ELMLEY CASTLE AND SOMERVILLE

DARREN CORBETT (GREEN)

As a relative newcomer to local politics, I am proud to be representing the Green Party in Elmley Castle and Somerville.

In a district that has for many years been dominated by Conservatives, the Green Party intends to bring balance to our one-sided council by ensuring that whenever necessary fair and proper debate takes place.

I believe strongly in the core priorities of the Green Party - protection of the environment, development of sustainable housing, creation of employment opportunities in the environmental and natural sector, better transport and local amenities for all, and am also of the opinion that nature, food-growing, and self-sufficiency should feature prominently within primary years education.

By voting Green both locally and nationally, you will be sending a strong signal to all parties that in this time of environmental crisis, Green issues must be considered as the number one priority.

GEORGE MACKISON (CONSERVATIVE)

EVESHAM NORTH

JOHN GOWERS (LABOUR)

Having retired from running a variety of small businesses, I now divide my time among family, hobbies and working for a fairer society. I believe my years in business have given me an insight into human nature as well as the skills needed to get things done, whilst maintaining an ethical perspective.

I have a practical, can-do approach to problems and believe the best solutions are found from working with others, sharing ideas and coming together to overcome obstacles.

If elected, I look forward to working alongside local residents to tackle the concerns you have and help make Labour Party ideas for a fairer, more cohesive and successful community a reality.

PETER GRIFFITHS (CONSERVATIVE)

GARY HALE (INDEPENDENT)

I was born in Evesham in 1974, at the town’s Avonside Hospital, and was brought up on various council estates throughout my childhood. Many people still remember me when I used to work on the checkouts at Safeway, or much later in life driving the Midland Red buses around town. Many of my family still live in the town and surrounding villages, and I am proud to share my beloved town with my wife Becky and daughter Sophie, who were both born in Weston Super Mare.

For the last two years, I am proud to say that I have served as a town councillor on Evesham Town Council, and I hope to continue the council’s excellent work for the next four years.

I think the world of my birthplace, and like my fellow residents I am fed up with all the extra unaffordable housing being built on our sacred agricultural land and orchards, and no investment in the local infrastructure. I’m all for affordable housing being built in the right areas, but with more and more traffic problems....something has to give, and I believe that the rate of unaffordable homes being built should be slowed down or at least brought to a halt.

Traffic jams, a deteriorating bus service across the Vale and even homelessness will be at the top of my agenda.

I am, and will be, proud to be your local councillor both in town and across the district.

EMMA NISHIGAKI (INDEPENDENT)

I am 49 and married with two children. A former local school teacher, I now tutor maths GCSE.

I have lived in Evesham North ward since a very young child and have extensive local knowledge and passion.

The problems in the north of Evesham have largely gone ignored and the electorate deserve a local person, with no central party ties, to fight for them. I will not make empty promises about Brexit, education and healthcare as these issues are outside Wychavon control.

I am specifically concerned about antisocial behaviour, public drug use, explosion in local burglaries, congestion caused by commuters parking in residential roads to avoid parking fees and unacceptable use of residential roads by HGV's.

I will promise to oppose further housing before relevant infrastructure such as roads, schools and doctors are in place.

It is my firm belief that at local level, councillors should be independent of central party politics in order to best represent their area. Finally, I will push for further youth facilities and events for our children.

Almost all voters don’t know who their councillors have been for the last four years. I promise to be proactive, visible, accessible and accountable.

ROBERT RAPHAEL (CONSERVATIVE)

I’m the son of Diana and Sam Raphael and grandson of Ernie and Eileen Huxley from Hampton Ferry.

After leaving school I trained as an accountant with Evesham firm Emslie and Co. before joining the family business.

I was elected to Evesham Town Council in 1992 and at the age of 22 became Evesham’s youngest ever mayor in 1998. I was re-elected to the role of mayor in 2012

I coordinates the annual Big Evesham Spring Clean and I’m an active supporter of Evesham In Bloom and the national Britain in Bloom Competition. I was the organiser of the 2017 and 2018 Evesham Christmas Tree Festival.

