Polls open next week to elect new Melksham councillor

THE Melksham community will get their chance to elect a new councillor onto Melksham Town Council as the polls open next week.

Two candidates are standing for election with John Stewart for the Conservatives and Hayley Spencer for the Liberal Democrats.

Polls will be open on Thursday 19th March between 7am-10pm.

We gave both candidates a chance to tell Melksham News readers about themselves and what they believe they would bring to the role.

Hayley Spencer  (Liberal Democrat): 

Melksham is my home. I love it here. I was born, raised, and educated right here, and now this year, I get to start raising my own family in our great little town too. I wouldn’t have it any other way.

Being a part of the Melksham community helps me to see just how much opportunity we have right under our noses – there really is something for everyone in Melksham,

From keeping our town in great condition with the Town Team’s Tidy Town Days, to new school developments being built and the upcoming revitalisation of our wonderful Market Place – Melksham may be labelled as an “historical market town”, but that doesn’t make us any less fresh and modern than our surrounding towns!

With new housing developments, Melksham is expanding fast, and new residents moving here are just as vital to our community as the ones who have been here for decades like myself.

Having lived in Melksham for nearly 30 years now, I’ve experienced our town from all angles – as a child I took part in sports clubs and extra-curricular activities. As a teen I was part of revamping the Old Fire Station into a Youth Café – which has since become our lovely Arthouse Café!  As an adult I set up my first retail business, KomiX, right here in Melksham Town Centre. After nearly four years, we are stronger than ever, and bringing new people into our town from all over Wiltshire and further afield! In addition to running my own business, I also love to bring fresh events to Melksham, and Melksham Comic Con has had incredible results for our town over the past few years.

Some issues will always be up for discussion – parking charges, litter and graffiti being just a few. These are ongoing challenges, and will always need working on, but as long as they are, we can keep making progress.

For me, a place on the town council is about all of us, working together for a continuously moving and developing future in Melksham. We are all individuals, and we all want different things, but a lot of what we want is the same – a better town, a positive future, and a happy ending!

All of this comes with work, and with the right people representing our diverse community on the Council. I feel I can provide that – as a child of Melksham, an adult, a resident, a mother, and a business owner.

John Stewart (Conservative): 

My wife Evelyn and I live in Melksham and have been in the area for five years, we enjoy our life here having found it a friendly and welcoming place to be.

We have a grown up family and grandchildren. I have enjoyed playing rugby until recently, playing bowls is another gentler passion.

I am a volunteer tree warden for the town and work as a surveyor for a local housing association. Evelyn also volunteers at the Art House Cafe in Market Place. Being a tree warden I think I help by maintaining the presence of trees, shrubs and planting within the town which I believe contributes to the town’s character and environment.

With the influx of new people moving into the Melksham area I feel it is important to find the right balance between the old and new, and although progress is essential for the vibrancy of the town, it should not be to the detriment of its past in terms of history and architecture. I would like to help ensure that Melksham continues to be a pleasant town to live and work in and also to visit.

Melksham has many assets, especially the people who live here. The proposed new campus and sympathetic enhancement of the Market Place are two examples where we can show Melksham off at its best.

My wife and I enjoy an annual barge holiday and have witnessed over the years along canal banks the increased prosperity and rebirth of areas that had been neglected for years. The possibility of Melksham becoming  a port of call for canal holiday makers I predict will lead to an increase in visitor numbers and trade within the town, and I feel we should be doing all we can to encourage this hidden gem in our asset bank.

In summary I would aim to work towards maintaining and improving Melksham for the benefit of all in a mood of harmony and shared aspiration.”