Deprivation figures highlight wasted Council £ms

Appalling new deprivation figures that show little improvement in Oxford over the last decade (see below), are proof - claim the Greens - that the Council has been wasting £m's of taxpayers money on costly vanity projects with relatively little going to address the root causes of deprivation.

Says Cllr Craig Simmons, Leader of Green Group on Oxford City Council:

"These newly published figures show that the Council has not been spending its money wisely. Rather than tackling the root causes of deprivation it has been spending £ms on vanity capital projects."

Greens have criticised items such as: 

• £1.75m overspend on the staggering £20m tower blocks refurbishment project (See item 19, Full Council meeting 20th July 2015);
• £8m on the controversial new swimming pool at Blackbird Leys when refurbishment of Temple Cowley Pools would have saved £5m;
• £0.5m spending on car park improvements (as part of the Great Estates programme).

The Greens also point to above inflation rent increases that Council tenants have had to bear and the failure to prioritise the delivery of social housing in new developments (such as the Westgate - where there is no social housing; Barton - in the latter only 40% will be affordable rather than 50% and the Northern Gateway - much of which has been given over to commercial uses).

For more information: Cllr Craig Simmons 0773 980 3047.