Hastings election count SUS-191216-114753001Hastings election count SUS-191216-114753001
Hastings election count SUS-191216-114753001

Elections 2021: Your Hastings Borough Council candidates

People in Hastings will be going to the polls next month to vote for their representatives on Hastings Borough Council.

Postponed from May 7, 2020, the elections will be held on Thursday, May 6, 2021.

Hastings Borough Council is divided up into 16 wards, each of which are represented by two councillors. On May 6, half of the seats are up for election, meaning each of the 16 wards will be voting for one new councillor.

Here is a profile of each candidate running in this year’s election:

HASTINGS BOROUGH COUNCIL ELECTIONS

Ashdown ward

Liam Crowter (Labour)

Liam was born and raised in Hastings and has spent most of his life living in the town, but knows the wider area well. His professional life in customer support has given him the skills needed to help a diverse range of individuals, and he is hoping use this experience to handle the issues that most concern residents.

Martin Griffiths (Lib Dem)

Martin moved to St Leonards from a village in Kent 5 years ago and lives in Ashdown Ward. Having worked in legal practices for over 40 year he brings experience of governance and decision-making, and wants our councils to make better decisions, and put an end to their current lack of openness and meaningful consultation with residents. His priorities are to see that our local roads and public transport infrastructure are improved; to increase the availability of good quality social housing, and to ensure that good Planning decisions are made, whilst protecting our valuable green spaces.

Sorrell Marlow-Eastwood (Conservative)

Sorrell Marlow-Eastwood lives locally and is a wife, mother to four grown up children, Chairwoman of Markwick Gardens Association, a full time Learning Support Assistant - helping senior school students who have learning difficulties achieve their full potential. Since the last local election in 2018, Sorrell has been proud to be Hastings Borough Councillor for Ashdown Ward. “What drives me is my passion for our town, always wanting the best for it.” Sorrell’s hard work and determination mean that she has been, and is, resolved to get the right results for everyone, from potholes to bin collections and everything in between.

Christopher Saunders (Green)

I am convinced that voting for The Green Party now offers a real alternative for those who are concerned about social justice, equitable housing, and policies that address environmental issues with the absolute urgency they deserve. Hastings council is dominated by the Labour Party. We desperately need strong and independent voices to hold Labour to account. By voting Green you will secure this. My professional career with Save the Children gave me 20 years of experience working with communities all over the world. I learnt that listening to what people want is the only way to bring about effective change.

Baird ward

Rob Cooke (Conservative)

I have lived in the town of Hastings for about 38 years and care deeply about the town. I served as borough councillor for 14 years before taking a sabbatical. I would be honoured to serve the people of Baird and stand up for them on all issues and make sure their voice is heard.

Warren Davies (Labour)

Warren Davies is a teacher, Dad and a member of the ‘Red Army’ (supports Charlton Athletic). Working as your borough councillor he has been able to deliver value-for-money local services: providing cleaner and safer streets. He is confident we can continue to build-better-for-Baird: good homes and jobs, in a thriving local economy, with incredible life-chances for our children.

Daniel Hope (Green)

I love living in Hastings, and I want the town to be as good as it can possibly be, for everyone. Since all my freelance work was cancelled last year, I’ve had time to reflect on the ways this beautiful town could be improved. Local green jobs and green apprenticeships. Food waste collection. Green transport initiatives. Re-wilding projects, and community gardens to grow food wherever there is space. I would love to see an eco music venue on the pier, and Hastings United in the Premier League! We have to imagine these things for them to be possible. That’s why I’m standing for the Green Party.

Robert Wakeford (Lib Dem)

Robert has lived in the Borough for a number of years but his working life has been in London, so he has been trying to adapt to lockdown just as everyone else has had to do! He is married with two young children. He wishes to see better technology infrastructure for the Borough; greater public participation in Council decision-making; and higher, greener standards in Planning.

