Voters in High Brooms and the southern half of Southborough are about to say what they think about the dramatic changes planned for the area.

One seat in the powerful Tunbridge Wells Borough Council is up for grabs on Thursday and the result may be close.  The ward has traditionally been won by Labour, but in last May’s vote – which coincided with the General Election that saw David Cameron re-elected – the Conservatives were victorious.

There are three councillors who represent the “Southborough and High Brooms” ward, as it has such a large population.  Labour’s Dianne Hill lost out last year by 54 votes.  This time Dianne Hill is standing again as the candidate to replace the sitting Labour councillor Alain Lewis, who isn’t standing again.

It may sound complicated but essentially you have to choose one candidate to vote for out of the 5 standing on Thursday.  I have asked each candidate to summarise why you should vote for them and the Conservative, Labour and Green Parties have all responded.  I will add the Liberal Democrat and UKIP statements if or when they get back to me.

If – like me – you live in the Southborough North ward, there isn’t a vote for the Borough council, as this area only has two councillors. But we do have a vote for a Kent Police job.

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Conservative candidate: Chris Camp

Chris Camp was born and bred in Kent, has lived in Tunbridge Wells for 40 years and has retired from a major multi-national company. He was recently widowed and he has two children and one grandchild. Both of his children were educated in Southborough. Since his retirement he has worked with several small local enterprises in the Borough. He is also on the board of two charities, one in London and the other in Gillingham.

Chris is a big supporter of the new Community Hub for Southborough. It will provide an up to date theatre facility, a new library, doctor’s surgery and new council offices all on the same site. Ridgewaye Football Club will also get a much needed purpose built pavilion.

If he is elected on May 5^th he will be a tireless campaigner for Southborough and High Brooms. Having recently retired, he has the time and energy to give something back to the local community.

Southborough and High Brooms is Labour’s only seat being contested in this election. Chris wants to send a message to Jeremy Corbyn that his brand of Socialism is not welcome here!

Tunbridge Wells has the second lowest council tax in Kent and is the only Council in the UK to have produced a balanced budget for the last four years. Only the Conservatives will safeguard this record.

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Labour candidate: Dianne Hill

 

 

I have been on Southborough Town Council for 13 years and, until last year, 4 years on the borough council. I welcome the opportunity to stand again to represent the community I live in. I know the issues: parking, traffic, air quality, affordable housing, and loss of green spaces.

I am now retired but worked locally in the telecoms industry for over 26 years. I have 3 children and 4 grandchildren, 3 of whom attended St Matthew’s Primary School where I served as a school governor for many years.

I have fought many local campaigns and also led on the fight for kerbside glass collections.

I fought a successful campaign to get a bus service back in Kibbles Lane when Arriva cut the service in 2011 and will continue to press for better buses throughout our town on roads that are fit for purpose, not full of pot holes.

I regret that the Royal Victoria Hall will be demolished and will continue to press for a replacement theatre we can be proud of. I will continue to ask questions about the Southborough community hub, especially relating to parking and traffic generated from extra housing built on the playing fields.

I am proud to live in the ward. We have a strong community that has come together to form football and cricket clubs, scout and guide organisations, and other voluntary groups.

I am standing because I care. I care about this community that I live in and will continue to fight on the issues that affect us all.

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Green candidate: Matt Lyons

Property prices are now climbing out of the reach of those on not just locally set wages but also teachers and even shop managers. If we do not prioritise affordable housing, many key workers will be forced out of the area in a very similar way to London.

The main  A26 is on course to be gridlocked all the time from 7am to 8pm, as more housing is built along this road. This is causing more pollution. I will campaign for a better long term strategy on road use.

We are opposed to ANY  land sale of the Ridgewaye fields. There is no promise to restore full or new modern facilities for the Royal Victoria Hall (for music and theatre) in what should have been its refurbishment.

Plans are in hand to safeguard the long term future of the Assembly Hall and historically, grants have been given to other theatres and local arts organisations in the centre of Tunbridge Wells. Southborough’s facilities have by contrast been neglected for decades, with the only prospect being offered by selling valuable and irreplaceable land assets.

It would be better to just save the Royal Victoria Hall and council offices, rather than have a hub that can only be generated by losing land in the process.

Also:

• I would like better a bus service with a circular Tonbridge to Knights Park and Hospital route and more late evening buses
• Free parking should be restored immediately to Southborough
• Potholes need to be repaired
• Journeys to bottle banks should be replaced by doorstep recycling
• The Tunbridge Wells to Lewes/Brighton rail line should be reopened www.bml2.co.uk

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UK Independence Party candidate: Keith Murray-Jenkins

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Liberal Democrat candidate: Jo Wright

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May 2015 election result:

Zulhash Uddin	Conservative	1289	38%
Dianne Hill	Labour	1235	36%
Naz Mian	UKIP	546	16%
Marguerita Gladys Morton	Liberal Democrat	325	10%

Total 3395 voted out of 5331 electorate

 

May 2014 election result:

Graham John Munn	Labour	602	32%
Peter John Oakford	Conservative	591	32%
Richard Harrington	UK Independence Party	486	26%
Marguerita Gladys Morton	Liberal Democrat	190	10%

Total 1869 votes

 

May 2012 election result:

Alain Matthew Bryan Lewis	Labour	630	41%
Nasir Jamil	Conservative	604	40%
Christine Jennifer Marshall	UK Independence Party	193	13%
Marguerita Morton	Liberal Democrat	96	6%

Total 1523  votes out of 5303 electorate