Addressing the Cardiff Capital Region City Deal and freezing council tax are some of the key areas of focus for the Conservatives ahead of the local government elections.
With May 5 on the horizon, the Welsh Conservatives today released their manifesto at a campaign launch in Llandudno. The party has published a far-reaching plan for local authorities up and down the country, pledging to deliver "stronger and safer" communities across Wales.
Conservative SM and former Bridgend County Borough Councillor (BCBC), Tom Giffard has opened up on some of the key areas of focus for the county borough.
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"The main pledge [from us] is that we want to freeze council tax," said Mr Giffard.
"Bridgend has the fourth highest council tax in Wales and that is too high."
According to Welsh Government data, Bridgend County Borough has the fourth highest average band D council tax rate in Wales (2021-22) at £1,937.
The county borough has the sixth highest average council tax rate per dwelling (2021-22) in Wales at £1,649 - this is £105 higher than the Welsh national average, which is £1,544.
Mr Giffard, who will not be running for re-election at BCBC in order to focus on his role as a regional Senedd Member for South Wales West, added: "We think that [a freeze] will help people with the cost of living crisis."
"One of the [other] things we are pushing for is the City Deal. [It is] really important that it works for Bridgend as a county as well. We back the city deal, [but] at the moment we are not really seeing any tangible results for us as a county."
Mr Giffard added that he would also like to see a town centres regeneration scheme independent from the City Deal and the pedestrianisation of Bridgend town centre if the Conservatives win in May.
Free parking is one topic that has been picked up by Bridgend Town Independent candidates in their list of pledges ahead of the elections - one includes a proposal to turn unused taxi spaces and loading bays into 30 minute free parking zones and disabled parking bays.
When asked if free parking is something the Conservatives will be adding to their list of priorities for Bridgend, Mr Giffard said: "One of the problems with free parking is that it comes in for short periods at a time. People don't know when parking is going to be free. [It is] really important that the council has a consistent policy.
"It is all well and good having these [parking] schemes, but if no one knows about them or if they are not consistent, people are not going to get in their car and go to the town centre."
Other key local government pledges in the party's manifesto include:
- Protecting local services through a Community Ownership Fund that would help to buy facilities like pubs, shops or libraries
- Investments in roads and pavements to minimise potholes
- Supporting businesses and communities to make local areas attractive for investment
- Working with police to tackle anti-social behaviour, fly-tipping, graffiti and dog mess
- Enabling local communities to create Local Neighbourhood Plans so that residents can lead on where new housing and services should be built
- Increasing recycling and delivering services to enable communities to maximise what they can recycle
You can find all the candidates listed for each ward in Bridgend County Borough on the Bridgend County Borough Council website. Want the latest news from Bridgend County straight to your inbox? Sign up for free here.