Braybrooke ward

Sabina Arthur (Labour)

Sabina believes it is so important that residents have ample opportunity to be heard by their council. Engagement and consultation will be at the core of everything she does, working hard to improve wellbeing for all. As a community organiser and campaigner, she has led projects on domestic abuse awareness and facilitated community engagement work on many issues.

Shelley Bland (Conservative)

Shelley lives with her partner and their young son on Wykeham Road in Braybrooke. As someone who lives in the ward she knows the area and the issues. Shelley works in a school and spends her weekends taking her son for walks in and around Hastings. Her priorities if elected are to make Braybrooke a cleaner and safer place to live, protect local green spaces from development and to help rough sleepers in Hastings into safe accommodation.

Lee Grant (Lib Dem)

Lee began his career as a mental health professional and worked as a cognitive behavioural therapist and a service manager for the NHS in primary and secondary care. He founded and is now clinical director for Efficacy providing independent cognitive behavioural therapy to individuals and groups. Lee is a lecturer practitioner at Kings College London and provides post-graduate training to mental health professionals. Lee wants to bring a focus on wellbeing and joined-up policy making to our Council.

Sally Phillips (Green)

I have lived in Hastings for 35 years and enjoy looking after my grandson, gardening, and hiking. I want us to support local businesses as much as possible, rather than promoting profits for big business. We should aim at health promotion and quality of life. Best practice codes should always be a part of planning and we should explore what has worked well in other towns to avoid problems. We need a bus and rail service to be proud of: affordable and a pleasure to use. We need pedestrian and cycle routes that are good for schoolchildren as well as adults.

Castle ward

Claire Carr (Labour)

Claire Carr is a voluntary advocate for children with special needs. As a stage manager she has worked in many of Castle’s venues. She is also the LGBTQ+ Officer for the local Labour Party. Claire has lived in Castle ward and has managed an independent shop on Queens Road, giving her a good understanding of the area and its needs.

Katy Hunter-Burbridge (Lib Dem)

I am a retired voluntary sector worker and part-time taxi driver. I want all non-Conservatives to work more closely together on local social justice and environmental issues. Priorities include enabling a coherent, affordable and accessible public transport network. Engagement: to include supporting the roll-out of a high-speed internet network. Housing: to take a tougher line with developers on affordable housing provision. Lib Dems want to halve the number of Councillors and reduce the wasteful use of taxpayers’ money on costly consultants. These are my priorities: to ensure our local taxes are more beneficial to the governed, rather than the governing.

Andrea Needham (Green)

I’m a registered nurse, and also run Seachangewatch, highlighting the activities of our unaccountable ‘regeneration’ company, SeaChange Sussex. I’ve lived in Castle ward for 19 years.

In that time, gentrification has led to people being priced out of housing, and our town being clogged up with cars. Inappropriate ‘regeneration’ has devastated some of our green spaces whilst failing to deliver the promised benefits. I want to see a town where we protect our green spaces, where there’s more affordable housing, where walking, cycling and public transport are prioritised over car use. Hastings is fantastic, but with some real vision it could be so much better for everyone.

John Sydes (Conservative)

My grandparents lived in Hastings, and I have always had a deep affection for the area; I moved here over twenty years ago and started a family and I have never looked back. My passion has always been for community and creating positive outcomes. My working career was helping others gain access to their citizen’s advice. I believe it is necessary to intervene sometimes to assist those that have, through unfortunate circumstances, fallen into complex events. I also believe in empowerment to ensure that everyone has the potential to better themselves.

Central St Leonards ward

Sue Clarke (Conservative)

Sue has lived in St Leonards for 14 years. Originally employed as a Health Visitor for the NHS she is now retired and works in various St Leonards Community projects. Currently she is a volunteer vaccinator working with the St Johns Ambulance team. As a member of King’s Church she is actively involved in the St Leonards Community Group that meets regularly as member of Craft plus. She is also actively involved in various Social Action projects such as Baby Basics and others. She is married and has 2 grown up children and was an active member of St Leonards Bridge Club before the coronavirus lockdown.

