Here’s a summary of the District Council specific manifestos produced by the local political parties (in alphabetical order) and a look at what they have to say about cycling.
Conservatives – [full manifesto (pdf)]
- Freeze the East Cambs element of Council Tax for 2016/17
- Support more Community Land Trusts in other communities
- Aim for a 60% recycling rate and ensure bins are put back tidily
- Oversee delivery of the cinema
- Deliver the leisure centre in Ely and review and support leisure services throughout the district
- Push to ensure the Ely Bypass is built
- Keep free car parking in our city and town centre car parks
- Seek to increase car parking spaces at Littleport Station and Angel Drove, Ely
- Use the business rates retention fund on business development, creation of new jobs and opportunities for young people
No mention of cycling in the manifesto at all.
Greens – [full manifesto (pdf)]
- Decent homes
- Better transport
- Healthcare closer to home
- Local economy
Specifically mentions making cycling safe and convenient
The Green Party will fight for investment in better, more affordable bus services, get behind new rail stations at Ely North and Soham, and invest in the infrastructure to make walking and cycling safe and convenient for shorter journeys. We will fight for sustainable transport to be a central part of the design of new housing developments, rather than sprawling cardependent estates which characterise so much new development. We’ll also make sure there is long-term support for community transport, which many people rely on.
Liberal Democrats – [full manifesto (pdf)]
- Stand up to housing developers and insist that more homes are affordable, pavements and paths are built early, rather than not at all, and houses are built to higher environmental standards.
- Promote better facilities for pedestrians and cyclists throughout the district.
- Work towards a better recycling service that recycles more and is responsive to residents’ needs.
- Spend the proceeds from housing developments fairly across the district, not on expensive, prestige schemes.
- End the policies that damage the viability of shops in Ely city centre.
- Prioritise help for those on low incomes.
- Not increase the council tax this year or next and in future years keep any increases in council tax to a minimum.
Cycling gets a mention in the summary
The manifesto is littered with other mentions, including insisting on segregated cycle infrastructure
4. Better housing – for the benefit of people, not developers
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4.5.8 Prioritise the building of paths for pedestrians and cyclists so that they are finished before residents move in, rather than being still unfinished ten years later;
5. Getting about more easily
5.1 Travelling around East Cambridgeshire is far too difficult without a car. Liberal Democrats want to make it easier for people to walk, cycle and use public transport to get about, to try to avoid increases in traffic congestion.
5.2 East Cambridgeshire, being relatively flat, ought to be ideal for easy walking and cycling: but it is amazingly difficult to cycle safely between small villages such as Stetchworth and Woodditton, and cycling provision in the new developments of Ely is far poorer than it ought to be.
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5.9.1 Prioritise better facilities for pedestrians and cyclists across the district.
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5.9.3 Seek to improve lighting on existing and new pavements and cycle routes, subject to the limitations of the disastrous street-lighting contract imposed by the Conservative County Council.
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5.9.5 Insist that strategic, dedicated cycle routes in new developments are properly segregated from pavements for pedestrians.
5.9.6 Work with the County Council to improve safe cycle routes to and from the villages of East Cambridgeshire.
6. Leisure, recreation and shopping
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6.6.1 Insist that any new leisure and recreation facilities are properly served by public transport and connect well to the rest of Ely for pedestrians and cyclists.
7. Tackling poverty, isolation and poor health
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7.2 Better facilities will encourage more walking and cycling boosting people’s physical and mental health while better public transport will reduce the stresses of commuting and help people’s well-being and work-life balance.
[We will add Labour, and UKIP manifestos as and when they become available].
Profiles of the candidates
Ely Standard have profiles of all the district council candidates – here
Ely Cycling Campaign 