The candidates for the upcoming Wilmslow Town Council election, representing Dean Row Ward, have been announced.
Residents in the Dean Row Ward will have the choice of six candidates to fill four seats when they go to the polls on on Thursday, 4th May.
The candidates standing are:
- Lata Anderson * - Residents of Wilmslow
- Dion Cross - Residents of Wilmslow
- Jack Illingworth * - Local Conservatives
- Ellie Jackson - Residents of Wilmslow
- Jon Newell * - Residents of Wilmslow
- Angela Smethurst - Local Conservatives
I will publish brief interviews with each of the candidates, in the order in which I receive a response to my request. Use the tags below to locate the other candidate interviews published to date.
Please tell me about yourself - occupation, where you live, interests, family?
I have worked in IT Support for 17 years. I started off resetting passwords for a large bank, but now I work for a smaller company offering IT Support for Small and Medium businesses. I am also halfway through studying with the Open University, completing a degree in Computing & IT with a second subject of Psychology.
I enjoy being active, I have run several 10km runs, including the Wilmslow Festive 10k, and enjoy playing netball. Due to health issues my running and netball days are on hold and have been switched to walking, yoga and crocheting (Scarves and blankets only, I seem to only be able to crochet in straight lines!)
I am married and have two children aged 7 & 5; we have lived on Colshaw Estate for almost 6 years. We love animals and have 2 cats named Nala and Doughnut, 2 guinea pigs named Mario & Luigi, and a 5-month-old Lab called Lola.
How long you have lived in there?
I have lived in Wilmslow for 16 years; I am originally from West Sussex, whilst on my gap year in Australia, my family relocated to Cheshire, I decided upon my return to follow them to Cheshire. My husband was born and raised in Wilmslow so decided to make it our home.
Are you a member of any local groups or societies?
Since 2019 I have been a part of the Colshaw Estate Tenant and Residents Association (CETRA) and have been the Secretary for the last 18 months. I really enjoy being part of this group. For the past 2 years, we have put on a Santa's grotto for the children of Colshaw and held Christmas parties for the seniors.
This year we have exciting things planned, including a Community Library, Community Larder, a Remembrance Garden for those who lived on the estate and passed away, and a mobility bus to help isolated residents take day trips to local attractions and shopping. I have also organised several litter picks on Colshaw and have recently started a campaign to tackle fly-tipping.
Whilst being part of CETRA I have links to other local groups, I invited Transition Wilmslow to visit Colshaw when they were looking to start a Community Market Garden, which led to the garden of Oakenclough Children's Centre being turned into the lovely Market Garden it is today. I continue to work with the Market Garden Team to increase engagement with the local community.
Why have you decided to stand for election as a town councillor?
I want to be able to make a real difference in my local community. The past few years have shown me that if you want to make changes to the day-to-day life of the people in your local community it starts with the local government, as a town councillor I would hope to be able to highlight the problems and implement the changes that are needed.
What do you consider to be the important issues facing Wilmslow?
Wilmslow is a lovely place to live, and I want to ensure it remains that way. I want to ensure that our outside spaces are maintained and improved, locally to me we have a Multi-use sports pitch, playground and a BMX Pump track in need of repair. Improvements to these facilities will increase activities available for children and teenagers.
What do you hope to achieve and how in the next 4 years?
I would love to be able to highlight the wonderful community Colshaw has, and I will ensure it is not left as a forgotten corner of Wilmslow.
Both my children have SEN (special educational needs) and I would like to find a way of offering support for those with SEN and their families. It is fantastic that Dean Row is going to be the home of two SEN Schools, which will benefit our local SEN children immensely. Wilmslow is in short supply of activities and groups for SEN children to attend so would love to find a way of bringing these to Wilmslow and assisting any existing groups.
What experience and personal qualities will you bring to the role?
I believe that I can provide a viewpoint from a young(ish) family, especially one that needs activities and local amenities to be inclusive and accessible.
I approach problems calmly and have an eye for seeing solutions that others may miss.
Why should Dean Row residents vote for you?
I work very hard on problems presented to me, if it's not something I can solve myself, I will find the person who can and will follow up to ensure the problem is resolved.
*current councillor.
