Westbourne and Poets’ Corner by-election profile – Green

Eight candidates are standing in a by-election in Westbourne and Poets’ Corner for a seat on Brighton and Hove City Council on Thursday 1 May.

The seat became vacant when Labour councillor Leslie Pumm resigned because of ill health.

The eight candidates are Gary Farmer (Reform UK), Keith Jago (Independent), David Maples (Independent Socialist), Georgia McKinley Fitch (Independents for Direct Democracy), Tony Meadows (Conservative), Sam Parrott (Labour), Geoff Shanks (Green), Michael Wang (Liberal Democrat).

Each candidate has answered questions about local issues and why electors should vote for them.

Here are the responses from retired accountant Geoff Shanks, 71.

Why do you want to be a councillor?

I have lived in Westbourne and Poets’ Corner for the last six years and in the city for more than 20.

I’ve been active in the local Green Party, volunteered with local charities and am currently serving as a charity treasurer and trustee.

I have relevant skills and over 40 years’ experience to contribute from my working life.

Now I am retired, I have the time to focus fully on the role and apply my skills to benefit local residents and the city as a whole. Residents need help in dealing with the council – I want to provide it.

Why do you want to stand in this ward?

Unlike most candidates, I live in this ward. I stood here in the last local election. I know the community well, am part of it and want to represent it.

I work hard and would do my best to make sure that residents are heard.

Labour has shut out most voices from council decisions and they are not listening to residents when they raise concerns.

They have broken many of their election promises both in government and on the council.

I will challenge these broken promises and encourage Labour to ensure the council works better for us all.

What are the key issues specific to this ward?

Many voters are feeling let down by the council’s broken promises and by the Labour government’s lack of humanity.

On a local level, some of their concerns are

• the frequency and scope of recycling
• road safety and accident hotspots in Portland Road
• high volumes of traffic that “rat-runs” through the residential areas of Poets’ Corner and the Pembrokes
• potential resident parking overspill from high-density housing developments in Sackville Road
• Kingsway to the Sea delivering promised benefits sustainably to residents including the promised net increase in biodiversity
• the King Alfred development

How will you ensure residents know who you are and how to contact you, especially the digitally excluded?

I will continue to be very present in the community. I want residents to know who I am and how I can help them.

I will hold ward surgeries regularly as well as going to community groups and activities to meet with residents. I will advertise things in print, not just online.

The decisions made at a council level are distant from many residents, particularly when they are being made behind closed doors by a few cabinet members.

I hope to do what I can to bridge that gap and encourage more transparency and accountability in council decision-making.

Finding somewhere to park can be hard in Poets’ Corner. How will you help residents and their visitors?

About 40 per cent of households in Brighton and Hove don’t have a car. We need to make it easier for everyone to travel around the city with an integrated transport system.

Residents and visitors parking permits ensure priority and lower costs for residents and their visitors, though these need to be easier for all residents to access, in person if need be.

There is a potential problem of parking overspill from the Sackville Road development. I would seek to ensure there is dialogue with the developers to minimise problems and enforcement by the council against non-residents parking to deter overspill.

How will you champion the community’s wishes when the King Alfred Leisure Centre is redeveloped?

There needs to be a solution for the King Alfred because it is in a clear state of disrepair.

However, many people I have spoken to feel they have not been heard in the conversations so far and are worried about the transparency of decisions.

Hove Green councillor Ollie Sykes has been consistent in challenging the Labour council’s decision-making and I would work with him to continue to do so.

I will meet with residents and campaigners and attend public meetings on the subject and share information in newsletters.

Polling stations are due to be open from 7am to 10pm on Thursday 1 May. Valid photographic ID is required to vote.