already have the power to stop unruly behaviour but moving on groups just because they are full of youths is wrong. The park is for everyone.
Georg: You are right that the parks are for everyone. Young people should be able to enjoy our parks as well; most do. However the police need more powers to address antisocial behaviour when it occurs, especially from gangs that come into the area. Dispersal orders in these instances are effective in neighbouring boroughs. Many trouble makers in these places that aren’t simply there to enjoy the facilities, are coming in from outside Sutton.

Do the council pay enough attention to North Cheam and Worcester Park?
Resident: Hard to say - I have had cause to complain on a few recent occasions and the local Lib Dem councillor has always responded quickly. I could comment that the development of shopping areas in North Cheam and Worcester Park doesn't look great, but Sutton town centre is hardly something to write home about.
Georg: Sutton town centre is having £3million spent on it at the moment. You are right that it is hardly something to write home about. However, the state of the roads in Worcester Park are amongst the worst in the Borough, scant attention has been given to the effect that the state of Victoria House has on the wider area and the west of the Borough is under most pressure for school places and health facilities.

Do I get value for money from the Council Tax I pay?
Resident: It's always a lot of money but for the services that it has to provide, it's never enough. I honestly cannot see how a different party leading the council could spend the money any better. It would spend it differently no doubt, but better - who knows.
Georg: One simple example is the controversial £8 million Sutton Life Centre. It will contain a library, but a larger one nearby is being closed to help pay for the project. It will contain youth facilities but a youth club was flattened to make way for the new building. It will teach children citizenship but at three times the cost to parents as the existing citizenship course held at Sutton Junior Tennis Centre. Meanwhile, money has come from council reserves and the schools’ repair budget to fund a scheme at a time of economic crisis. You can see more about this at www.freezethetax.org.uk.

Share Your Concerns With Georg

It is all too common for politicians to lose track about why they sought election in the first place. Your priorities will be my priorities, should I get elected. Please let me know what you think by clicking here to take a survey. There is plenty of work to be done in the ward so let's change Nonsuch and the Borough of Sutton for the better, together.

Georg Backs Local Freeze The Tax Campaign: www.freezethetax.org.uk

Your Nonsuch candidate, Georg Braun, has backed our local campaign to freeze your Council Tax. This is because we believe that Sutton Council should be doing everything is can to ease the burden on residents during the recession.

Georg has given his support to the campaign for a 0% increase in Sutton's Council tax in a meeting with the Opposition Leader on Sutton Council, Councillor Paul Scully (pictured with Georg).

Currently you pay on average more the residents from other Boroughs. Conservative-run Councils have some of the lowest Council Tax in London and the country.

Georg says: "We pay too much Council Tax as it is. I'm proud to sign up to this positive campaign to make life easier for local people during a recession."

http://www.freezethetax.org.uk/

Hitting the Ground Running: It's Not Just The Big Things...

Georg Braun, your local Nonsuch council candidate, has hit the ground running. After literally five minutes on the campaign trail Georg found three heavily blocked drains.

He has now called them in to the Council for urgent attention. The gullies had clearly been neglected by Sutton Council for quite some time because they absolutely full of plant growth and soil.

This is not the first time that the Lib Dem-run Council has found itself in hot water over blocked drains. The Council only employs one 'gully-sucker' truck to for the maintenance of over 23,000 drains in the London Borough of Sutton. This means that the sole gully-sucker will have to clean 63.01 drains per day, which is 1 drain every 30 minutes, 24 hours a day, seven days a week just to keep drains and gullies fit for purpose.

Georg has seen firsthand that in heavy rainfall blocked gullies can cause serious damage to businesses and resident property. This happened in July 2007 when hundreds of thousands of pounds of damage to residential and business property was incurred during flash floods worsened by blocked drains.

Georg is campaigning for positive action to be taken so that this fundamental basic council service meets the standards which residents expect and deserve. It's not just the big things that matter in local politics, it's the small things too. After all, this is what we pay our council tax for.

Your by-election candidate: George Braun

Local resident, Georg Braun (pictured right), is your Conservative Party candidate in the Nonsuch by-election. Georg has issued the following personal message: -

Dear Neighbour,

I live my family in Worcester Park, just off Central Road. I guess I’m not your typical politician but I was struck by the contribution Chris Dunlop made to our area.

My children go to local junior and senior schools in Worcester Park and Sutton. I believe education is very important and this is why I serve as a school governor.

I have built up my own business in Surrey and understand the difficulties facing us in the ongoing recession. Times are tough.

Chris showed me how important our local representatives can be. His approach of making a positive difference to our area has inspired me to stand for election.

I hope I can count on your support in continuing his legacy of making a difference.

Welcome to Change Nonsuch Blog!

Following the sad and untimely death of Nonsuch councillor Christopher Dunlop a by-election is taking place. Polling day is on Thursday 2nd July.

Local man Georg Braun is your Conservative Party candidate. Georg would like to be able to speak to everyone he hopes to represent in Sutton Council but this isn't possible.

Georg and the team think it is important to communicate with local residents and that part of the reason people switch off from politics is because they don’t feel informed of what is going on.

So, in an effort to keep North Cheam and Worcester Park residents informed Georg and the campaign team have set up this blog. They hope you find it useful and please don't hesitate to post comments to hear the views of the local Conservatives who want to represent you on Sutton Council.

You can follow the campaign and discuss the issues that matter to you.