Latest news with #WarwickshireCountyCouncil
BBC News
19-05-2025
- General
- BBC News
Warwickshire recycling centre to close for water mains work
A household recycling centre (HRC) in Warwickshire will be closed for the day on Tuesday, to allow for essential water main survey work to be done on a nearby will be no access to Burton Farm HRC or the reuse shop, but the site is expected to re-open on Wednesday, Warwickshire County Council authority apologised to anyone planning to book an appointment to visit the site, and said bookings had been added that residents should consider using alternative sites at Princes Drive, Leamington Spa, or Shipton. "Unfortunately these essential survey works at Burton Farm are unavoidable," said Steve Smith, director for infrastructure, planning and environment."Warwickshire residents have made significant progress in reusing, recycling, and composting their household waste. "We would like to thank residents for taking the time and effort to recycle."Any changes to the planned re-opening will be posted on its websites and Warwickshire Recycles social media is the second time this year that the centre has closed for water repairs. It closed for about two weeks in March for repairs to its mains water supply, including fixing leaks and improving drainage, to reduce the chance of flooding forcing future closures. Follow BBC Coventry & Warwickshire on BBC Sounds, Facebook, X and Instagram.
BBC News
03-05-2025
- Politics
- BBC News
Warwickshire vote: Set out local priorities, Lib Dems tell Reform
All parties on Warwickshire County Council would need to set out their priorities after none took overall control of the authority in Thursday's election, the local Liberal Democrats have group forms the second largest block on the council, with member Jerry Roodhouse, who held his seat, saying he did not have "a clue" about the priorities of Reform - now the authority's largest party, with 23 councillors. The vote saw former Tory leader Izzi Seccombe lose her seat to the Liberal Democrats who secured Reform's success, mirrored and bettered in other parts of England, party leader Nigel Farage has alluded generally to possible approaches. He has spoken out against backing for some green technologies and diversity schemes, and while supporting values of "family, community and country", has opposed "woke" values, and urged an end to excessive council control yet to be decided between the players, Roodhouse said there had been no talk yet of any coalition deals, adding: "We'll have to wait and see how it goes."Nigel Clarke, the chairman of the Warwick and Leamington branch of Reform, has said his party is happy to work with the Conservatives at a local level and meetings are already Conservative group has nine seats, the Green Party seven, Labour three and Whitnash Residents Association one. The council previously had a strong Conservative majority, with the party holding 41 of 57 seats. Local elections 2025 in maps and chartsLive: Local elections latest from across England Roodhouse said: "I would be really interested to see, apart from the national priorities they've spoken about in Reform - about climate change and all these other equality and diversity things they want to get rid of - exactly what they want to try and change and what their priorities are for Warwickshire."I haven't got a clue."He said: "The political parties need to lay out quite clearly locally what priorities they've got, so residents can get a clear view."The Liberal Democrat said he was "not overly-happy" about the prospect of a Reform-led he stated: "At the end of the day, we have a democratic system that operates. They are the biggest party."He said: "It is now clearly a different landscape." Follow BBC Coventry & Warwickshire on BBC Sounds, Facebook, X and Instagram.
BBC News
01-05-2025
- Politics
- BBC News
Warwickshire voters head to 2025 local election polls
Polls for the 2025 local elections have opened across Warwickshire and people are heading out to cast their stations are open from 07:00 to 22:00 57 wards of Warwickshire County Council will be elected, with one councillor representing electoral divisions are the same as those used at the previous election in 2021 in which the Conservative Party won 42 of the seats. There are no elections taking place in County Council is responsible for services that apply across the whole of the county, including things like education, transport, social care and areas, like housing, planning applications, council tax collections and rubbish collections fall to district, borough, and city are also additional elections in a number of councils across the county: Borough by-elections in Atherstone and Arley, and WhitacreA by-election to elect one councillor for Rugby Borough Council's new Bilton wardTwo district councillor by-elections for Alcester West and Welford-on-Avon A town councillor election for the Royal Leamington Spa Willes Town district Where can I vote in person? Use our tool to find out who your candidates are and where you can vote. What you can and cannot do in a polling booth We have a great guide on what you can and cannot do in a polling booth, but here are some of the most important things you need to know:You need to take valid photo ID with youYou can only vote at your local polling station, so it is important you find out where you need to go - this might not be the same as in previous electionsPolling stations are open between 07:00 and 22:00 - you can vote after 22:00 as long as you were already in the queueTaking photos inside a polling station is not permitted - but you can take photos outsideAnimals, apart from assistance dogs, are not usually allowed in polling stationsBringing children to the polling station is encouraged but they are not allowed to mark your vote on the ballot paper What can I do if I cannot vote in person? The deadlines to register to vote, request a postal vote or apply for a proxy vote have all if you are already on the electoral roll and realise at the last minute that you will not be able to vote in person as planned, you can apply for an emergency proxy vote up until 17:00 on polling proxy - the person nominated to vote on your behalf - must also already be registered to vote. When will the election results be known? Polling stations close at 22:00 on BBC will be reporting what happens live, with results expected by Friday Council will also post the results for each division on its website. Follow BBC Coventry & Warwickshire on BBC Sounds, Facebook, X and Instagram.
