The local Conservative Party has today thanked residents in Arley and Whitacre who voted for their candidate Karen Barber in the Borough Council By-Election after the Labour candidate won by 187 votes.
Mrs Barber said:
“I am disappointed that we did not do quite enough to win but would like to whole-heartedly thank all those residents who supported me.”
However, eyebrows were raised over claims made in leaflets from the Labour Party over the Arley Sports Centre, the future of which has been the major local issue over the last year.
The Conservative controlled Borough Council held a public consultation over the sports centre after difficult financial decisions are having to be made to balance the local authority’s books.
Following talks with residents the Borough Council voted through a new plan to keep Arley Sports Centre open for the future rather than to close it, but to reduce opening hours to save enough money to keep the centre sustainable. The Labour group on the council voted against these plans at a full Council Meeting on 29th June this year.
Conservative Leader of the Council David Humphreys commented:
“I think it is disappointing, but unsurprising, that Labour have misled residents during the election campaign. They voted against our proposals which saved Arley Sports Centre from closing, instead they called for an unsustainable plan which almost certainly would have led to the sport centre having to close due to lack of finances.
“As a group the Conservatives on the Council are having to make difficult decisions to clean up Labour’s mess after they left North Warwickshire Borough Council in millions of pounds of debt when in charge. We need to give residents value for money and the best possible local services but we must do this whilst improving our local finances or future generations will suffer in North Warwickshire.
“I’d like to thank Karen Barber for all of her hard work during this election and although we did not get the result we wanted, residents can be rest assured that we are on their side and we will not use their council tax contributions flippantly but will continue to make sensible and sustainable decisions for our community.”