The Merton Liberal Democrat manifesto has been launched, with promises of 20mph speed limits on residential roads, disabled access to Motspur Park and Raynes Park stations and a thorough review of planning policies.

The Lib Dems have also pledged to set up a £2m Merton Wellbeing Innovation Fund, inviting organisations to bid for money to pilot new services supporting wellbeing and independence.

Tim Farron, MP for Lakes and Lib Dem party president, officially launced the manifesto outside Raynes Park station at 6.30pm on Tuesday, April 8.

He said: "There's some fantastic liberal ideas in Innovation Merton - on building stronger communities, supporting the most vulnerable and thinking and planning ahead - like campaigning to get a lift installed at Raynes Park Station, which we were speaking to hundreds of people about."

The "innovation" manifesto prioritises attracting businesses to the borough, with affordable industrial units, or "incubator sites", for industrial, commercial and creative businesses.

A shake-up of financial management is also pledged, with measures to ensure the council has the capacity to deliver all of its capital budget.

Merton Lib Dems are putting forward 42 candidates across all 20 wards for the May elections.

There are currently two elected Lib Dem councillors in Merton; Iain Dysart and Mary Jane-Jeanes, who both represent West Barnes.

The Lib Dems claim the Labour-led council has admitted it lacks the capacity to deliver more than £40m of investment each year, a shortfall of around £10m of the capital budget, causing important community funding to be delayed.

Following the group’s success in getting the council to agree to introduce One Planet Merton, requiring all policies to be judged against their impact on the environment, they said they will work with local groups to attract funding for parks and heritage sites.

Greater political engagement is also on the agenda, with promises of Budget Open Days enabling people to participate in the budget process and a requirement on the council to debate any topic that receives support, through a petition, from five per cent of Merton residents.

To view the full manifesto, visit: http://www.mertonlibdems.org.uk/news-mainmenu-2/28-2012-news/230-local-election-manifesto-innovation-merton.html


TODAY'S TOP STORIES