THE Conservatives have set out their priorities after winning control of Southampton City Council last week.

On May 9, the last results for the election in Southampton came in, confirming that the Conservatives would take back power in the city after nine years.

The party now holds 25 of the 48 seats on Southampton City Council while Labour - which previously had 30 - now holds 23.

Since the win the leader of the Conservatives, Cllr Dan Fitzhenry has said his priority will be to deliver on the pledges made in the manifesto.

Below the Echo has put together a list of the schemes under review in Southampton after the election:

Freezing council tax

Following the election, Cllr Fitzhenry said the priority for the next years is "getting Southampton moving, recovering from this pandemic".

To do this the Conservatives plan to put a freeze on council tax in the area.

The leader said that this will help the people of Southampton to "keep more of [their] money during these challenging times."

Create 1,000 parking spaces across council estates

Before the election, the Conservatives said they would bring forward a plan to deliver 1,000 new parking spaces in the city's estates.

Cllr Fitzhenry said this would "tidy up the 'muddy mess': providing new spaces, planting new trees and helping restore pride in our communities."

Removing the bus lane on Bitterne Road West

Another priority set out after the election win is to remove the bus lane on Bitterne Road West.

Part of the carriageway between Union Road and Maybray King Way has been turned into a temporary lane for buses, cyclists, taxis and private hire vehicles.

But since the lane was implemented, Cllr Fitzhenry has been calling for it to be removed, and has now outlined this as something his party will do going forward.

Scrap evening parking charges in the city centre.

As part of the cities recovery from Covid-19, another scheme that the Conservatives called to be scrapped, even before the election was evening parking charges in the city.

Previously, then opposition leader, Cllr Fitzhenry, said: "Now we believe the Labour council can do more to support our city's recovery like supporting our proposals to scrap our evening parking charges from April 2021 permanently."

Despite these calls though, the charge remained in place and is something the party plans to change after taking control of the city.

Look at forms of mass transport

Following the election, the Conservatives pledged to look at forms of "mass transport" for the city, adding that a long team plan will also be required.

Cllr Fitzhenry, said: "We need to be looking at this year. Delivering on the transport plan will take some time.

"So there's short-term things and long-term things we'll be working on. "

Reopen Bedford Place

Since taking back control of the council, one of the things the Conservatives say they will do is reopen Bedford Place to traffic.

The closure proved controversial when implemented last August but despite this, some traders have said they like the pedestrianisation of the area.

Asked whether the road closure will remain in place, Cllr Fitzhenry said: "We have their information from the last six months, our plan currently based on that information is to reopen Bedford Place but we will consult those traders first to make sure that that works for them.”