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The Bradworthy Wind Turbines

Local Elections Thursday May 3rd 2007

Your Green Party Candidates for North Devon District Council, Barnstaple Forches & Whiddon Valley Ward

You may also like to visit North Devon District Council's "Candidate's Profiles" page

Your Green Party Candidates for Barnstaple Town Council, Barnstaple Forches & Whiddon Valley Ward

You may also like to visit North Devon District Council's "Parish Candidates" page

Earl Bramley-Howard

I am a 47 years old artist. I was born in Bloemfontein, South Africa and came to England when I was 3 years old; when my parents fled the apartheid regime after my stepfather was imprisoned along with Nelson Mandela in 1963 and was accused of being a terrorist. He claimed and received asylum in the UK and lived and worked here until he died in 1974, having built up a successful publishing company. I was educated here and grew up proud to be a full British Citizen. I trained as an artist at Isleworth Polytechnic and went on to be a sign writer for many years. I have lived in North Devon for the last 27 years and have been involved with the Green movement in one way or another, for most of that time.

I was deeply involved with South Molton Recycle from the mid 80’s to early 90’s when it was still a community charity and I was their transport manager up until 1993 when the council began funding recycling through them. Much has been achieved in the years since then but there is still much to be done in the field of recycling in our county and I believe bureaucracy still prevents effective recycling of both trade and domestic waste. The division of responsibility between the County and District councils leaves both passing the buck of responsibility to the other instead of looking for ways to co-operate and ensure that we minimise the amount of waste ending up in landfill sites. The true cost of land filling waste has to be taken into account when we look at long-term solutions to this problem and if elected I would work towards a unified approach to waste disposal with the County and District Councils. The recent cut of services - dressed up as recycling - has led to an increase in the rat population and is a public health issue. If elected I will seek to find ways for the councils to work closer together when it come to waste management so that we can make genuine progress in finding a solution to this huge problem whilst maintaining the highest standards for our community.

I have been left disabled with reduced mobility for the last 7 years which has given me a personal insight into the issues that face disabled people both locally and within society as a whole. I would fight to ensure that disabled rights aren’t eroded any further in Devon, as I believe the true mark of a civilised society can be determined by how it treats its disadvantaged members and minority groups. You are welcome to e-mail me at earl@nothdevongreens.org.uk if you would like to discuss local issues during the election.

I have two children aged 25 and 19. My youngest son attended North Devon College, where he did an IT course and is now opening a surfing shop in Morocco. My eldest son is the manager of a Night club in Exeter. As a parent I am naturally concerned about the issues facing children and teenagers in today’s society and on a local level, would seek to improve facilities for young people and would support initiatives to improve the quality of education, for all children and teachers within our community.
I also believe it is important to recognise the needs of single people within our county to ensure that they are remembered, as they are a growing section of society whose needs are all too often neglected by politicians. There is growing number of single people who seem to be forgotten when it comes to making policy and I will fight to ensure that their voice is heard.

On Thursday, May 3rd, you will have the opportunity between the hours of 7.00 a.m. and 10.00 p.m. to cast your vote for four Barnstaple Town Council seats and two District Council seats for the Forches & Whiddon Valley Ward. You will get to vote six times in all, and you can spread your vote between the different candidates as you see fit. We believe it is in the interests of a democratic society if you are given a choice at elections.

Four years ago you elected two Lib-Dem councillors and two Independents to Barnstaple Town Council.

For the District Council you elected one Lib-Dem and one Independent. At the moment on the District Council, there are 22 Lib-Dems, 10 Conservatives, 10 Independents and one UKIP - a notional majority of one, but in effect this is a safe Lib-Dem controlled Council and has been for years. In practice the Lib-Dems and the Conservatives vote together on virtually all contentious issues, with the exception of the annual budgetary tussle which is little more than an exercise in spin. This kind of inertia does nothing for responsible representation in a local democracy.
Support for the Green Party has grown considerably in recent years and your Forches & Whiddon Valley Green Team is now a full compliment of excellent Green Party candidates. We hope you will vote for us on May 3rd (or if you register for a postal vote, anytime after 18th April).]

