ELECTION day is just around the corner - with the polls opening for the local elections on Thursday, May 3.

After months of campaigning from candidates their hard work is almost over, soon thousands of people are expected to turn out across the town to have their say on who will control the council.

There are 10 wards (not including Matchborough and West) with one seat up for election in each.

The Labour leadership has an overall majority of just one, holding 15 of the 29 seats.

It will be looking to hold on to and regain as many seats as possible.

The main opposition Conservative party will be looking to build on its current councillor tally of 13.

UKIP currently holds one.

People can vote on Thursday, May 3, with polling stations open from 7am to 10pm.

Counting will start from 10am on May 4 at the town's Abbey Stadium, with the results due by mid-afternoon.

Below, the county's five main parties offer their final pitch on why people should vote for them.

Cllr Juliet Brunner (Conservative)

At the heart of our campaign is the positive and optimistic message to ‘unlock Redditch’, which is in response to an independent paper published in February that laid bare the economic challenges our town must face so that it can compete and stand tall with the rest of the West Midlands.

A large part of our vision to unlock Redditch is our State of the Area Debates, which will be public meetings all over Redditch so that residents can examine the plans and ideas put forward so far, and hopefully add some of their own.

Just like everyone in Redditch, we have our own ideas on how best to regenerate our town centre. For us, the idea of converting our town hall to a block of flats is not the best way forward, though we support the idea of having more residential homes in the centre.

We would rather see a mix of commercial and leisure opportunities use the building, perhaps even attracting local galleries and independent retailers. These ideas and others can be covered in our State of the Area Debates.

We will not dither when it comes to regeneration. We accept the findings of the independent paper that says Redditch needs to carry out a “commercial overhaul” and a “step change” in policy approach.

That’s why we are disappointed that the current Labour council has not yet submitted a business case to access £5m that was put up by the Conservative government over a year ago for regenerating our town centre.

The Alexandra Hospital is vitally important to all of Redditch, and that’s why a Conservative-run council will continue to support our hospital and work constructively with all concerned to get the best outcomes for our town.

These are local elections about the local area you live in. The people you will be electing will be your local councillors, working hard for your local area.

Our priorities here include:

• Looking after the greenspaces around your area, ensuring good tree management and making sure our town looks great for residents, businesses and visitors by keeping our streets clean and clear.

• Tackling anti-social behaviour in partnership with police, the County Council and other community groups. We will be bold in how we tackle hotspot issues with a zero-tolerance approach to worst kinds of anti-social behaviour.

• Addressing problem parking in partnership with residents by finding solutions such as numbered bays or parking schemes as appropriate.

• Keeping your council tax as low as possible, so you have more money in your pocket to spend in our local economy. We will do this by ensuring any increases are kept at, or below, the rate of inflation.

Cllr Bill Hartnett (Labour)

On May 3 you will be asked who you trust to run Redditch Borough Council.

For the last six years Labour has ensured that we provide the best services possible here in Redditch despite billions of reduction in grants from Central Government to local government to councils.

Here in Redditch we have seen £3 million in grant a few years ago reduce to soon the position of zero grant, to the council will next year be paying the Government £300,000.

This cannot continue - enough is enough. You can help end this and send a message to central Government. On May 3 vote Labour.

A vote for Labour will ensure that we can continue to:

• Support our hospital - We will continue to support our hospital and fight to keep services here in Redditch.

• Invest in homes - We will make available and provide more affordable and rented housing RBC are already building homes for rent in Redditch.

• Investing in leisure services - We will protect, promote and invest in leisure services we have consulted the public in regards our services and have followed through on this public consultation.

• Economy and business - We will work with partners and neighbours to improve the local economy ensuring Redditch gets the best deal when dealing with the Redditch Gateway.

• Investment in our town- We will invest in improving our town centre, and the environment, we will ensure that we protect our heritage building here in the centre of town.

Claire Davies (Green Party)

The Green Party are standing candidates in each ward that is going to the polls on May 3. With Green councillors already working hard in other areas of the county, we are hopeful that our vision of a fairer and more sustainable future will appeal to the Redditch electorate.

With many developments being planned for Redditch, Green Party spokesperson, Claire says: “We believe this is a fantastic opportunity to ensure such developments enhance the natural environment; provide energy efficient, affordable housing for rent; and make it easier and safer for residents to travel around and through the town without relying on cars.”

With regards to the ongoing saga of the Alexandra Hospital, she added: “The Green Party believes in a public, fully funded NHS, and we demand that local services meet the needs of the town, which includes the restoration of services to the Alex.”

Liberal Democrats

We aim to build a community in which we can all take pride. A town where everyone has opportunities. We want to provide a high standard of public services for the people of Redditch to make our town a better place to live and work.

Council services should be:

Open and accessible

High quality and cost effective

Democratic and responsive

The Council must:

Support the local economy to provide the wealth to pay for local services

Ensure equality of opportunity

Protect the environment for future generations

Support local voluntary organisations to help those most in need

Redditch Liberal Democrats will campaign for:

Restoration of a full, modern and efficient health service in Redditch

Council Tax to be spent wisely – in particular with close scrutiny of the proposed redevelopment of the town centre

Better bus services and a move to hybrid and electric buses to reduce pollution

More electric car charging points in car parks and residential streets where on-street parking is the norm

All new buildings to be energy efficient, incorporating solar power where feasible

Full consultation with local people on housing developments which must include adequate provision of truly affordable homes

The council to use all legal means to ensure that no housing is left unoccupied long term

Adequate funding for libraries and Sure Start centres which give disadvantaged children the best possible start in life

Fairer funding of our schools to increase employability and life skills of school leavers

To keep GKN's headquarters in Redditch to protect local jobs

All residents of Redditch to be made to feel welcome irrespective of their origin and to oppose discrimination wherever it exists.

Cllr Paul Swansborough (UKIP)

The UKIP Redditch branch is very much alive and the local elections are a prime opportunity for people to have their say on the big local issues and of course Brexit. There is a huge vacuum in British politics right now and our aim is give the electorate a real alternative to that of the political establishment that has lost touch with the people of Redditch.

I’m proud of the fact, that as a UKIP councillor, I have always put the views of my constituents before party politics. A luxury that the Tories and Labour simply cannot afford due to their whipping of elected members.

A prime example being my objection to the Eastern Gateway that in my opinion is not sustainable in the current economic climate. Redditch is a fantastic place to do business but we need to ensure that we get the balance right and the views of local residents are taken into consideration.

Another key issue for us is the regeneration of the town centre that has been delayed by an ineffective Labour-ran council. Although a small budget has been made available to Redditch by central government we will be looking to source additional investment from the County Council and the commercial sector to guarantee it has a sound financial footing. The town hall would remain the public services hub under UKIP.

This would enable more money to be spent on higher priorities such as the train station and developing the brown field sites to create new leisure opportunities.

UKIP also recognises the need for more affordable homes in Redditch but we will not build them on greenbelt land and will always seek approval from residents for any proposed new sites. In Winyates we’re also committed to establishing a Neighbourhood Plan to take back control of planning matters and lead on the redevelopment of Winyates Centre. We are very much aiming to retain our stronghold of Winyates and build on our previous successes which is why we have fielded candidates in every single ward. We’ve seen more interest than ever from the public in these local elections and our team is ready to implement real change at the town hall.

I’m confident that under our new leader Gerard Batten, UKIP will go from strength to strength in the future and I’m personally looking forward to serving the people of Winyates for a further four years.