Election: Alison Gavin Interview

ELECTION: Green Party
candidate Alison Gavin

As part of our General Election coverage, Other Side of Solihull has sent questions to the six individuals battling it out to be the next MP for Meriden. Their answers will be posted here. Today we hear from Green Party candidate Alison Gavin.

The impact of HS2 will be considerable for the people of North Solihull. Do you believe the scheme should go ahead and if so what steps can be taken to mitigate the disruption?
The Green Party and I are not in favour of HS2.  It is not needed, it would widen the north-south economic divide, severely damage our environment and cost an arm and a leg.  Green Councillor Chris Williams went to Parliament to speak up for mitigation on noise, moving the line another 100 metres eastwards and turning a proposed embankment past Chelmsley Wood into a viaduct.

There is still a gap in living standards, employment levels and health between North and South Solihull, what do you believe can be done to address this inequality?
Regeneration began in earnest before the recession but progress has been halting since then. Austerity measures have not helped the region, so it is important that we support an anti-austerity approach. The communities and local councillors in the North of the borough are working hard to ensure that the community is supported. I think that, in the medium to long term we need to ensure that multi-agency working helps to bridge the gap.

Two of the main concerns for people in the north of the borough are the lack of affordable housing and loss of green space - if elected as MP for Meriden how would you address what are sometimes conflicting problems?
Green space is being decimated in North Solihull.  Smith’s Wood for example has less green space than any other ward in Solihull. North Solihull was built to high density but with green space to compensate.  There needs to be a moratorium on loss of further green space here now.  On housing, Greens would scrap the right to buy – it has more than run its course now – and would certainly not introduce right to buy of housing association properties as the Conservatives propose.  There are hundreds of thousands of empty homes across the country but the law does not allow enough powers to local councils to take tough action.  I would push for more powers to be devolved to local authorities.  I would also push for house building on brownfield sites such as Powergen headquarters in Shirley and a redevelopment of Chelmsley Wood town centre to include housing.

GROWING SUPPORT: The Greens are now the second
largest party, and official opposition, on Solihull Council.

 When the Greens started to win support locally there was a lot of disillusionment surrounding the North Solihull Regeneration project. How do you feel the party has improved this situation?
The Council does now better understand people’s concerns thanks to the persistence of our Councillors.  This doesn’t mean absolutely everything is better but some lessons have been learned so certain mistakes won't be repeated.  When the regeneration started the budgets were huge and the regeneration scheme promised the earth.  People are now over the fact the “nirvana promised” is not around the corner but through us constantly focussing on the need for action on village centres and new schools, we have seen a big improvement there.  Some of the problems such as the Longley Walk “muddy” mound are being resolved.  However, some still remain such as the lack of action on parking areas off Tamar Drive and Green Party Councillors are pushing for change.

Some people have accused Green Party policies of being unrealistic or financially unviable. What would your response be to this?
The Green Party’s manifesto has been fully costed and drawn up on the back of research by academics over the past two years.  Some of the very long term policies are long term ambitions and not in the manifesto as we know they can't be achieved in the next 5 years.

Finally, why should people in Meriden vote Green on May 7
Our local councillors work very hard to preserve the green space and improve the quality of life of all residents- especially those who are vulnerable. We need more Green councillors locally so that more of this work can be done. Nationally, the Green Party are the only party who have made a serious commitment to social justice, the more Green MPs we have the more we can narrow the gap between the rich and poor by enhancing the quality of life of all constituents.