Aren’t all Parties ‘Green’ these days?

We at the Green Party think it’s only fair that you get a chance to vote for the real McCoy when it comes to election time, as it would seem that all the other parties are falling over themselves these days, to show you their ‘green’ credentials. Of course this is just political manoeuvring and many are simply jumping on the green bandwagon although many of their policies still avoid addressing the real causes of our planet’s many problems. I would hope the electorate of Forches and Whiddon Valley can see through this sort of political manoeuvring and if you really want to be represented by someone ‘Green’ please simply vote for the GREEN candidates.

A Green council will improve the quality of local services and invest in local community projects. We will support individuals, companies and projects that produce high quality local goods and services that can be consumed locally, thus saving on transportation costs and things like ‘food miles’.
People need quality jobs and job security and that means building local interdependent sustainable economies based on local talent and local enterprise. It is well understood that businesses that network and co-operate are more likely to be successful in today’s competing world markets.
This town used to have a textile factory and a shoe factory, but now cheap imports from Asia have made both of those industries less likely to be located in Europe these days. Many of the old industries have gone and yet the new technology jobs that should be replacing them, are still few and far between and need to be supported and attracted the area. There is a crying need worldwide for clean new industries to replace the old dirty technologies and we would support new ‘clean’ high-tech industries coming to the area bringing secure jobs.

How well are they spending your tax money?

In the past those in control of our councils have supported unsustainable and ill thought out civic schemes and plans, so it will be interesting to see how the new Barnstaple regeneration project goes. We in the Green Party believe in openness and transparency in local government. Hundreds of millions of pounds are being pumped into the North Devon economy at the moment but the question is will these schemes still be fit for purpose in 30 years time?

All too often our council has supported projects which have been dressed up as supposedly ‘green’, whilst objecting to truly ‘Green’ initiatives such as placing stipulations on planning consent, to ensure energy efficient housing or by supporting wind farms for the district. The recent proposed wind farms at Fullabrook and Batsworthy have been good examples of this nimby-ism in this area from many in the other parties, who seem to support wind energy, but only so long as it isn’t in North Devon. How many times have we heard local councillors say wind energy is a good thing and then oppose planning applications for wind farms?

Eco-tourism opportunity for North Devon

Green Councillors will support North Devon becoming an area of clean eco-tourism, with local sustainable energy being produced in a sustainable manner right here in North Devon’s wind farms which can be promoted as an eco-tourism attraction for our district proving our commitment to a better future! Towards this end I spoke in favour of the proposed wind farm at the recent Fullabrook Public Enquiry in Barnstaple and also at the recent planning meetings for the proposed wind farm at Batsworthy near Knowstone. These are plans that can deliver clean renewable energy to our area within a few short years if they get the go-ahead and we must support them or they will go elsewhere and our district will miss out on another chance for promoting clean eco-tourism in the area!
Whilst I also fully support new innovations like the proto-type underwater turbines off Lynton, I am not naïvely trusting to some future technology to save the day and I recognise that without central government funding, these projects are subject to financial constraints and will simply disappear like so many before them. Many of you will remember that years ago the Westcountry was host to a geo-thermal prototype power station, which has since been shelved. Governments and Councils need to support new infrastructure projects that are cleaner or better than the earlier infrastructure, or we will simply miss the chance to improve and ensure the quality of life for ourselves and our children and grandchildren in the years and decades to come.

Forches Housing Improvements

I wholeheartedly support the improvements to the housing stock in Forches; however I do wonder why it has taken so long for this to happen when the need was recognised so many years ago? If elected I would support affordable, energy efficient housing planning applications and I would also support improvements to existing housing stock in the form of energy conservation grants and grants for photo-voltaic, rooftop wind turbines or solar panel hot water systems being installed where appropriate. By improving the quality of our local environment, we can help to reduce global emissions whilst improving our own quality of life in the process. I believe entire areas should be designated ‘rooftop wind turbine permission granted areas’ to encourage homeowners to install wind turbines and other alternative energy systems in their homes.

