Conservative City Council Key Achievements Since 2004
· Re-opened the Folk Museum after it was closed by the previous administration.
· Repaid £10 million of debt inherited from Lib-Lab administration.
· Kept council tax rises down – an average of less than 3% a year against 10% a year average for the previous 10 years when the other parties ran the Council.
· Recycling rate increased from 7% to 50%. Green box recycling extended across the whole city, plastic bottles and card now collected and separate food waste collection.
· Delivered on regeneration
- - St Oswalds Park
- - Docks warehouses restored and new public spaces created
- - Gloucester Park transformed
- - Gloucester Quays phase one opened
- - Interim works carried out in Kings Square
- - Linkages work between Gloucester Quays and the city centre near completion
- - Negotiations taking place with developers for Kings Quarter and the Railway Triangle
· Gloucester City Homes 3-star rating and £40m of investment in “Decent Homes”.
· Level of new affordable housing units delivered consistently higher than the previous administration – 275 in 2008/9, 226 in 2009/10 against 50 in the last year of the previous administration.
· £1 million museum refurbishment project underway.
· Leadership through the floods of 2007 and over 60 flood alleviation schemes undertaken since.
· Tall Ships Festival held in 2007, 2009 and will be held in 2011.
· Christmas activities increased –new lights, switch-on procession, Victorian market.
· New outdoor market and car boot site opened at Hempsted Meadows, with more events now taking place there.
· Creation of Marketing Gloucester to promote the city.
· Creation of Aspire Leisure Trust to manage GL1 and Tennis Centre.
· £250,000 set aside for improvements to the Blackbridge athletics track.
· Helped Gloucester City Football Club to return home to the City. Planning application now submitted.
· Establishment of streetcare partnership with Enterprise.
· Restructured the organisation to take out excessive management and reduce costs.
· Climate change strategy approved and being implemented – combined heat and power at GL1, electric car, plan for wind turbine at Alney Island.
· Restoration of historic buildings - 66 Westgate Street (former Teapots) with Council grant, Robert Raikes House, St Michael’s Tower, St Owalds Priory, Trust set up for Llanthony Priory.
· Major investment in street furniture, new dog and litter bins.
· Major investment in play areas across the city – over £1 million spent on over 20 sites.

