Welcome

Thank you for visiting the website of the North Warwickshire and Bedworth Conservative Association.  We cover the Parliamentary constituencies of North Warwickshire, including wards within North Warwickshire Borough Council and Nuneaton & Bedworth Borough Council. The constituency is large and diverse, with both rural and urban areas, so it's a challenging area to campaign in.

 

News in Pictures

Vote Conservative - Save Bedworth's Green Belt
Leaked documents show that Labour Councillors have drawn up secret plans that could see greenbelt land at Moat Farm between Hospital Lane, Cardigan Road and Mavor Drive destroyed to make way for unwanted and unnecessary housing developments YOU CAN’T TRUST LABOUR TO PROTECT BEDWORTH’S GREENBELT. The leaked plans, which Labour tried to keep secret until after the Council elections in May, show the green fields around Moat Farm as one of several areas earmarked for house building. Greenbelt land stretching from Bede Village along Hospital Lane to Cardigan Road and across to Mavor Drive could be concreted over as a result of Labour’s plans, but the public will be denied their say until after the elections take place in May. No wonder Labour was so keen to keep details of where they plan to allow building to take place secret, and thank goodness they were leaked. Local Conservatives have warned of Labour’s intentions to build in the green belt between Bedworth Heath and Ash Green for a number of years, and we’ve been proved right. The area was last under threat when Gordon Brown’s Labour Government imposed a 13,000 house building target on Nuneaton and Bedworth. Conservatives successfully fought off that threat when they had control of the Council from 2008 to 2010, and the new Coalition Government scrapped those top down targets and put local Councils in control. But this Labour Council has spectacularly failed to develop a coherent plan for housing, which has already led to unwanted development at Keresley and Weddington. Now these leaked plans show that, under Labour, the Moat Farm area close to your homes could be next. ONLY THE CONSERVATIVES CAN SAVE BEDWORTH’S GREENBELT The Conservatives will always talk to the people of Bedworth about our community’s housing needs, and will prioritise development on brownfield sites Damon Brown, the Conservative Councillor for Bedworth Heath for the last four years says, ‘The area around Moat Farm from Bede Village along Hospital Lane to Cardigan Road and across to Mavor Drive is an important part of the greenbelt separating Bedworth from Ash Green. It’s a green haven for wildlife and is appreciated by everyone living in the area. During the last four years I have worked with local residents groups in Ash Green, Keresley and Longford to try and protect the green spaces around Bedworth from Labour’s unwanted building plans. The plain truth is that the leaked development plans have been put together in secret by Labour. You just can’t trust Labour to protect Bedworth’s greenbelt - whatever they say in their election leaflets. I have a good record at the Council for representing people in Bedworth Heath affected by unwanted and unsuitable development applications – my message is clear – only the Conservatives can save Bedworth’s greenbelt land.

A large and diverse constituency

 

 

North Warwickshire and Bedworth is a large area in the Midlands. Unlike many constituencies, it includes urban areas and rural communities, with three major motorways running through it.

North Warwickshire and Bedworth is home to 95,000 people, all of whom have different priorities and are concerned about different issues.

 

 

 

News stories

20th April 2012
Unemployment in North Warwickshire & Bedworth Falls Again

Dan Byles, MP for North Warwickshire & Bedworth, welcomes latest improvement in local unemployment statistics

Dan Byles, the Member of Parliament for North Warwickshire & Bedworth, has welcomed the latest unemployment figures which show another fall in unemployment across Warwickshire and Coventry.

The latest figures out this week from the Office of National Statistics show that unemployment in North Warwickshire & Bedworth is down from this time last month, and down from this time last year, standing at just 4.0% compared to a national unemployment rate of 8.3%.

Speaking after the figures were released, Dan Byles said:

"We must not be complacent in any way, but it is good news that unemployment in North Warwickshire & Bedworth has fallen once again to 4% and now stands at less than half the national rate. This shows that local companies are growing and taking on staff, and I know of several businesses that will be taking on more in the months ahead.

"We have faced a rocky time over unemployment locally in the recent past. Before the general election our unemployment rate doubled between January 2008 and January 2009, and had risen another 23% by January 2010. It is now falling, although slower than I would like, and I will continue to do all I can to boost local companies and jobs.

"The European economy is still fragile, but independent estimates from the IMF and the Office of Budgetary Responsibility forecast the UK economy to grow by 0.8% in 2012 - faster than Germany, France and faster than the Eurozone as a whole. That is good news."

5th April 2012
Message from new Association Chairman

Last Friday I was delighted to take over as Association Chairman.