Solutions to Global Warming

The causes of global warming are clearly economic and I believe that it is by using existing cleaner technologies now and funding research in new innovations for the future, that the many solutions needed to combat global pollution will be found and this could also generate new jobs and new industries whilst still reducing our ‘pollution footprint’. Therefore I believe that the solutions to global warming will also be economic if the model we use is whether the new industries are ultimately environmentally friendly and sustainable. This could lead to a new economic model based on sustainability and the quality of life, but we mustn’t stifle these new technologies with nimby-ism.

If you want truly progressive thinkers representing you in the Town and District councils and not just the same old grey suits, then please vote Green on May 3rd 2007!

Vote for a new eco-friendly direction for YOUR councils. VOTE GREEN!

Robert Cornish

I have lived in Devon for twelve years working on two farms on the South-West corner of Exmoor. Eight of those years were spent establishing a nature reserve / farm which became recognised as a County Wildlife Site by the Devon Wildlife Trust. It was profoundly alarming to slowly find out for myself how much of our native flora and fauna had vanished.

Since 2000, I’ve been living in the middle of Barnstaple working as a carer and designing and building a range of recumbent bicycles and tricycles as practical transport alternatives. Transportation is of course an example of a major environmental issue that successive governments have utterly failed on. This has resulted in ever increasing Carbon emissions leading to Global Warming. It is obvious that our growing population needs more efficient and effective ways to travel. The main parties are ignoring alternatives such as public transport in favour of privatisation, more roads, more cars and more airports.

Ian Godfrey

For well over thirty years I have been actively involved in community, environmental and humanitarian campaigns at home and abroad. These have ranged from local co-ordination of Greenpeace (Herts); working with projects supporting Tibetan refugees in Nepal; aid runs to Romania supporting Children with HIV/AIDS; local Tsunami Appeal efforts; I am a team member of Lightquest (Lightquest, Dreamwalk, Lightwalk) - major fundraising events for the North Devon Hospice.
As Director of Health and Harmony Festivals, I have welcomed the opportunity to support not only local trades-people but also local and international charities all working to make this world a better one!
I consider human beings to be an intricate part of (and not apart from) the rest of creation. As such, it is our responsibility to live our lives in a way that is sustainable to both the planet and its people.
In a ‘past life’ I worked in retail and recognise how ‘fashionable’ it has become to be seen to be ‘Green’. However, there is one political voice that has been consistent on the issues of sustainability, climate change and renewable energy solutions, whether or not it was fashionable – The Green Party.

Alex Lodge

I am Alex Lodge and I am 18 years of age. Born in Plymouth, I have lived in Forches for 13 years. I studied Sociology, English Language, History and Politics at A-level at North Devon College and am currently working at the Boston Tea Party in the town centre, as a Floor Manager.
At North Devon College, I helped set up a pressure group, "The Student Green Group". One of our main achievements was to develop a peer-education course in environmental education and sustainability, which took its message out to 11-16 year-old school students in the area. The course has been widely acclaimed regionally and the "Student Green Group" is going from strength to strength. They have just been awarded a "Green Gown Award" for their work.
Forches is a fantastic place to live but is often not seen as such due to a minority who give us a bad image through disregard to residents and their surroundings. The re-generation of Forches is great step in the right direction but more must be done – some areas need cleaning up and a few areas still need to be made safer – I feel I have the insight and energy to help make this happen.

The Green Party are fielding over 1,400 local candidates all across England in this May's local elections. We currently have 93 councillors at District level or above, and expect to gain many more seats this year.

Your Green Party Candidates for North Devon:

You may also like to visit North Devon District Council's "Candidate's Profiles" page and "Parish Candidates" page

Your Green Party Candidates for Torridge:

You may also like to visit Torridge District Council's "Notice of Poll" page

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