All Bishop's Stortford residents, not just 'lifelong residents', deserve more

Your local Liberal Democrat team does not believe that 'lifelong residents' lose out to 'commuters'; many types of residents commute daily to other places, so the question creates a false distinction. Residents who have moved from elsewhere and made Bishop's Stortford their home have brought significant investment into the town, including through paying council tax, spending money when using our local businesses and in other ways supporting the local community.

However, it is recognised that in all of the South East of England, there is a serious lack of affordable and social housing - something which local and national Tory administrations are not tackling in either a serious or sustainable way.

We need significant investment in housing which is genuinely affordable, along with more social housing for those in need. We also need corresponding investment in infrastructure, such as through our rail and road networks. A lack of investment in transport infrastructure is all too evident in our town, which suffers from unacceptable levels of traffic congestion and air pollution. We have serious concerns that planned developments are unsustainable.

We, therefore, call on the local Conservative District Council, as a start, to use some imagination and compassion and build some affordable flats on the Henderson/Old River Lane site instead of building a luxury theatre and to support the development of further sustainable housing. We also call on the Tories nationally to support our local businesses by setting reasonable business rates, which all too often destroy your local shopkeepers' livelihoods.