Dear Sir,

With the impending elections taking place in May for our Town Council, I wanted to take this opportunity to introduce myself to the people of Hadleigh.

I served as a Town Councillor from 2015 to 2018, before stepping down as I wished to be able to speak publicly about my concerns over the administration of the Council at that time.

Many readers will be aware that I instigated a Parish Poll calling a vote of no confidence in the Town Council following this, and 70% of those who voted agreed that they too had lost confidence in the Council, however the Councillors serving at the time decided not to step down.

Following this, a new council has been elected, but over the two years since then, a number of Councillors have had to step down for various reasons, hence my decision to put myself forward once again.

I am an independent candidate, which means I have no allegiance other than to the wonderful town in which we live.

I am a retired police officer, and my wife is a retired nurse and health visitor. My daughter is a teacher, and I have two grandchildren growing up in the town, and so I feel passionately that the Town Council have responsibilities to ensure that there is adequate provision made for all age groups and that such provision must be sustainable so that those of us living in the town now continue to benefit from the wonderful environment and facilities, but also so that future generations can continue to enjoy living in the town that we all love.

Two key priorities that need to be explored urgently in order to ensure this are the Neighbourhood Plan, and the Cemetery extension. Both have significant financial implications for the town and as it stands currently, we are missing out on a further 60% of funding via the Community Infrastructure Levy simply because we do not have a complete Neighbourhood Plan.

Readers will also not be strangers to the controversy surrounding the cemetery extension, which again needs to be considered in the context of the Town finances so that the project does not drain all the resources of the town and can be administered in a financially viable way.

I look forward to an opportunity to once again serve the town and its residents.

Bill Wilson

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