BBC News
29-04-2025
- Politics
- BBC News
Local elections 2025: Climate, traffic and rubbish
In the run-up to the local election the BBC is looking at the issues that matter the most to you, as part of Your Voice, Your councils and other authorities hold elections on 1 climate change, litter and recycling centres were important to Sarah Turner from Leamington Spa in units were empty, the main road gets congested and visting household waste sites could be tricky, she said. Other people who contacted the BBC said the environment and climate change should be the county council's priority. "On the main street in [Leamington's] Parade, there's just hardly anything, you've got so many empty shops," Ms Turner through the town is another issue, she added, even though there was lots of cycling and walking provision."You'd be silly to take a job the other end of town to where you live," she said."With climate change and everything else, the Greens seem to be the only ones protecting what green spaces we've got left." Household recyling centresw (HRCs) should be able to take rubbish from anyone, instead of charging fees for businesses to take their waste thier."You'd think that this service would stop half of the stuff being dumped everywhere," she said. Warwickshire County Council has signed up to the Leamington Town Centre Vision - a scheme designed to regenerate the town over the next has also committed to becoming a net-zero organisation by 2030 adding it would support the county to achieve net-zero by 2050. What do the parties say? Candidates and parties in the Leamington Willes ward were contacted to have their Roberts, the Green Party candidate, said:Support was needed for town centres, and a fund was recently put forward for more events to drive footfall thereThe party prioritised making short journeys to walk and cycle to schools, leisure and work saferImproved infrastructure was needed, and money needed to be better directedLocal access to parks and the countryside was vital, and the party had worked to try and reduce the number of greenfield sites for developers that need to come forward in the local planThe party would review the household recycling centres to see where they can be made more accessible and increase their recycling Millar, on behalf of the Labour party, said: Supporting local businesses and growing the economy was a priority The party believed the active transport policy in the county was often "paid only lip service". It believed the county could "do better" in terms of cycle provisionA masterplan of better sequenced road works would be developedGreen spaces would be protected and a green municipal board for Warwickshire be developedThere was a need for better enforcement of fly tipping and the party would look into the "pay as you throw" approach for commercial Viana, candidate for the Liberal Democrats, said:It would boost small businesses and abolish business rates, replacing them with a commercial landowner levy to help high residents to travel to the town centre by walking, cycling or using public transportThe party wants to see cycle routes from other areas of Leamington joining the Kenilworth to Leamington cyclewayThe party would invest in accelerating the decarbonisation of all county council buildings and transport, with savings invested in local servicesStreet trees would be well maintained and more trees planted where possible HRC booking slots should be UK did not respond for comment, but its national manifesto said:It wants to free more than 1.2m small and medium-sized businesses from corporation tax, and abolish business rates for high street-based small and medium-sized enterprises, offsetting with online delivery tax at 4% for large multinational enterprisesNet-zero and related subsidies should be scrapped along with an annual £10bn of renewable energy subsidiesIt would keep road speed limits low where safety is critical, otherwise it would scrap 20mph zonesExisting rail and road links would be imprroved focusing on coastal regions, Wales, the North, and the Conservative Party did not respond for comment, but its 2024 manifesto said:It would ease business rates for high street, leisure and hospitality businesses by increasing the multiplier on distribution warehouses that support online shopping over timeAccess to finance for small and medium-sized enterprises would be improved, including through expanding open financeIt would invest £4.7bn for smaller cities, towns and rural areas in the North and Midlands - to spend on transport priorities. This will cut congestion and upgrade local bus and train stationsThe cost of tackling climate change for households and business would be cut, and net zero delivered by 2050Red tape that holds back the planting of trees would be cut. Follow BBC Coventry & Warwickshire on BBC Sounds, Facebook, X and Instagram. POSTCODE LOOKUP: Check if there is an election in your areaSIMPLE GUIDE: Everything you need to know about the local electionsGET IN TOUCH: Tell us the election issues that matter to youFULL COVERAGE: Catch up on all our election stories
