End the blight
Our number one priority is ending the blight in Liverpool. Here's what a Lib Dem council would do.
Restore our empty homes and historic buildings
Too many homes and landmark buildings in Liverpool have been left to rot while Labour looks the other way. The Lib Dems would:
- Give grants to local people to fix derelict houses, and help people buy their own home.
- Use the council's powers to buy long-term empty properties and refurbish them.
- Trace missing owners of empty homes for free, using specialist firms already used by other councils.
Buildings we want brought back to life: the Irish Centre, working with investors; the 051 building, as a creative and music space for upcoming artists; the Abbey Cinema in Wavertree, working with its owners; and Eldon Grove in Vauxhall, as social housing.
A warden for every neighbourhood
Littering, dumping and dangerous parking blight streets across the city, and residents are left to report the same problems again and again. The Lib Dems would hire a community warden for every neighbourhood: a familiar face on the street, tackling litter and poor parking before they become a problem.
We'd also bring back resident parking schemes, so people can park outside their own homes.
End Labour's HMO free-for-all
Liverpool has seen the biggest rise in Houses in Multiple Occupation of any local authority in the UK, and Labour councillors sat back while it happened. Labour's housing chief even dismissed residents' concerns as “fearmongering” to “wind people up”.
When Labour finally acted, they protected some streets and left 38 of the city's 64 wards without full protection. Lib Dem councillors called the decision in and argued for every ward to be protected now.
- A city-wide Article 4 direction on day one of a Lib Dem council.
- Enforce the law and stop HMO landlords breaking the rules.
- Regular checks of suspected illegal HMOs reported by residents.
- Look to increase fees on HMO landlords.
- Monitor dumping and fly-tipping coming from HMOs.
- Use local intelligence to spot illegal HMOs.
Clean up “Litterpool”
Our streets, parks and play areas deserve better than overflowing bins, blocked grids and fly-tipping. Lib Dem campaigners are already out litter-picking and reporting grot spots. A Lib Dem council would make the council do its job.
- Clean up Liverpool's streets and parks for residents.
- Twice-yearly inspections of drains and grids to prevent flooding.
- Stop dumping in our communities, and oppose Labour's plan to make people book to use the tip, which would mean more fly-tipping.
Stop Labour wasting your money
Labour's record: land given away for £1 that is now lying empty, £20 million owed to the community of Liverpool left sitting unspent, and council tax up year on year with no improvements.
Labour made Liverpool a byword for scandal. A Lib Dem council would clean up our politics, make sure corruption can't creep back in, and spend residents' money as carefully as they have to spend their own. That includes knowing what the council actually spends: in Springwood, the council admitted it couldn't say how much it spent on 151 pothole repairs.
A Burglary Response Guarantee
In Merseyside, only around 8% of reported burglaries result in a charge. Families and businesses are being left to fend for themselves.
- A Burglary Response Guarantee: police attend every single burglary.
- Properly funded community policing.
- Safer junctions and crossing patrols outside our schools.
Do you care too?
About stopping Labour wasting your money, ending the HMO free-for-all, bringing back resident parking, stopping dumping, and a warden in every neighbourhood? The Lib Dems care too. A Lib Dem council would fix them.