Stroud District Council candidate profiles – Bisley

Each party candidate will give voters information about who they are, what their pledges are and why you should vote for them.

These profiles will be posted alphabetically by ward over the next week.

To kick us off, today we feature Amberley and Woodchester, Berkeley Vale, Bisley and Cainscross.

Stay posted throughout the week to see your candidates go head to head.

There are three candidates standing in this ward. Number of seats - one.

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• Anna Bonallack – Green Party

Anna is a business woman, mother, qualified teacher and Education for Sustainable Development specialist.

She works in the youth work and education sector and is a Director of Creative Sustainability community interest company (CIC) known locally and nationally for their Access Bike, Creative Camping and Sustainability Day activities.

She is also director of Stroud Nature CIC who host the annual Stroud Festival of Nature. Anna takes a strong environmental and social sustainability stance in local politics and as a member of her local community.

She wants to maintain and improve local amenities and infrastructure and support a thriving rural community for all ages and income groups.

She feels that the specific needs of those who live in Bisley, Eastcombe and Oakridge have not been well represented for many years.

Some of Anna's priorities are: infrastructure and public services - public transport and feasible alternatives, local post offices and shops.

Safe streets and lanes– enforced 20 mph zones. Investment in household energy saving, energy generation for warmer and more affordable homes The complete roll out of super-fast broadband or equivalent. Community resilience to extreme events e.g. floods, heavy snow fall, power cuts and water supply loss.

Development/ redevelopment of affordable well designed homes for local families to buy and rent.

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• Richard House – Labour Party

Originally hailing from Somerset and now living in Stroud, Richard is an Oxford graduate with a Ph.D. in Environmental Sciences; a Chartered Psychologist; and a retired university senior lecturer and counsellor.

He is a nationally known campaigner on early childhood and mental-health issues, and has written and edited many books in these fields.

His overriding commitment is to supporting and championing those citizens who, for whatever reason, are least able to look after themselves.

Richard is particularly interested in local public transport, social housing, children’s centres, and environmental issues.

He is against fracking in principle, and is opposed to the Javelin Park Incinerator.

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• Tim Williams – Conservative Party

I have been born and raised in the Bisley ward and am part of a local farming family.

At 22 I am the youngest district councillor which means I am in a position to not only represent my ward, but also the younger generation across all of the Stroud districts.

I have represented our community on various different matters over the last two years including planning, highway related matters and protecting our public transport infrastructural.

Equally, I have also met with various different members of our rural ward on a one to one basis to address their individual concerns.

A few successes include campaigning to get the county to improve a bus service removed by stagecoach which was mentioned by ward name, in a county improvement strategy press release.

Equally, working with residents to defend our rural ward in the SDC planning department by tackling a lengthy planning application that threatened to dilute one of our greenfield sites.

Looking to the future I have been pushing for change at a renowned crash site.

Progress came when the highways commissioner invited me to meet and raise all of Bisley wards highway issues with him personally.

We have made positive change over this last term and I hope to continue to represent the ward affectively and be a dynamic councillor in all matters that arise.