Marie Jones (Green)

I am a lifelong activist for the planet and a fair society. I work in energy efficiency and have led fuel poverty projects across East Sussex and now the South East of England. My key concerns for Hastings are addressing financial inequality issues - low wage employment, housing quality and homelessness, and making environmentally responsible options more accessible for everyone. I believe that most people would like to make positive changes to reduce things like waste, plastic, and their carbon footprint but are discouraged by the cost and difficulty of finding decent alternatives.

Stephen Milton (Lib Dem)

Stephen has two daughters and has lived in St Leonards for 30 years. He is managing director of a local company which implements business IT projects and provides services for the construction industry. Stephen is a Humanist and enjoys walking, playing table tennis and keeping track of the latest scientific developments. He wants to see the Council supporting the town’s economic base - particularly small and start-up businesses - as a means of transforming it into one of the top places to live and work on the South East coast of England.

Trevor Webb (Labour)

Trevor has lived in Central St Leonards for over 20 years, becoming involved in community activity e.g. with the St Leonards Forum, the St Leonards Festival and the Seven Streets project. Currently he co-ordinates the One Hastings Many Voices project which organises, gigs, art exhibitions and workshops for women, members of the BAME community and other hard to reach groups.

Conquest ward

Brian Bostock (Labour)

Brian is a registered nurse for 25 years working in emergency services and in end-of-life care. Single father to a teenage son, a trade unionist and business owner, and used to advocating for other people, he is used to seeing arguments from different perspectives and bringing people together – he is hard working and committed to improving lives of people.

Gabriel Carlyle (Green)

I am a long-time campaigner on peace and environmental issues and have has lived in St Leonards for the last 17 years. I work in publishing and am a co-founder of Divest East Sussex, the long-running campaign to get East Sussex County Council to stop investing local people’s pensions in fossil fuels. In 2015 I brought a legal action against the Borough Council over its plans to build the Queensway Gateway Road in violation of national and EU directives on air pollution, temporarily halting the project.

Veronica Chessell (Lib Dem)

As a director of a small business in Hastings with my husband, who grew up here, I am interested to improve transport links to and within the town; to promote cultural events, venues and the seaside location - these are huge assets to the local economy, with potential to increase employment opportunities. As a mum with a young family, I am grateful for our incredible green spaces and am committed to protecting and extending them, as well as wildlife resources. Thinking of the world future generations will inherit is important to me, and I support schemes that will protect our environment.

Paul Foster (Conservative)

Although born in London, I have lived in Hastings for thirty years. The town has many deep rooted, complex social issues, but I love living here. It has such a vibrant artistic community. The music scene is amazing and of course, it has a unique history. I am in my third year as a Conservative Councillor for Hastings. It has been an honour to represent Conquest Ward. In that time I have met many diverse people at both ward surgeries and more recently, virtually. I have a passion for the environment. I would like to see more planning priority put on using the many existing brown field sites in Hastings, rather than the relentless development of our precious green spaces.

Gensing ward

Heather Bishop (Labour)

Born and raised in the town, Heather is a committed and experienced councillor. She works for the Environment Agency and is a trustee of a community library charity. A strong team player, she knows how much may be achieved by collective drive and passion. She will work with the county council, businesses, residents and community groups to deliver the best for Gensing.

Kenneth Davis (Green)

I am a former architect, town planner and conservation officer with wide experience of creating better places to live and work. I have two children, one a teacher and the other a doctor in the NHS. I am self-building a zero carbon reconstruction of a small house on Bohemia Road. I have extensive know-how of making better use of publicly owned assets. Local government is not working efficiently and effectively enough to deal with the climate crisis locally. I have the knowledge, experience and passion needed to create a more sustainable built and green environment in the Borough.