 

It promises to be a very busy start to my term with Local Elections next month in Bedworth followed closely by the selection of a Police Commissioner Candidate in Warwickshire before we then start our campaigning for next year's County Council Elections. Talk about hitting the ground running!


That said, I am very excited about the challenges ahead and looking forward to being very much "hands on" with all of the Campaigns that we face. Over the last few years I have gained invaluable experience in managing and running successful Election Campaigns, most notably as Campaign Director for Christopher Pincher (Tamworth) in the 2010 General Election where we won,  gaining a swing of 9.5% from Labour, one of the highest in the country. I am delighted that we have some excellent candidates for all of the Elections that we face and I look forward to working with you all over the coming months.


It won't all be hard work though as aside from the Campaigns, we have an exciting line up of social events to look forward and we will be welcoming some high profile speakers to the region - please keep an eye on the website for the most up to date information of our program as more will be added shortly. 


As an Association, we are always looking for new members, helpers and candidates, so if you would like to know more about any of these areas, I am always happy to talk to you about how you can get involved and help us. For existing members, your contribution is vital to the continued success of the Association so please feel free to get in touch to discuss any ideas or plans that you may have to further enhance our reputation in the region. Whilst I am waiting for an email address to be set up you can contact me via the Association Office. Further contact details will follow in due course.


Lastly, I would like to add to the many thanks passed on to my predecessor, Peter Fowler, who worked continually for the Association during his time as your Chairman. I am extremely pleased that Peter has agreed to stay on as part of my Officers Team for the coming year and it is a fitting legacy for his efforts that we now have a Conservative MP in the Constituency for the first time in what had been far too long!

Best wishes

 

 

Craig Tracey

Chairman

North Warks Conservative Association

 

4th April 2012
Leaked Documents Reveal Council Developing Plans To Build Houses On Bedworth's Woodlands

Before to the last general election, Nuneaton & Bedworth Borough Council was legally required to plan for building 13,800 new houses in the borough. This was a completely unsustainable figure and was very unpopular locally, but it was being imposed by the previous government under their highly controversial 'Regional Spatial Strategy' or RSS.

Following the general election, the Coalition Government scrapped these top down targets and handed decision making on housing back to local councils. That was good news, and the planning ball was passed to local councillors to develop sustainable plans for their areas. Sadly, here in Nuneaton & Bedworth, councillors appear to have firmly dropped that ball. Nuneaton & Bedworth Borough Council have now had two years to determine what housing numbers they believe we need, and to develop a Local Plan for the borough to deliver those houses. They still have not done so.

Recent adverse decisions at Weddington and Keresley have clearly shown that the council has completely lost control of housing planning. They need to bring forward a coherent Local Plan, and quickly. However, leaked secret documents from Nuneaton & Bedworth Borough Council have now revealed what may be the reason why the ruling Labour Group on the council have been so slow to publish a Local Plan. It turns out they are developing plans to build houses on The Woodlands and at Goodyers End, and they didn't want anyone to know about it until after the local elections in May.

As a result of the leaked plans, those running the council have been caught red handed trying to keep this secret until June. The precious green spaces around The Woodlands and The Nook nature reserve have been earmarked as potential sites to build hundreds of new houses, as has land at Goodyers End, between Newdigate Primary School and Bede Village.

People need houses, and those houses do have to go somewhere. But we need the right number of houses in the right places at the right time. Local people should be involved in these decisions from the beginning, not as an afterthought once small cliques of councillors have already decided, in private back-room meetings, where they want the houses to go. That is what seems to have happened here in Nuneaton and Bedworth. There has been no public involvement or consultation on these leaked plans, and it is disappointing that they were being kept secret until after the councillors responsible had faced local electors in May. In particular, the decision to include The Woodlands in the list of potential building sites has caused considerable concern among local people. Just a short while ago there was cross party support in the council to move The Woodlands into the greenbelt to protect it from development. Now it is apparently thrown on the table alongside every other potential building site.

Councillors now need to come clean and publish all plans relating to future house building in Nuneaton & Bedworth. We need a public debate about future housing numbers, potential sites and the availability of brownfield land. We need to restore confidence in the council's openness on this issue. And above all, we need to get in place a coherent Local Plan that has the support of local people. Localism gives our local councillors the power to control planning for housing. They need to demonstrate they can be trusted with that power.

North Warwickshire & Bedworth Conservatives

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Dan Byles MP

Dan Byles is the Member of Parliament for North Warwickshire and Bedworth. He's a former soldier who is working tirelessly to protect local greenbelt from overdevelopment, to prevent a return to opencast coalmining, and to stop High Speed Rail 2 from blighting our countryside. You can read more about him here and by visiting his website

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