I’m also a trustee of Wallace House Community Centre in Oat Street, trustee of Evesham Relief in Need Charity (a charity that aims to provide assistance for individuals and groups within the Vale of Evesham), trustee of Evesham Volunteer Centre, Member of The Vale of Evesham Commerce and Tourism Association and Worcestershire Chamber of Commerce.

EVESHAM SOUTH

PAUL BENNETT (CONSERVATIVE)

I have lived in Evesham for 15 years and I am married to Jacqui who is a Dementia Carer at a local centre. We have five children and 14 grandchildren who mostly live in the area.

I am a company director of a local building and property development company as well as working for a number of local charities as I want to give back to the community.

I want to make everything accessible for all and to encourage people to make the most of their talents, skills and capability for a better, fairer community.

BARMY LORD BROCKMAN (MONSTER RAVING LOONY PARTY)

EDWARD COHEN (GREEN)

What makes me feel I am one of the people to stand in Evesham South for the Green Party? My thoughts too when the idea was first mooted.

I lived and ran Robbins the bakers in Port Street for 25 years and love the area.

I came with my wife and daughter to Evesham as a great place for my family to thrive and grow – it soon grew to a second daughter.

I have always been passionate about locally produced food and thriving independent businesses being at the heart of the town.

Wychavon council is currently made up of 37 conservatives and six others, I strongly believe that diversity of views makes for better decisions.

If elected I’d work hard all year round to listen and respond to the views of the local community, and working cooperatively, have this views taken into account by the council.

CHRISSY SMITH (INDEPENDENT)

MATT SNAPE (CONSERVATIVE)

I am hoping to be re-elected as Evesham South’s district councillor and to continue working with others to tackle crime and other issues.

I have lived in Wychavon for most of my life. I am currently working as a media analyst and journalist. In the past, I have worked in education and banking.

JULIE TUCKER (GREEN)

I have lived in Evesham all my life and spent most of my childhood on the Fairfield estate. I am married with two grown up children. I worked at Simon de Montfort School for 16 years and Pershore College for seven years. I retired in 2016.

Since being elected to the town council in 2017 I have dealt with a lot of individual issues. I am also chair of the Town Plan committee, we try to carry out the plans put together from responses of the people of Evesham. As part of that I am also chair of the Evesham Anti-litter Group. We have done a lot of litter picks around the town.

I worked on the water bottle refill scheme for almost a year prior to launch. Since its launch lots of cafes have signed up.

To me, the most important thing is listening to and working with the community.

FLADBURY

DIANA BROWN (LIBERAL DEMOCRAT)

Di has lived in Fladbury for the last 20 years having moved from Evesham where she represented Evesham South on Wychavon District Council. Since moving to Fladbury she has become involved with many local projects including the Fladbury walkabout , Fladbury Village Hall Committee, Woodward Community Orchard and Fladbury Parish Plan. A former teacher and administrator in higher education, Di now works part time in the nursery business run by her family. She understands the pressures small businesses are under, and also in horticulture, an important industry in Fladbury ward.

Living in the ward and working locally Di is aware of the issues affecting local residents.

She said: “If you elect me I will do my best to represent you on the council and will keep you in touch with what is going on.

"I am particularly concerned about speeding though our villages and will be calling for better traffic management.

"I support the Liberal Democrats’ initiative to expand community transport to avoid social isolation in our villages. I will promote community safety through the neighbourhood watch scheme. I also support carefully managed housing development, appropriate to each village, driven by need, not greed.”

TONY ROWLEY (CONSERVATIVE)

I’m your Conservative candidate for the Fladbury ward covering the communities of Wick, Charlton, Cropthorne, Fladbury and part of Bricklehampton.

I am currently chairman of Wychavon District Council and first elected to the council in 2015 to represent Pershore Town.

Since the beginning of this year I have also covered the Fladbury ward in the continued absence through ill health of the elected representative. I am married to Debby and we live in Pensham, outside Pershore. We have lived in the Vale for over 28 years having moved from rural Lincolnshire.

I am a retired civil engineer and planner having worked in the quarrying industry for over 25 years following a career in local government. I semi-retired in 2011 to form a part-time consultancy and then became interested in local politics. In 2012 I was elected onto Pershore Town Council and became mayor in 2014.