Susan Stoodley (Lib Dem)

Susan was born and brought up in Kent and settled in St Leonards in 2015 where she now runs a small business. Susan believes that social and affordable housing should be high on the Council’s agenda, and with increasing pressure on Council finances, it is essential to manage spending efficiently. Neglected areas of the Borough should be prioritised for funding and development, and green spaces should be safeguarded. As the Borough copes with the return to a new normal after the pandemic, it is even more important the Council focuses on targeting funding for projects that will benefit the whole community.

John Waterfall (Conservative)

Now retired, I was born in Yorkshire some 73 years ago and moved to Hastings and St Leonards in the mid 1970s. My working life was spent as a Civil Servant both at Ashdown House and in London. Since my retirement I have taken on a couple of voluntary jobs. I am standing for the Council to put something back into the community and to help reduce the waste of resources that the Council Tax payers of the town had to put up with under the Labour run council.

Hollington ward

Maya Evans (Labour)

Since being first elected in 2018, Maya has been Armed Forces champion of Hastings (responsible for helping homeless veterans), led a working group to reduce single-use plastics, and appointed cabinet member for climate change, natural environment and leisure. During the pandemic she held a senior position within the council; this ensured Hollington was always prioritised and received essential services.

Terry Fawthrop (Conservative)

No profile yet supplied.

Anne Gallop (Lib Dem)

Anne is retired and has been a Liberal Democrat councillor in Sutton and a GLA candidate in the past. She is passionate about the Borough’s heritage and wants more to be done to protect and promote it. Anne knows that Liberal Democrats on a Council contribute to transparency and cross-party co-operation, and she wants local residents to be more involved in the Council’s decision-making - particularly when it comes to hard-to-reach groups.

Beccy McCray (Green)

I’m a St Leonards-based artist, producer, allotment holder and member of the Green Party. I’ve lived in the area for ten years. I care deeply about social and environmental justice, and believe that the threats to economic, social and environmental wellbeing are all part of the same problem. Solving one of these crises cannot be achieved without solving the others. The success of a society cannot be measured by narrow economic indicators, but should take account of factors affecting the quality of life for all people: personal freedom, social equity, health, happiness and human fulfilment.

Maze Hill ward

Samuel Heffernan (Green)

I have over 10 years experience in the travel industry and am now embarking on a career in education. I am currently undertaking a Masters degree in education at the University of Brighton and teaching in secondary schools in Hastings. This is enabling me to make a difference to young people’s lives in the area. I am passionate about the environment and am standing as a candidate for the Green Party to give greater Green representation on the council which is desperately needed during the climate crisis. My personal goal is to use my knowledge and skills by sharing my passion for the world, other cultures, and the natural environment with others.

Jonathon Stoodley (Lib Dem)

Jonathon qualified as a barrister, working for the UK government before becoming an official of the European Commission in Brussels where he lived for 30 years. Upon returning to the UK in 2017 he moved to St Leonards and became politically active. Having worked to support individuals and businesses in the EU, Jonathon would like to see a council more responsive to local residents’ interests, offering better value for money, and more supportive of those in need. He is Deputy Chair of the local Lib Dems and Treasurer of the local branch of the European Movement.

Steve Thorpe (Labour)

Steve Thorpe has lived and worked in Hastings and St Leonards for 34 years and has experience of working with residents on issues such as housing and health. He promises that if elected he will work tirelessly to maintain Maze Hill as the great ward it already is and do his utmost to help solve any issues.

Graeme Williams (Conservative)

Having started life near Watford, Graeme worked for an international company for ten years in the UK before going overseas. He spent 15 years in five posts where he gained a wealth of experience in technology and business before returning to the Old Town in 2000. He has good management skills especially marketing and strategy and is used to working with teams to get things done. He has worked closely with the local Conservatives and chaired the local party for 4 years. He runs a small photographic business in St Leonards and is a trustee of a local homeless charity.

