Launch of Crawley Borough Council Elections Campaign

On 12th April, Crawley Conservatives officially launched their Crawley Borough Council Elections campaign.  Candidates are standing in all 13 wards being contested on Thursday 3rd May.  For six years, Crawley Borough Council has been Conservative-controlled, with May 2006 representing a historic break with the past.

Councillor Bob Lanzer, Leader of the Conservative Group, comments, “I have been privileged to work with an excellent team of councillors in providing political leadership to Crawley Borough Council for the last six years.  We have many achievements to be proud of.

We have delivered six consecutive years of the lowest Council Tax increases in all of Sussex, including a freeze in 2011/12 and 2012/13.  This has been possible through delivering more than £7 million in efficiency savings, enabling Crawley Borough Council to protect front-line services.  We have provided stability to the Council’s finances with a return to a balanced revenue budget in 2012/13.  This has meant a capacity to deliver capital programmes that other district councils can only dream of.  Over the period, 2011 to 2015, we will have seen capital spending of £63 million.  Projects include Decent Homes, own-build Council housing, the restoration of Ifield Millpond; investment in The Hawth, Tilgate Park and Broadfield Barton, and a Life Centre in Ifield West.

To achieve this capital programme, we have made many efficiency savings.  The number of Council departments has been reduced from 15 to 10.  We have staged a number of systems thinking interventions to deliver improved services and cost savings.  We have shown with The Hawth and parts of Tilgate Park how different methods of service delivery can improve services for our customers, achieve new investment and save taxpayers’ money at the same time.

Elections should be about capacity and vision – a proven track record and the ability to articulate what you are for.  It is easy to say what you are against but that alone is not very helpful.  The Crawley Conservative Councillors’ team has amply demonstrated a capacity to deliver a successful future for Crawley and we seek a renewal of the mandate to continue that important work.

We attach great importance to economic development and it is pleasing to see famous name companies coming to Crawley.  There was a stream of good employment news starting from the end of 2011, and this bodes well for the future.  The first phase of Town Centre North will start this year.  We are actively seeking further phases of this development along with regeneration opportunities at another six town centre sites.

This year’s election campaign has seven core themes:

Working in partnership to create a prosperous future for Crawley

Providing high quality services

Delivering value for money for Crawley residents

Delivering new housing

Strong investment in the street scene

Revitalising the Town Centre

Leisure and Culture

We are pragmatic about how to achieve our aims.  What works is what matters.  Positive campaigning helps so we will do that as well.”

Crawley Borough Council Candidates

Ward                                     Candidate

Bewbush                                Susan Lester

Broadfield North                      Simon Darroch

Broadfield South                     Councillor Lee Gilroy

Gossops Green                      Councillor Beryl MeCrow

Ifield                                      Councillor Alison Burke

Langley Green                        Richard Nixon

Maidenbower                          Duncan Peck

Pound Hill North                      Councillor Keith Brockwell

Pound Hill South and Worth     Councillor Bob Lanzer

Southgate                               Liam Marshall-Ascough

Three Bridges                        Councillor Brenda Burgess

Tilgate                                   George O’Keefe

West Green                           Christine Brown