Making Swindon Borough Council into “a high-performing council in all areas” will take sharing services with neighbouring authorities in order to save costs.

That’s one of the headlines in the local Liberal Democrat party’s manifesto for the May 2 elections.

The Lib Dems cannot take overall control of the chamber at this election - with only two sitting councillors and nine candidates even an outstanding performance would leave it the third party.

But with the Conservatives holding a one seat majority, if the Lib Dems pick up a seat or two, it could be in a position to hold the balance of power in a hung chamber.

If it does, we could see a major change to the way the authority does business.

Coun Pajak said: “Swindon is one of the smallest unitary councils in the country. This is, in our opinion, not sustainable - we propose to share services with neighbouring councils, reducing costs and freeing up much-needed resources for front-line services.”

The theme of collaboration continues- one of the major policies is to abolish the cabinet system where decisions are made by leading members of the ruling party, and return to a committee system, saying “all councillors should be involved in decision-making rather than a tiny group, reconnecting the electorate with the council through increased local accountability, and improved decision-making.”

The changes, if brought about would see scrutiny ‘watchdog’ committees scrapped as the party says the cause delays to decisions being made and implemented and would no longer be needed.

In terms of policies outside the running of the council itself, the manifesto says more roads in urban or residential areas of the borough would have a 20 mph speed limit, and Thamesdown Drive would have more pedestrian crossings near schools.

The development of Swindon is another major theme and the manifesto says policies must be made in the context of climate change: "Now is the time for Swindon to play its part. It can no longer be the case of more urban sprawl and the continued inefficient use of land. There is a clear need to review all development plans in the area."

The manifesto says "small pockets of green space" must be protected from further development and also possibly set aside for a future tree planting programme as a carbon capture measure.

But it does say there is a need for more housing and expanded business districts: "Swindon currently has large areas of brownfield sites, most noticeably in the town centre, but some current business districts have significant areas of derelict land.

"Much of the area's housing needs can be accommodated through the construction of quality apartment blocks within the town centre."

To help business, the Lib Dems promise to introduce free parking for one or perhaps two hours in Old Town car parks.

The party would re-instate Sure Start centres for families with children, and would bring in a Neighbourhood Cares scheme for volunteers to address loneliness and isolation in the town and its surrounding villages.

More policies can be read at swindonlibdems.com/policies