Old Hastings ward

Julia Hilton (Green)

I have lived in Hastings for fourteen years and love the energy and diversity of our unique and historic town. I am a landscape architect, and particularly enjoy working with community groups to regenerate and transform urban spaces. I am a trustee of Hastings Greenway Trust, raising money to build accessible greenway routes in Ore Valley and the country park. I am also a director of local energy co-operative Energise South, and am part of the team working on the vision of Hastings as a garden town. In my spare time I enjoy walking my dog in the country park and making ceramics.

Stuart Murphy (Conservative)

Stuart Murphy lives in the Old Town and joined the Conservatives in 2019. He is currently Chairman of the Hastings and St Leonards Veterans Association and member of the Old Gits Network. Stuart is an avid supporter of local business and shop local. He is a strong supporter of free speech, campaigned for Brexit and will stand with our fishermen in the fight for a better future.

Anna Sabin (Labour)

Anna is a printmaker and teacher who lived on Dartmoor for 30 years running a print studio and a four-acre garden open to the public. She sees that the most loved, thriving and progressive towns in the world are rethinking their transport systems and greening public space. Here since 2019, Anna would like to help Hastings to become one of those towns.

Gene Saunders (Lib Dem)

I am standing for election after 10 years running the Land of Green Ginger, on the High Street! I also spent 14 years working in senior positions within Local Government, so I know how to get things done. After 15 years of Labour and Conservative Councils, parts of our Borough are still among the most deprived in the UK. The Liberal Democrats have the policies and determination to turn this around - in partnership with residents. I will be standing for County too because I have concerns about local education facilities and resources, and how they are determining life chances.

Ore ward

Anime Abdallah (Labour)

Anime has lived in Hastings since 2000. She is a key worker supporting people of all ages in the community with their mental health. Many of Anime’s clients live in Ore and so she understands first-hand the pressures they are living under and the issues for local people. Throughout the pandemic Anime has been working to help people in Ore.

Alan Hay (Conservative)

I was born and raised in Hastings and grew up in both Baird and Ashdown wards. I went to Sandown and Little Ridge primary schools and was secondary educated at William Parker. I have spent my adult life working within the engineering sector and have spent the past six years volunteering on Hastings Lifeboat. I have two children, and we enjoy spending time exploring the country park and enjoying our beaches. I love the live music in Hastings and enjoy the great restaurants and pubs in the Old Town where I live.

Gary Rolfe (Green)

I have lived in Ore for 16 years, and work in adult social care. I am involved with the local community and the various organisations that are creating green spaces and keeping public services up and running. I also work with funding organisations to consult on and create new local services. I believe that Ore has a huge amount of potential to develop into a much more socially engaged community, with more green spaces and affordable services to support and enable people to have a good quality of life locally and also reduce social isolation without having to travel somewhere else to do so.

Jon Smalldon (Lib Dem)

Jon has lived in the Borough since 2014. He is married with two children and works for a charity in London. He wants to see proper, greener investment in our transport infrastructure, and good traffic management so that nobody needs to queue forever just to turn onto the Ridge, or to access the seafront. He wants to see more community development work to make our streets safer and our open spaces cleaner; and for residents generally to feel listened to by the Council. Hastings has a vibrant cultural life and we should do more to support and nurture that.

Silverhill ward

Dave Carey-Stuart (Green)

I’ve lived in St Leonards for 25 years, working as a self-employed roofer. I love Hastings for its variety of people, architecture, landscape, sports facilities and culture. Of course, there are less favourable aspects to living in any large town; volunteering for two local charities I have seen how life treats people less fortunate than myself. I’m standing so that everyone has the opportunity to vote Green in our less-than-representative electoral system. The Council undoubtedly works hard for the people of Hastings but it needs more diversity in its make-up and outlook – let’s see a Green Councillor at the table this year.