BBC News
23-04-2025
- Politics
- BBC News
Warwickshire County Council to be different whatever voters pick
Whatever happens at the election, Warwickshire County Council is about to look very isn't about the prospect of devolution, which could see the larger county-wide authority swallow up the smaller districts and boroughs from North Warwickshire to changes will be down to the number of new councillors that will be elected when the public go to the polls on 1 May.A total of 20 of the 57 sitting councillors will be stepping down. The Conservatives will make up the bulk of that number, with 17 of the 41 Conservatives who hold a seat going into the election stepping down – including four of the nine who make up the leader's them is Peter Butlin, the deputy leader who has overseen the council's finances; and Margaret Bell, the portfolio holder for adult social care and health. These are two areas which present the biggest challenges to the council, according to Conservative Izzi Seccombe, who has led the council for almost 12 said: "I am very keen, particularly, that we prevent people coming into need and that we try and help them to stay independent as long as possible."But the second important part is that we help to grow our economy. That we make sure we are an attractive place to do business." Recent results in the General Election, as well as the district and boroughs, could perhaps provide an insight into why some Conservatives have decided to call it a to the north of the county, Labour overturned a huge Tory majority in 2024 to take over Nuneaton and Bedworth Borough Council. The Conservative MPs in the Nuneaton and North Warwickshire and Bedworth constituencies also lost their seats to Labour at the General that offers hope for Labour, a party looking to make inroads at a council they haven't led since 2005, when it was in no overall control. It's roads which Sarah Feeney, the Labour group leader on the authority, believes will be a key election said: "The state of the roads is probably one of the biggest things. If I look across every single division, yes people talk about social care, they talk about children's needs."But the state of the roads comes up time and time again here in Warwickshire, it's clear that people are unhappy with how long things take to get fixed." Another party which performed well in the north of the county during the 2024 General Election was Reform. While they didn't pick up any seats, they did finish third in the two constituencies – picking up 26% of the vote in North Warwickshire and Bedworth and 22% in have no history in the county council election, but Reform candidate James Crocker hopes the party's new-kid-on-the-block status will be part of its appeal to said: "The one thing that I can see is a genuine desire for change and it's coming from areas that maybe we've not seen in the past particularly."We've got a very different breed of candidate, that is really what I think people will notice over the next few months." The signs are that the south of the county could present a different challenge for the ruling Conservative Party. Stratford District Council is now under Liberal Democrat control after overturning a Tory majority in 2023 – marking the first time the council had been controlled by any other party since forming in the Liberal Democrat candidate for Stratford in the 2024 General Election overturned a Conservative majority of almost 20,000 to become the first Liberal MP there since Liberal Democrat group leader on the county council Jerry Roodhouse said care was one of the issues his party was seeing come up on the campaign trail. He said: "Adult social care and the elements of care, but not just older people, but younger people too - and that's mental health issues as well - are to the fore at the moment."We want to see much greater action from the county council and the services it provides."The Green Party is also in confident mood heading into the election. In 2023 it became the biggest party on Warwick District Council, taking control away from the Conservatives for the first time since 2007 after forming a joint administration with Labour. The experience of partnership working could be valuable for the Greens, particularly if the election ends with the council in no overall control – something that has happened four times since the modern version of the local authority was formed in candidate Nicki Scott said: "The Green Party is obviously about sustainability, everybody knows that. But, actually, it's about community and collaboration."I think we've got a really good track record of working with other parties when we need to and getting things done. But actually, also, challenging where required. We are not just the norm."
