Gloucestershire Green Party - towards a just, equitable and sustainable society

Greenlogo The Federation of Small Businesses for Bristol & Gloucestershire (part of the National Federation of Self-Employed and Small Businesses Ltd) have requested answers from local parties re small businesses. Click 'Read More' for Gloucester Green party's response.

Thank you for your 8 questions regarding what I and other Green candidates would do for small business if elected. I am replying by e-mail to get my reply to you sooner, I hope you find that satisfactory.

1. What single proposal do you have to help local small businesses and how might you use the Local Business Growth Incentive Scheme Award to support this?

I personally do not shop in any of the big supermarkets, preferring the service of local shops, the farmers Market, and occasional use of the Co-op which also has local ownership. This is in line with Green Party Policy which aims to strengthen local economies. As a councillor I would work towards making it possible for all to have the choice to shop in the same way, supporting local business and keeping money in the local economy rather than have it paid out to shareholders with no connection to the city.

With regard to the LABGISA there is much potential to use revenue to help new businesses survive and encourage local businesses to become more of a reality in our ever centralised economy. Growth for growth sake is not sustainable, the right businesses for the future need to be encouraged. That is local businesses selling local goods. One possibility (linking to question 6), could be to provide free recycling to businesses in their early vulnerable years. Grants should also be available to promote greater energy efficiency, which in addition to cutting CO2 emissions would also cut fuel bills. New developments should be built to the highest specifications for fuel efficiency and to use natural light for the same purposes. It is Green Party policy that larger businesses should pay higher per capita rates than smaller businesses.

2. What are your views on local car parking charges and free parking at large supermarkets? What steps would you take to provide free parking in our town centres so that customers are encouraged to support local small businesses?

Large supermarkets damage local economies: the evidence on their poor environmental record and loss of jobs is overwhelming. There are now several pieces of research that show clearly that the people who spend most money are those who walk or cycle in towns. Free car parking promotes more traffic, and it is too much traffic which kills off the retail environment, whereas pedestrians enhance it. Furthermore we have to significantly cut our current levels of CO2. A key way to do this and tackle climate change and dwindling oil supplies is to significantly improve provision of public transport to the city including the provision of more bus lanes to speed bus traffic and to improve cycle routes and the pedestrian environment with a city-wide 20 mph like Portsmouth are planning. One other key policy is to require supermarkets to charge/pay for parking as this would start to adjust the balance.

3. What would you do to to ensure local planning rules encourage more affordable and suitable business premises?

I think it is disgraceful that so many city centre shops are closed/unoccupied, and that many are subsequently vandalised, which brings down the whole shopping environment of the city. If the fortune of city businesses is to improve then they need affordable premises from which to work. If premises are more affordable then more are full. Higher rates for small businesses are counter-productive as they result in loss of businesses.

A great deal of development is planned for the city, this needs to be sensitive to our needs and provide the highest standards of build. Currently none of the new development is planned for firms which make anything, I find this very worrying, as nearly everything sold in the city is produced elsewhere which sucks money out of the local economy.

Consultation events need to be organised with the small business community, bringing in people with ideas for new businesses. These need to be a real part of the planning process. not a gloss. I have recently been looking at Planning For Real as an option for Moreland. This needs to be city wide.

4. Councils can support local Post Offices with rates reductions and also through their economic development departments. What will you do to help keep Post Offices open?

I live in a Ward without a post office, the nearest is over a mile away. I believe they provide essential services and more are needed not less. In Gloucester there are related problems with the proposed closure of the Post Office Sorting Depot. I am involved in campaigns to stop this. Most of my post is local and an 80 mile addition to the journey to my post will make it far less reliable, something which could have serious knock-on effects for business. I would fully support Council help to local Post Offices in various ways including financial as they provide much more than just a purely economic role for communities.

5. How would you encourage and improve security and crime prevention measures to reduce business crime?

The most important effects of business crime cannot be reduced by local councils. They are caused by national policies such as the misuse of drugs act. Prohibition is not working. In Switzerland when they moved to a medical/social model of dealing with drug use avaricious crime was reduced by half. I will continue to campaign for changes to laws which result in crime. This has also been shown to reduce rates of people starting to use drugs and improve the success of those wishing to stop using drugs. In having these effects the need to spend money on policing and CCTV will be greatly reduced allowing further savings in Council Tax and Business taxation, giving local businesses and their employees a double saving.

I work for a local charity helping people with behavioural problems and attend many events with the Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnership. This is a useful service for helping to reduce both crime and the fear of crime. In the present environment I fully support moves for greater Police presence on our streets.

6.Most small businesses want to recycle. How would you support local waste management initiatives for businesses?

Gloucester has one of the worst recycling rates in the country. Much of this is down to the fact that businesses would have to pay extra to recycle even though they would be dealing with the same amount of waste and helping to prevent substantial amounts going to landfill. It is essential that this is reversed and incentives are provided to recycle. The current situation will become worse if important targets aren't met, as the council will receive fines which will have to be paid by residents and businesses in Gloucester, thus increasing the tax burden and making costs higher and business more difficult. In some areas local Councils have supported initiatives to help local businesses recycle: it would be good to see more of this happening in Gloucester. We must also not forget that reducing waste is a critical part of the message we need to get across to all.

7. How will you make sure that locally set service charges and license fees do not impact negatively on the small business community?

I will talk to small businesses to find out what impacts service charges and licence fees may have on them. Any effects should support local small business over larger corporations. Where small business communities have come together they have developed a much louder voice and campaigning activity (see for example www.otba.org.uk) and are often consulted on all local decisions.

8. What will you do to improve the chances of small businesses winning local authority contracts?

Big business is not good for communities. It takes money out of the economy and disempowers the community. It is essential that local businesses get council contracts and they should be encouraged to tender for them. I would work to see the Council help small businesses to work together creatively to respond to contract opportunities. We need clear procurement policies that ensure we can get best value from local businesses rather than large corporations.

Small businesses are the heart of a Green economy. At the moment support is biased towards large corporations. It is vital more is done to support our local economy by supporting local businesses.

Thank you once again for your enquiry.

Bryan Meloy
Coordinator of Gloucester Green party and candidate in
Moreland Ward
Gloucester
One Planet. One Chance. One Vote. See more on our website:
www.glosgreenparty.org.uk or phone our election hotline on 0845 4562602.

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