Lucian Fernando (Conservative)

I am an active volunteer for many organisations which helps me connect with people from all walks of life. Working for the Hastings Emergency Action Resilience Team during the pandemic I have been helping doctors and nurses get to and from work at the Conquest Hospital. I am also a Police Support Volunteer and actively enjoy helping people in my community.

Terry Keen (Lib Dem)

Terry has lived in the borough for 33 years and has been actively involved in local cultural events for the last couple of decades, having been a Morris Dancer and local musician throughout that time. A former civil servant, he currently works in the retail industry. If elected, he would work hard to represent the people of Silverhill and do his best to ensure that the community flourishes as we emerge from the pandemic, and will hold the Council to account on issues such as Planning, protecting and utilising green spaces, and ensuring that Council Tax is spent wisely.

Margi O’Callaghan (Labour)

Margi lives in Silverlands Road. Her children went to Silverdale school. Before lockdown you would occasionally see her in the Clarence and the Duke pubs. She is a member of St Matthews resident’s association and the Duke Green community group and believes that representatives should be local to their community. She walks regularly through Alexandra Park with her children and pet pug.

St Helens ward

Antonia Berelson (Labour)

Antonia has served St Helens for three years as a ward councillor. She has worked with the community by listening to their concerns and representing their views in Council. As a key worker, trade unionist and single parent, she has insight into the challenges of a post-pandemic recovery for community and businesses and wants to ensure no one gets left behind.

Lucy Brennan (Green)

As we are cautiously emerging from lock down, the well-being of local people has never been more important. Nurturing our locality and outdoor spaces feels good and is part of our recovery process. The following are essential for both community cohesion and to combat climate change. If you elect me these are the key areas I will support and be a strong voice for: ethical and eco-conscious green space development and management; supporting businesses to decarbonise; encouraging cycle paths, walkways and green corridors; supporting young people in eco-skills training.

Bob Lloyd (Lib Dem)

Bob has lived in St Helens Ward for nearly 15 years and is a self-employed property manager. His daughters attended both Blacklands and Helenswood Schools, where his wife taught, and he served as a governor for eight years. Bob’s priorities are the building of more social housing, as well as more and safer cycling provision. Other important local issues are: the redevelopment of Pilot Field, better Planning decisions, making Alexandra Park safe, and tackling speeding on a number of local roads. He is the local co-ordinator for the European Movement.

Peter Pragnell (Conservative)

Peter Pragnell is a Civil Servant and former coach driver, who has lived in Hastings for forty years. He is defending his County Council seat of Ashdown and Conquest, where he has served for twelve years, and also standing in the St Helens seat in the Hastings Borough Council election. He served as councillor for St Helens from 2000 to 2002 and Conquest councillor from 2002 to 2016. Peter is a season ticket holder at Charlton Athletic and also supports Hastings Utd at as many matches as possible.

Tressell ward

Fiona Archbold (Conservative)

I moved to St Leonards on Sea a couple of years ago having lived and worked in Brighton and Hove for more than twenty years. I love the area I live in and want to give back to the community that welcomed me so much. Councillors are elected to represent the views of their residents and it will be my aim to make sure they are listened to.

Jim Deasley (Lib Dem)

The world’s top priority is to combat climate change. As an architect, low energy housing has been my specialism, both new and existing homes, adaptable for people of all ages and abilities. If elected, I will use my skills to work with other specialist groups to improve local understanding of social and affordable low energy housing. I also want to ensure that social and private-rented housing standards are adequate. I am a member of Friends of the Earth and am a passionate pro-European. I have children and grandchildren and would value the opportunity to make this contribution to my community.

Ali Roark (Labour)

I have been involved with the Tressell team for the past year, shadowing Cllr Chowney. I’ve learnt a lot about local matters in this time and have reported issues I’ve seen, such as litter, to the street cleaning team. I have an MA in History, am raising three children with my American husband, and currently work for a local supported accommodation provider. I am keen to see The Bridge reopen as a community asset and if elected will work with local people and partners to try to realise this.

