St Georges ward candidates

Four candidates, two seats available.

Some candidates who belong to the same party chose to submit a combined manifesto.

Thomas Hoof, Conservative

If elected to Telford and Wrekin Council I will be focusing on three key areas.

1. Saving the Gower: If elected I will push for a public sector partnership between Telford and Wrekin Council and St Georges and Priorslee Parish Council. This would include transferring the ownership of the building to the parish council and gifting the parish council the remaining amount out of the Gower Funds, roughly £550,000. The parish council would then need to get a public Loan to finish off the remainder of the building. This is achievable and sensible, the grant route has been exhausted and is no longer viable.

2. The resurfacing of paths and roads: There are a lot of young families with prams and a lot of elderly people with scooters in St Georges. Our paths aren’t accessible enough. Most paths have a camber too big for scooters and they do not have enough dropped kerbs. If elected I will fight to make our paths a smooth, level surface with adequate drop-down points.

3. Protecting Green Spaces: St Georges has now had its fair share of large-scale housing developments. It needs to end. We have lost the vast majority of our green spaces and the village is now unrecognisable from only 20 years ago. I will vote and fight against building projects that take place on our remaining green spaces.

Jay Gough, Conservative

If elected I will prioritise five key areas:

1. Saving the Gower. This iconic building has been left unused when it should be fully back in the community’s hands. I support Thomas Hoof in pushing for a public-sector partnership between the town council and St Georges and Priorslee Parish Council, transferring the ownership and funds to the parish so progress can finally be made, and the building reopened.

2. Road and path resurfacing. Many of St Georges’s roads and pathways are in a dire state. The ones that have been improved were done to a poor standard, creating problems for elderly residents and parents with pushchairs and prams. If elected I will fight to rectify this.

3. Protecting Green Spaces. There are too many new housing developments replacing vital green spaces. There is danger that in a few years there will be no fields for our children. I will stand against any developments in our now dwindling areas of beauty.

4. Veterans’ Rights. As a former serviceman, I understand how difficult it is to reintegrate into civilian life. I will make it a priority to support former service personnel to help them find suitable housing and access mental health services, if required. I will request a large role in Remembrance Day organisation.

5. Road Safety. There are too many dangerous drivers on Telford’s roads. I have experienced this myself through dashcam footage which helped convict a dangerous driver. Due to this I was recently featured on the BBC One Show. If elected I wish to spearhead a crackdown on this with West Mercia Police.

Richard Overton (incumbent) and David Wright, Labour

We are proud to represent the place we call home and are committed to providing a strong voice for residents in St Georges, Snedshill and Wrockwardine Wood.

Richard and David have extensive experience in working for local residents and getting results. Richard has been the Deputy Leader of Telford and Wrekin Council and is an active volunteer and fundraiser for local charities. David was the MP for Telford for 14 years and grew up in St Georges.

David and Richard represent St Georges on the Parish Council and understand the local issues. If elected, we promise to:

• Create opportunities for local people – we’ll support local businesses and focus on jobs, housing and training opportunities for everyone, including young people.

• Deliver community investment – we’ll work to provide local projects for the community and support partnerships like the Gower initiative

• Invest in our area – we’ll deliver environmental investment, including on roads, footpaths and open space. We’ll back projects to help older people live independently.

• Be accountable to you – we’ll hold regular street surgeries and keep you updated with newsletters and on social media.

We will work hard for all local residents and put St. Georges, Snedshill and Wrockwardine Wood first all of the time!