Town Council election is two man race

rodcomb

Residents in the Wilmslow East ward will head to the polls this week to elect a new Town Councillor.

The election will be held on Thursday, 13th November, for one councillor to represent the Wilmslow East Ward on Wilmslow Town Council, following the passing away of Sue Menlove in August.

Voters have two candidates to choose from: David Jefferay, the Residents of Wilmslow candidate, is standing against Rod Menlove, the Conservative Party candidate, who is hoping to complete his wife's term of office.

David Jefferay has lived most of his life in Wilmslow, attending Lindow Primary School and Wilmslow High School before joining AstraZeneca (then ICI) Pharmaceuticals in Macclesfield as an apprentice. He runs his own business and volunteers at the Wilmslow Animal Sanctuary in his spare time.

David supports brownfield development ahead of greenbelt destruction and wants to return local pride in the town.

David commented "The electors and I have strongly expressed the opinion that we do not want development on the local greenbelt. The research undertaken by the Residents of Wilmslow group has overwhelmingly proven that there are adequate brownfield and windfall sites available to meet housing targets for the duration of the next local plan. There is no evidence for the requirement of commercial development on the greenbelt, given the amount of long term vacant office and retail space across the town. Yet these views are being ignored by the Conservative led Town Council who recently voted to support commercial development on Royal London and nearby greenbelt sites."

He added, "I also want to represent my electors opinions on other local matters; whilst the Town Council has made great in roads into making the town more presentable, there is a lot more to be done. Paths need clearing, areas need cleaning and parts of the town centre need considerable attention. If elected, I will work with fellow Residents of Wilmslow independent Councillor, Phil Enstone, to ensure the voices of the residents of Wilmslow are heard - above party politics."

If elected, David will become the second non-Conservative member of Wilmslow Town Council, joining Resident of Wilmslow Town Councillor, Philip Enstone, who has represented the Dean Row ward since 2013.

David continued "I wish to raise the town's historic profile and its historic personalities. Sadly, as a Cheshire East Councillor, Rod Menlove facilitated the removal of one of Wilmslow's high profile historical landmarks, Romany's Vardo. He was forced to resign as Portfolio Holder over the fiasco of Macclesfield's Lyme Green recycling project which cost the CEC taxpayers between £1.5 to £2 million and although he says he supports building on brownfield sites before greenbelt, my group has been pushing him and the Conservative controlled Council to do that very thing, but all have turned their backs on the Residents of Wilmslow's efforts."

Rod Menlove has lived in the Wilmslow East ward for over 30 years and is already a councillor representing Wilmslow East on Cheshire East Council. Before standing for election as a local councillor he was a member of Round Table for many years, is a former governor at Styal Primary School and former chair of Wilmslow High School PTA.

Rod said "I wish with all my heart that this by election was not necessary. However, it has been called and I owe it to my late wife, Sue to put myself forward to complete her term of office.

"In my eight years as a councillor I have dealt with a wide range of problems for residents not least on planning matters. I have spoken publicly against unwanted proposals at both residents' meetings and at Planning Committees. I put the interests of residents of Wilmslow first, irrespective of Party policy or Council policy. I support building on Brownfield sites before green space and support allowing offices to be converted into housing. I oppose speculative housing on the Royal London site and behind Chesham Road.

"However, I am not a single issue candidate. I am an experienced councillor who understands how local government works, with a track record of making things happen. I am also a town centre councillor and over the years have actively supported local trade, Wilmslow Business Group and the Artisan Market."

The polling hours for the election on Thursday 13th November will be from 7am to 10pm.

Tags:
By-election, David Jefferay, Elections, Rod Menlove, Wilmslow Town Council
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Comments

Here's what readers have had to say so far. Why not add your thoughts below.

Kathryn Blackburn
Tuesday 11th November 2014 at 4:26 pm
But you are not your wife Cllr Menlove you are a very different animal. You have voted in favour of development on greenbelt sites all over East Cheshire. Your track record is impressive alright but not in any positive way. Never forget voters the debacle that was Lyme Green.
Vote for change, vote for transparency. What is a favoured saying of our dear leader oh yes Mushroom Politics keep them in the dark and feed them bull s..t.
Nick Jones
Tuesday 11th November 2014 at 5:51 pm
"..with a track record "........ yes and not a very good one Rod
Sally Hoare
Tuesday 11th November 2014 at 6:25 pm
I think it sounds like a bad idea for the same person to sit on both the town council and county council. I don't live in this ward, so cannot vote, but this seems like a great chance to vote in a non Conservative to make our town council more balanced. The people of Lacey Green missed their chance when Stuart Redguard offered an alternative.
David Jefferay
Wednesday 12th November 2014 at 12:22 am
Reading Cllr Menlove’s quote above regarding him not being a "single issue candidate" (and assuming that he is implying that I am), I think he is probably right. I have tended to focus on one issue throughout this election campaign and people could therefore be forgiven for thinking that I am a single issue candidate. Although the reasons for our focus on the greenbelt issue are both important and valid, I feel I should probably use this opportunity to point out what I believe I would bring to the position (apart from, of course, continuing to oppose development of the greenbelt).

If elected...

1) I would genuinely represent the views of the residents when making decisions. It might be stating the obvious, and maybe I was naïve before, but it is only over recent weeks I’ve realised that we, as residents, have been largely ignored (particularly on issues such as the greenbelt and parking).