Holly Rose (Green)

I am a writer, agroecological soil advocate and transformative justice activist. I also work as the Development Manager for The Green Party of England and Wales, and as a consultant for The Woolf Institute, an interfaith peace organization at Cambridge University. I am British-Canadian and have lived in Hastings for two years.

West St Leonards ward

Karl Beaney (Conservative)

Born and raised in St Leonards, I am extremely passionate about improving our town and making Hastings and St Leonards an even better place to live, work and do business. I will continue to campaign against Labour’s reckless plans to build houses on the Bulverhythe Recreation Ground and work with residents and any future developer to ensure the West Marina area gets the regeneration that has been desperately needed for so long. I would like to see the Old Bathing Pool site developed to create an exciting all year round destination for visitors and local residents, not lots of housing.

John Cannan (Labour)

John Cannan was born and raised in Hastings but now lives in West St Leonards. He has been a public servant for most of his career and works at the Seaview Project. If elected he will work hard to represent all the residents of the ward. He is passionate about fairness and believe all deserve the same chances in life.

Jane Packman (Green)

I run a community arts company, helping people work with others to achieve things. I know that, together, we can achieve positive change in everyday life, too. I moved here seven years ago drawn by the friendly people, the community spirit and the amazing landscape. I’m excited by this opportunity to represent West St Leonards at a time when proposed developments may impact people in the area. This past year has shown how strong and resilient our communities can be. But isolation has been hard. We’re all facing big challenges, but we also have a chance to reinvent and make things better for everyone, in West St Leonards and beyond.

Stewart Rayment (Lib Dems)

Stewart sees Labour’s hostility to residents in planning matters as highly suspicious and says that West St. Leonards has consistently been a victim of this. A Liberal Democrat Council would run things differently: Stewart believes the planning system should be a natural extension of the democratic process. As the former chair of a local government Education Committee, Stewart says Conservative Ministers have handled schools & colleges badly in the pandemic. There will almost certainly be a knock-on effect mental health-wise which East Sussex’s already-stretched Social Services will be left to deal with. Conservative councillors need to be replaced.

Wishing Tree ward

Martin Clarke (Conservative)

Martin is proud to have been representing Hastings at both Hastings Borough Council and the County Council since 2015 and 2017 respectively. During this time, he has made real progress on many issues and has campaigned for specific projects successfully. He likes to work with residents on their specific issues, often enabling real progress from impasse situations. Now retired and focused on his local roles, he has helped to develop employment opportunities for young people at the Hastings Centre, is a support worker for Hastings Foodbank where he meets many local residents and he is a Trustee of Kings Church.

Emlyn Jones (Lib Dem)

I am a retired GP who has lived and worked within the Wishing Tree, Hollington and Silverhill area for 39 years. I have always been attracted towards socially responsible politics. My campaign priorities include tackling deprivation and the lack of good quality social housing; as well as dealing with pollution, particularly along main roads where there are also schools. Within the Council I want to see more transparency and participatory decision-making. Using my experience, I want to help statutory agencies work more closely together for our most disadvantaged citizens. My leisure interests include archery, walking, music and reading.

Alan Roberts (Labour)

Alan is proud to be selected to stand again as the Labour candidate for Wishing Tree Ward and if reselected he promises to continue to work hard for the residents of the ward. Along with Phil Scott, they are always around the ward listening to residents’ concerns and taking up any problems with the relevant authorities, housing associations, etc.

Christine Saunders (Green)

I became active in The Green Party shortly after retiring from the Harm Reduction team on a Brighton drugs and alcohol programme. Caroline Lucas visited the project and I was impressed by her views on the problem of homelessness and substance misuse. Hastings is a wonderful town, and it is a privilege to live here. However, there is much to be done to ensure that we do not lose our amazing heritage because of bad planning decisions such as the Bulverhythe housing scheme that proposes building on a floodplain. If elected as your Councillor I would listen to your concerns and views and work hard on your behalf.