In 2005 as our General election candidate I increased the LibDem vote locally by 4.7% and I seriously believe that this will further increase next time. I am constantly asked what motivates me to be in the public eye all of the time. Well the answer is simple I believe our 2 Towns deserve better and are crying out for a new direction. Like many of you I have lived my entire life in this area and care deeply about its many varied communities and I get angry when I see the policies of the Conservatives locally and Labour nationally consistently fail the resident’s of this area. I get even more fiercely defensive of our area when they are the butt of jokes by many comedians. Our area has failed to thrive in my lifetime and realise its full potential it has consistently been let down by Conservatives for as long as anyone can remember.  If I was paid £5 for every time someone said to me the Conservatives always win here and always will I would be a very rich man now.  So why am I prepared to stick my neck on the line time after time well that’s simple too OUR TOWNS’ AND COUNTRY DESERVE BETTER AND ITS TIME FOR A SEA-CHANGE IN NATIONAL POLITICS!During our recent leadership election campaign I supported Nick Clegg and I am absolutely ecstatic that he is now our leader. Nick and I share the same vision for our country  we are the same age both have passion and care deeply about the state of politics in our country today and we are both essentially Liberal to the core.

Britain is a Liberal Country and so are the Towns of Bognor Regis and Littlehampton as the only prospective candidate who can challenge the Conservative arrogance in this area it falls upon me to take the Liberal Democrat message to every corner of our community. Over the next few months I will be doing that highlighting here and on our local party website my position on many crucial local issues and my vision for the future of Bognor Regis and Littlehampton. I will be taking to the streets campaigning on the big issues but also talking to as many of you as possible on the doorstep I want to give you a serious alternative to another Conservative MP I want to make your MESSAGE FOR THE FUTURE MY MESSAGE I WANT TO DELIVER THAT SEA CHANGE ALTERNATIVE AND TAKE THIS AREA BY STORM! 

In the past on site 6 Bersted Parish Council under my chairmanship took developers and Arun District Head on to argue the case against development on this site. We succesfully applied to the high court to get this site quashed and removed from the local plan only to be let down by the Labour Secretary of State who finally gave planning permission for the site.

My concern is the the New Parish Council has not yet woken up to the danger that lies ahead. I constantly warned that if planning permission for site 6 was granted then all greenfields in Bersted would be at risk of development. With potential allocations within the North West Bersted area they need to have their eye on the ball at all times. Sadly when it came to setting a budget for next year only a small amount was allocated for professional fees to look into these matters. There now seems to be a hardcore who seem to want to cut costs to the taxpayer even though this can be measured in pence to the individual than looking ahead and meet the challenges that will shape the community for decades to come. I can only hope in the long term they will rise to the challenge again.

During the next few months construction work will begin on Policy Site 6 with the planning applications for both elements now live and available for public comment. A decision will be made by the Development Control committee on the 23rd Jan and fortunately I am a member of the committee. I am also part of the Site 6 Advisory Group which is able to make pre application comments and will aslo make sure that the development is done to the highest standards. As I said when re-elected last year my main role now is to see that developers deliver on their infrastructure proposals and make sure the relief road is built as early as possible.

 I still remained concerned about possible flooding to the exsisting houses in Chichester Road and North Bersted Street and have made sure the Advisory Group has met with Southern Water to ensure that they upgrade the current sewage system to modern day standards. They came to see us in December and are due to come back to us in January with an update on proposals and to answer the many technical questions that I and others raised.

Bersted Parish Council has now submitted an outline management plan for the community centre on the site 6 estate. This is still at the very early stages but none the less is a very vital clogg for community integration over the next few years. I am still of the opinion that by setting up a trust and delivering the services from the centre on behalf of Bersted Parish Council is the best way ahead. That way we are in a position of influence on what is happening within the community and ideally placed to pick up and deal with any underlying problems.

Looking to the long term future Arun District Council will be moving forwards on the Local Development Framework. This work was put on hold last year due to the inspectors report on the South East Plan where it is proposed that an extra 2,000 houses in Arun have to be accomodated within the plan. However in Bersted we need to be very vigilant as one of the areas of seach puts Chalcraft Lane firmly in the picture for development including over possible fields in Bersted. I am on the LDF sub Committee and hopefully ideally placed to speak up on behalf of local residents. Last Year the figure being muted was 1500 houses this figure could well increase if the Secretary of State accepts the extra 2,000 houses or indeed increases it further. My main concern for this site along with many others is the historic ground water problems in this area. there is a major study being carried out on this at the moment and a strategic flood assesment report is due to the committee in the near future. I will in due course keep residents up to date on these findings once they are availiable to the public.

Congratulations to Nick Clegg on being elected leader of the Liberal Democrats. His acceptance speech was quite outstanding for a new leader and really went to the heart of the problems facing Britain today. I am particularly pleased that his main area of concern is to tackle social mobility when residents here in Bersted and Bognor Regis and Littlehampton are facing high levels of deprivation on a daily basis.