Conservatives Welcome Labour U-Turn on Road Safety Cuts
Coventry Conservatives have today (6th July 2010) welcomed a U-turn by Labour Councillors on their plans to cut £200k budgets for Local Safety Schemes and Safer Routes to School. The change in the Council's position has been revealed in response to a written question submitted by Councillor Allan Andrews, the Conservative Spokesman for City Services.
Allan tabled a written question to be answered at a meeting of the Full Council to be held tonight, demanding Labour come clean about which safety schemes they planned to cut. In response the written answer he received confirms that Labour has now given into Conservative pressure and abandoned their plan, announced shortly after the election, to make these cuts to Road Safety Budgets.
Commenting on this sudden u-turn, Cllr Allan Andrews said: "Whilst Conservatives supported plans to increase the Budget for Highways Maintenance we were clear that cuts to vital road safety schemes were not acceptable. Cutting these schemes would have put more lives at risk, so naturally I am relieved that Labour have changed their mind and this funding will now be protected."
One school due to benefit from a Safer Route to School scheme, is Manor Park Primary School in Cheylesmore and local Conservative Councillor Kevin Foster, is also relieved to hear of Labour's u-turn. He said: "Safer Routes to School schemes make a real difference to local kids and deliver crucial safety improvements. I strongly believed that there was no need to propose cuts to this budget and am glad that despite statements about how they were frustrated at not being able to push these cuts through at the last Council meeting Labour have now backed down."
