Election: Belper East Candidates

All wording is exactly as given by the parties. We have changed nothing.

Candidates in this ward

 

Mark Oldfield
“I have lived in Belper for over twenty years, moving here with my wife to raise our children. I grew up in Youlgrave near Bakewell. Since moving here, I’ve seen Belper grow and become a vibrant, exciting place with many things to be proud of, including the annual Arts Festival and Belper Goes Green. Belper is a unique place with a unique heritage, but one that is under constant threat.
I work for a software company in Sheffield where problem solving, negotiation and working with disparate groups of people to reach solutions are key parts of my role. I hope to put these skills and experience to good use helping the people of Belper East, and Belper in general if elected as councillor.
I am standing in this election because I believe that with a Labour Council in control of the Borough and the Town, we can make some great changes that will benefit the people of the town. We will support local businesses, tackle traffic and parking problems and also protect our valuable and irreplaceable assets such as the Greenbelt and our World Heritage status. Only recently, the Conservative-led Borough Council voted to remove large tracts of land around Belper from the Greenbelt so that houses can be built on them – a Labour Council would prioritise building houses on brownfield sites, which I will campaign for and support.
Tourism is essential to this town and there are numerous reasons to visit us. The infrastructure we have, however, is sometimes lacking, and a Labour Council would work to ensure that sufficient facilities are in place for both residents and visitors, one example being new toilets in the centre of the town. Tourism brings economic benefits to the town and we will do all we can to ensure this continues to grow.”

 

Valerie Taylor

All Conservative pledges are the same.

 

John Morrissey

From manifesto, as we were not sent candidate information.

“What do we stand for…

 

• The future – one where we keep our beautiful scenery, our vibrant wildlife, an unpolluted atmosphere and a stable climate.

• Young people need a decent education and the chance to use their talents. We want them to be just as free to study, live and work as other young Europeans.

• Local power to influence decisions – free from the heavy hand of the state.

• Efficient local services, using the best mixture of free enterprise and council workers to deliver what people need.

• A transparent planning system to give local people more say on where and what type of new homes are built in Amber Valley.

• Putting more resources into the Local Plan system.This means working closely with parish councils and residents to ensure locally identified needs are met. It means working proactively with developers to unlock brown field ‘land banks’ such as the ex Stevenson’s site at Bullbridge and with social housing and older people’s home providers to build appropriate housing.

• Assisting the local health trust and social services in making decisions that plan ahead for social care needs in an ageing population.This means ensuring Derbyshire Community Health Services plan for a better-resourced and locally responsive range of services to replace the ageing Babington Community Hospital in Belper and ensuring new Primary Care Centre at Heanor is likewise adequately resourced.
• Working with local people to help provide leisure facilities for the needs of all ages. This means unlocking the stalemate over future developments to improve Belper’s leisure centre, listening to teenagers about what they would like to see in Amber Valley and getting the resources to build new facilities, or support and improve existing ones like the voluntary-run Strutt Centre, Blue Box and Drop-Inn in Belper. It means working with others to create new cycle routes and provide community taxis for evening and Sundays for people without access to cars.  It means putting resources into support for local heritage organisations like Heage Windmill, the Midland Railway Trust and Belper North Mill.”