Speaking up, fighting & campaigningfor all residents of Brentwood West

Cllr Karen ChilversINTERVIEW WITH A COUNCILLOR

What has been your greatest achievement

as councillor for Brentwood West?

Karen: I am proud of a lot I have achieved

with residents over the last few years, but

recently we got a seven storey block of

flats stopped in St James Road.

Unfortunately, the Tories then approved a

six storey off ice block on the same land.

Going back to 2007, we also stopped the

closure of the Warley Hill Post Off ice.

What is the greatest disappointment?

It has got to be the William Hunter

Way development. The Liberal

Democrats have always wanted

a cinema for the town, but the

Tories only gave one option

which is a pretty grim looking

one. This is a massive missed opportunity,

it could have been something so special..

Do you live in Brentwood West?

I live just 0.2 miles from the edge of the

ward, but my mum and dog do so I am

here most days and bump into my

residents all over town!

I know pretty much every nook & cranny

of the ward so I would happily take it

as my specialist subject on Mastermind!

You say you knock on doors “all year

round, not just election time”. Really?

YES! We actually do and the proof is on

www.karenchilvers.mycouncillor.org.uk! In

fact, we are much happier knocking on

doors out of election time in July than

April, when we are asking for your votes!

Every week, we pick up case work from

residents that ranges from someone

terrified they are going to be evicted from

a council property to parking issues.

Sometimes, we pick up really

big issues like the noise from

the A12 or the Brook Street

roundabout but I think the

fact that we make ourselves

so very accessible to

people means they have our details and

email or call us when they need help

with things like the library consultation

protest or a planning

issue.

If you go to my site and

click on the links, you

can see what I have

done for the ward, the

borough and even your

very own street!

If you had one wish for Brentwood West

what would it be?

That everyone would

drive at the speed limit.

Simple. It’s a really

emotive issue, especially in Honeypot Lane,

London Road, Crescent Road and other

major roads here. I have tried to solve

issues, but until speeding is as socially

unacceptable as drink driving, I fear

nothing will really change.

How can you fight the Tories locally when

you are in national coalition?

There is NO COALITION IN BRENTWOOD

I can assure you in the strongest terms!

We are the opposition locally and are

in this because we are so appalled by

what the Tories are

doing with our town.

The biggest issue

recently is the Town

Hall as they have

decided to demolish

ALL or 87% of the building and completely

disregard any refurbishment option, such

as the one we put forward.

Make no mistake, Lib Dems will continue

to f ight the Tories for you here in Brentwood.

What are the immediate priorities for you

and the Liberal Democrats in Brentwood?

We want to save your Town Hall, restore

community pride, ensure decent

accessible services, a community that

champions fairness, inclusiveness,

openness, accountability & involvement in

key decision making & we will always put

the needs of local people first when

deciding on priorities. We also want to put

the council finances back in order, tackle

crime and keep Brentwood safe as well

as introduce fair car parking charges, fight

for better public transport, better

community healthcare and support local

businesses. All this is in our manifesto.

How will you be able to do this?

For starters, we need more

Lib Dem councillors elected.

At the moment, people are

really positive about our

ideas for the town but, when

they have 27 votes and we

have 8 we simply cannot vote them

down. A vote for the Liberal Democrats on

5th May could stop the Tory bulldozer,

quite literally, and make a real difference

to all our futures.

If you are re-elected on Thursday 5th May,

what do you hope to achieve in the next

four years?

I want to work with

residents to complete

everything I currently

have running for

them, such as major

projects like the bad

signage on Brook

Street roundabout . However, now with

four years experience and the addition of

my ward colleague Cllr Nigel Clarke, I can

get it done more effectively, efficiently and

swiftly with all the good contacts I have!

I would also like to use my position as a

councillor to get more community

projects off the ground, particularly

involving young people and promoting

animal welfare, such as the scheme

where youngsters help senior citizens get

on the Internet. I will also be able to

continue to promote the Dogs Trust

Freedom Project which helps domestic

abuse victims flee safely with their pets.

Of course, speaking up and taking action

for residents will always be my No.1 priority.