The May 4 local elections sees a major change for Nantwich Town Council which is being split into three wards and will elect 15 councillors in total.
Boundary changes mean the town council will cover a larger population and area.
This means an extra Ward has been drawn up, so the town council will now be covered by a North, West and South Ward, with five councillors in each Ward.
Currently the council has 12 councillors (eight Independents and four Conservatives) and two Wards, with a Mayor elected each year by councillors to ‘chair’ its meetings.
On May 4, there are eight candidates vying for the five places representing Nantwich North.
These are five Independents standing are Stuart Bostock, Rachel Carroll, Colin Keeling, David Marren and Mary Slinn.
There are two Labour candidates in Anna Burton and Adrian Heald, and one Conservative in Daniel Bull.
In Nantwich South Ward, there are 12 candidates vying for five councillor positions.
Independent candidates are Clive Mosby and John Playford.
The five Labour candidates are Eddie George, William Graham, Kim Jamson, John Priest, and Geoff Smith.
The five Conservative candidates are David Greaves, Peter Groves, Debbie Jackson, Andrew Martin and Gary Poole.
In Nantwich West Ward, there are nine candidates vying for five councillor places.
Four Independent candidates are Caroline Kirkham, Pam Kirkham, Arthur Moran and Steph Wedgwood.
Four Conservative candidates are Allen Gage, Vicky Higham, Ryan Moore and John Statham.
One Labour candidate is Loic Charbonneau.
Two of the current town councillors – Penny Butterill (Independent) and Carole Thomas (Independent) – are not applying for re-election.
The town council paid tribute to their service at the monthly meeting last Thursday.
Cllr Butterill served on the town council since 2000 in North and West Ward, and has also served as Cheshire East councillor since 2011.
Cllr Arthur Moran, in paying tribute, said: “I have to say I will miss her, she has done a very very good job as councillor.”
Cllr Thomas was elected in 2019 and has played a key role on a number of organisations including Nantwich Civic Society, Luncheon Club, Nantwich Players and more.
In 2017, she acted as Consort to Cllr Moran during his year as Mayor, helping to raise £11,000 for charity and attending hundreds of engagements.
Cllr Moran said: “Carole has been a very independent Independent, and, her attendance record is second to none, and her work with each of the organisations has been long-standing. The town thanks Carole for her service.”
Town council election results are expected to be announced on Saturday May 6.
For the first time, voters will need to show staff at polling stations one piece of Photo ID, original copy not a scan/photocopy.
For details on ID, visit here.
Why is Shavington Dave Marren standing for Nantwich North, surely that’s the wrong side of town for a chap who doesn’t live in Nantwich. Is there not a role for him where he lives?
Glad you received our leaflet Mark. Just to let everyone know the Independent Group will be on The Square on Saturday 29th April, 10.30 – 12.30 to give everyone the opportunity to meet us and discuss any matters of concern that they may have. We look forward to meeting you so please join us.
The question is what do they actually stand for and what do they plan to do. We’ve not seen anything from anyone except the independents with any priorities or policies and even they aren’t addressing the issues that are really concerning people locally. If you’re going to stand the least you can do is come onto platforms like this one or post something through the door to say who you are and what you stand for.