2) I would make myself accountable and accessible. As well as being contactable by email and phone, I would set up drop-in sessions at least monthly in easily accessible locations for residents to raise issues. RoW is about to launch a new website on which progress updates on issues raised by residents could be published.

3) I would apply some common sense to decisions. Twelve grand for regalia?

4) I would assess proposals critically before making decisions. The fact that that the local plan does not take into account all the available data and the planning inspector clearly has concerns about it demonstrates that it has not undergone the required level of checking. As a nuclear engineer, scrutiny of assessments and documents is bread and butter stuff for me.

5) I would apply the project management skills, tools and techniques used in my day-job to projects assigned to me as a Councillor. I work in a commercial environment where I am required to complete jobs to schedule, budget and above all to the required standard. I don't understand why people without the correct skill-sets are given responsibility for (sometime major) projects involving tax-payers money.

6) I would bring a fresh and different viewpoint to the Council by being (a) independent and (b) slightly younger than the other members of the Council.

7) I would engage different groups within the community to identify what is important to the residents and engage different demographics through the use of technology and social media (I don't believe the vast majority of the residents are aware of what the Council does and would suggest that a significant proportion of residents are not even aware there is a Town Council).

8) Oh, and of course, I would actively support local trade, Wilmslow Business Groups and the Artisan Market!

Please vote for me!
Ian Hughes
Wednesday 12th November 2014 at 12:25 pm
Good for you, David. There should be no place for "party politics" packs in local government, and town councils in particular. I wish you every success in your election and if elected best wishes as an independent member standing up to those who will "vote with the party lobby".
David Jefferay
Wednesday 12th November 2014 at 12:36 pm
Thankyou Ian.
Pete Taylor
Wednesday 12th November 2014 at 1:07 pm
Cllr Menlove says "I put the interests of residents of Wilmslow first, irrespective of Party policy or Council policy. I oppose speculative housing on the Royal London site and behind Chesham Road."
Really and truthfully? That certainly was not the case on 28th February this year when Cllrs Menlove, Barton and Whiteley voted with the party and against the Local Plan Amendment which would have kept the following in the Green Belt:

CS26 – Royal London, Wilmslow
CS27 – Wilmslow Business Park
CS30 – Handforth East Growth Village
CS34 – (Safeguarded) Handforth East Growth Village
CS35 - (Safeguarded) Prestbury Road, Wilmslow
CS36 - (Safeguarded) Upcast Lane, Wilmslow
CS7 – Shavington East

Details here on the CEC website, see Ammendment 1: http://bit.ly/1DlRiwX

The absolute rejection by the people of Wilmslow of the "Wilmslow Vision" and erosion of the Green Belt for development could not have been more plain to these Cllrs, yet they ignored the electors they were supposed to represent and voted with the party.

There is no room for party politics in local councils. There should be a system if checks and balances where no single person can sit on two levels of Local Government- we have seen the results, it does not work.
Manuel Golding
Wednesday 12th November 2014 at 3:34 pm
I'm led to believe, by a reliable source, that Cllr Menlove says he cannot understand why RoW is so against him at this election, with him saying that he fails to see any difference between RoW's policies and his and the Conservatives.

Myopia is one reason, another is totally failing to listen to his electorate, to ignoring them and to cast aside those voters' concerns with CECs Local Plan proposals for the various Green Belt sites in Wilmslow and elsewhere.
It is just not good enough for a politician to go to meetings of concerned residents, speak in support of those concerns but then fail to back words with beneficial action following those meetings. It is akin to offering a palliative.

Cllr Menlove makes further pie-in-the sky claims to his real responses;-
He says he "puts the interests of residents of Wilmslow first, irrespective of Party policy or Council policy". I would refer readers to the CEC Council Meeting of 28th Feb last - He clearly voted with the rest of the Conservatives against the amendment to protect these Green Belt sites. His vote was on a Named Vote register, a clear case of putting Party policy well before his electorate's wishes! As mentioned in Pete Taylor's comments above, see CEC website, see Amendment 1: http://bit.ly/1DlRiwX

In one of Cllr Menlove's election pamphlets he clearly states "He OPPOSES any housing on the Royal London site" - two elements of concern here 1) He fails to mention the vote in Council, as above. 2) He fails to mention that the implication of his election statement is that he agrees with, though he clearly fails to mention, the vastly enlarged office block Royal London wishes to build plus a large hotel, both on the Green Belt site and both in the Local Plan that Cllr Menlove, and his fellow Tories, clearly voted for in a public council meeting.

He makes a rather weak claim to be opposed to development on the Welton Drive/Chesham Rd Green Belt site - at the moment this site is not in the Local Plan for proposed development, unlike Royal London's, therefore the perceived threat is nowhere near. Cheap points for nothing!

However, David Jefferay is also against any change in this site's Green Belt designation and we must continue to be vigilant.

Yes, there is a great difference between the Conservative Party's policies on both Cheshire East Council and Wilmslow Town Council when compared to Residents of Wilmslow's well stated policy relating to our Green Belt, our town and its residents.

RoW is most fortunate to have a candidate of the calibre, knowledge and integrity of David Jefferay, as will Wilmslow should the voters of East Ward take the right and sensible step at tomorrow's poll by
Voting for David Jefferay, thus giving Wilmslow the great benefit of having two Residents of Wilmslow independent councillors.