LABOUR has announced a candidate for the Hedon Town Council by-election expected to take place on Thursday 6 May 2021.
Ben Hanson, 31, from Leaf Sail in Hedon has been selected by the Labour Party to stand for one of the vacant seats on Hedon Town Council.
The development of a Neighbourhood Plan is one of the proposals Mr Hanson suggests to empower the local community “to have a bigger say in how the town develops”.
Neighbourhood Planning is one of the component parts of the Localism Act and encourages communities to come together to develop a local vision of how an area should develop in the long term. The East Riding of Yorkshire Council has several such plans in place and says on its website: “With a neighbourhood plan communities can create a vision and planning policies for the use and development of land in a neighbourhood. For example, where new homes should be built and what they should look like.”
It is certainly an interesting idea, and notwithstanding that any neighbourhood plans have to fall in line with the council’s own adopted Local Plan, we wonder how differently some of the more recent controversial planning issues in the area might have been managed if a Hedon Neighbourhood Plan had already been in existence?
The poll expected on Thursday, 6 May 2021 is a by-election for Hedon Town Council. Full elections for the town are scheduled to take place on the first Thursday of May 2023.
The full statement from South West Holderness Labour Party:
Ben Hanson
Labour Candidate for Hedon Town Council
Background:
Ben Hanson, 31, lives in Hedon (on Leaf Sail Farm) with his young family, dog and a cat with a bad attitude problem. Ben, his family and friends are local to the area and most live in the town. Ben currently works for Hull City Council’s Housing Service and has previously worked in Children’s Services and for the NHS as well.
Experience:
Ben’s work experience will stand him in good stead as a Councillor. He is also a Parent Governor at Inmans Primary School. And Ben’s relative youthfulness will bring a vital fresh view to the Council’s work as the average age of the existing Councillors is over 60.
Ben says “Having lived here all my life, I’m well placed to represent others who live here in the Town Hall. Listening to friends and observing how the town has changed (or hasn’t) over the years there are plenty of areas I would champion”
Sense of Community:
“We do have a number of town events like HedFest, Penny Throwing, Christmas Lights which add to our collective sense of place and community. However, they do come round too infrequently and I feel we could do more. Use the assets and businesses we have to create a food festival, more sporting events, a summer fair perhaps? These are not just nice to have, they are the lifeblood of small towns like ours”.
Development in the Area:
“Often a divisive issue in the town, I would propose we develop a Neighbourhood Plan. This a tool which allows residents to develop a long term plan for the next 10 or 20 years rather than reacting piecemeal to individual projects. These plans require a high level of consultation, empowering the community to have a bigger say in how the town develops”.
“I’m keen to be a Town Councillor in order to listen to residents and represent their views as best I can. My only ambition is to ensure people feel listened to and know their views inform what happens in the town in the future.”
Candidates and their agents: We invite you to submit an introductory statement and profile photograph to hu12@gmx.com for inclusion in our Election 2021 coverage.
Hi, my husband and I moved to Hedon from West Yorkshire when we took early retirement 3 years ago. We moved to Holderness Grange, Birch Tree Drive and we love it. We have some great facilities on site including a gym, restaurant and library. We have some great social activities when not locked down. We think that this kind of development for active, over 55s is the future , allowing family homes to be freed up and letting us release capital to spend. We have a few apartments vacant and local estate agents seem reluctant to promote and market the place properly. Hedon is a lovely little town and has a lot to offer, it certainly could capitalise on promoting over 55 activities. Ps. we are both lifelong labour supporters but cant accept starmer.
Mary Martin
It will certainly be a refreshing change to have a young person in the role of Town Councillor, and a local resident to boot. It’s time for more young blood, to represent the needs and views of the population under 50 years of age, as well as the more established and older residents.