8/4/2008

Local News in Fleet

Candidates get ready to contest borough poll

The battle for control of Hart District Council has begun, with candidates putting their names forward to fight the local elections.

Thirty election hopefuls will be trying to win one of the 12 seats up for grabs on May 1.

The council is currently controlled by a coalition of 12 Liberal Democrats, six Community Campaign Hart (CCH) members and two independents. Fourteen Conservative councillors make up the opposition.

The Tories are fielding a candidate in all 12 wards, the Liberal Democrats ten, Labour five, the CCH two and the BNP one.

Among the wards to watch is Fleet Pondtail, where it will be a straight fight between current Liberal Democrat councillor Sue Fisher and Conservative candidate David Healey, who is also a leading campaigner against plans for the proposed Pyestock warehouse complex between Fleet and Farnborough.

Another interesting battle will be in Church Crookham East, where CCH leader James Radley is up against Conserva-tive candidate Debbie Moss. It will be a re-run of the June 2004 local election when Mr Radley beat Mrs Moss by 907 votes to 735 to take her seat.

Nine councillors will be fighting to retain their seats, including current council chairman Sean Haffey (Con, Hook), and cabinet member for leisure Paul Einchcomb (Lib Dem, Fleet Courtmoor).

There will be at least three new faces on the council, including in Fleet Central, where Conservative John Pearson is standing down, and in Long Sutton, where fellow Tory Sarah Wallis is retiring two years early.

Looking ahead to the elections, Liberal Democrat council leader David Neighbour said he hoped his party could retain all five seats it is fighting.

He added: “We want to continue to work towards a green and safer environment and continue to improve the recycling rates, which are already very good.

“Glass collection has now gone out across the district, admittedly after a hiccup, and we have introduced weekend street cleaning in Fleet Road in Fleet which has made a vast difference in the appearance of the town.

“This year is about building upon that.”

Cllr Neighbour said the council was holding more Crime Reduction and Environ-ment Week events than ever before and that if the Lib Dems kept control they would aim to improve community safety.

He added: “Crime in the district is down 8% but it is something we want to maintain.”

Conservative group leader Ken Crookes is delighted his party is able to field a candidate in every ward.

He said: “We are the only political party that is able and willing to represent all the residents of Hart, while other political parties appear to be not competing with each other in these elections.

“We are the only party who have clearly set out our values and policies, which we have developed by consulting and listening to residents.

“They have told us that they want to see planning which delivers the right infrastructure to support new housing, they want to make sure that Hart stays a safe place to live, they want footpaths and roads clean and in good condition, better information on recycling, and in Fleet they want the free 30-minute red bay parking to be brought back.”

Cllr Crookes said everybody his party talked to was concerned about how the council was spending their council tax and wanted to see proof of better value for money.

He added: “We have in the past offered to work with the other political parties to get these things done.”

The CCH has held the balance of power on the council for the last two years, forming a ruling coalition with the Lib Dems.

But Cllr Radley refused to be drawn on what will happen in the future. He said: “I would never presume to predict what the electorate choose to do — I wouldn’t be that arrogant.”

For a Hart elections preview see the News supplement on April 25. You can see videos of the party leaders answering residents’ questions on a range of issues at www.fleet-online. co.uk from April 24.

First printed in: Fleet News and Mail