Having been involved in local town issues, I am now looking forward to taking on the challenges facing the rural communities. Too often the voices of those in rural areas are not heard. In Wychavon there are more people living in the villages and rural areas than in the major towns of Evesham, Pershore and Droitwich. It is my aim if elected to be that voice for the rural communities.

There are many challenges ahead including rural crime, the rural economy, extraneous traffic through our villages, social isolation and many others. I am confident that together we can take on these challenges for the benefit of all our communities.

GREAT HAMPTON

GED BEARCROFT (CONSERVATIVE)

SARAH COHEN (GREEN)

I came to the area 40 years ago to run a retail business, I have brought up my children here and fallen in love with this place and have made it my home.

I am standing in Great Hampton because I believe it is important that the views of local people are represented in Wychavon. This can be best achieved by a political diversity on the council allowing constructive debate leading to cooperative decisions.

I want to see traffic moving more freely in the town which could be achieved by making it much easier and safer for people to walk and cycle leaving roads emptier for those who need to drive.

These aims can be well achieved by the Green Party, who have a track record on many councils of working hard all the year for their local people.

HARTLEBURY

STEPHEN BATEMAN (CONSERVATIVE)

I have been a resident of Wychavon District since 1994. I worked for over 20 years as a qualified chemical engineer working in manufacturing, a typical commuter resident of Wychavon, travelling out of the area each day on one of the major motorways. I now work locally, home based and self-employed. This new local lifestyle gives me the flexibility and opportunity to become a fully effective and approachable district councillor.

I’m married to Fran, a teacher; we have 2 children, a teenage son and a graduate daughter.

As a district councillor I would prioritise helping individuals, groups and businesses navigate through the multitude of local government services, agencies and partners to resolve local issues and problems; from fly-tipping to parking, from planning issues to local infrastructure improvements. My aim to ensure that Hartlebury ward remains an attractive and desirable place to live and work.

JACK PARSONS (LIBERAL DEMOCRAT)

I have lived in Hartelbury for 15 years and in Worcestershire since I was 19, although perhaps because my family were farmers in Broome I feel like I have always lived here.

I am a radical centrist, keen to promote reason and fairness that makes life better for everyone. I have an enquiring and creative mind, enjoying making things that work, whether that is in a workshop with wood or programming a computer. My career has been in business, selling natural skin care products. I have a family with three children.

I believe that Wychavon District Council needs more Liberal Democrat councillors to challenge the Conservatives to keep them on their toes and make them address the issues they would rather forget – like Wychavon coming close to bottom in the West Midlands for social mobility.

Wychavon Liberal Democrats have also pledged to keep developers in check by strengthening planning enforcement and introducing policies to make sure that development does not take place until the necessary infrastructure is in place.

HONEYBOURNE AND PEBWORTH

THOMAS HAVEMANN-MART (CONSERVATIVE)

I live and have lived in the area for the past 30 years in between studies and some work done overseas. I studied at university in Birmingham and then worked for four years in Madrid followed by the Middle East.

I now work for my family business which is active in the area and is proud of our investments creating jobs in Honeybourne.

We are specialist in birds of prey with a small breeding stud and an animal foods production facility based in the constituency. We export all over the EU, GCC and as far as the Maldives.

I hope to follow in Alastair’s footsteps by speaking for residents, keeping us in the forefront of local decisions and making sure we are heard at the district level.

PATRICK HOGAN (GREEN)

My wife and I have lived in Honeybourne for five years. Prior to that I lived in nearby Warwickshire, moving from Exeter in 1993. I work as an IT and business consultant for an international communications company, and you may have also seen me play trumpet or bass in a number of local bands.

I joined the Green Party, an increasingly relevant and influential force in local government, because of their values of equality, fairness, environmental balance and importance of public services. I am standing for office so that these values can benefit our local communities and businesses.

If elected, I will work hard all year round for Honeybourne and Pebworth to ensure that your concerns relating to local life are heard, understood and acted upon, and that the council is held to account in its decision-making.