At this year's local elections for Surrey Heath Borough Council, we are pleased to announce that standing for Surrey Heath Conservatives are Frank Du Cann, Mark Gordon, and Valerie White.
Below each of the candidates have prepared a statement on why you should lend them your vote, so that they can carry on making Bagshot a better place.
Mark Gordon:
My name is Mark Gordon and I have been your Parish Councillor for the past 4 years and your Borough Councillor for the past 2, I sit on the employment, planning and licensing committees at SHBC.
For my day job, I run the Kings Arms in the centre of the village with my family and have been here for the past 13 years. I believe my day job gives me a unique perspective in council, as I speak to so many residents from all ages and demographics on a daily basis.
I am a family man through and through , I have raised 8 sons and have 2 grandchildren, 5 of the younger boys live at the pub and 3 of them work for the company.
My youngest is autistic and attends Windlesham Village Infant School in North Windlesham, so I have a fair bit of experience with SENCO and special needs.
People seem to use me as their first point of contact as they can always find me, a lot of my case work is listening and then signposting people to the relevant officer.
I belong to The Windlesham Society and am on the committee at The Bagshot Society
I am on the Bagshot committee at Windlesham Parish Council and as a result of the community governance review called by Windlesham Residents, I came up with the compromise of the 3 Village Committee Structure which seems to be working really well for us.
I have championed the use of CIL money to upgrade all the play areas in the village and to provide an outdoor gym , this work is currently underway. I have lobbied Highways and work is in progress to re line the markings on the High St and we are currently looking at schemes for traffic calming in the area. I am very keen to preserve the villages and worked hard with CLAG to fight for Chapel Lane Action Group and pushed for the funding to pay for the legal defence.
I have used my grant money to support lots of community initiatives, I have supported the Big Bash and the Windle Valley Fundraisers in all their village events , together with my colleagues we have jointly funded and just ordered a replacement defibrillator for the village. I have provided a new tent for the Scouts, I have hosted a community lunch and dinner at Xmas for the most vulnerable in our community and the unsung heroes who deserve our thanks. I set up a collection point for the Old Dean free food stall and we cook and serve the food for the community breakfast on a Sunday morning at St Martins.
I am a kinship carer and belong to a group that supports other people who want to foster or adopt.
I am passionate about mental health and recently set up a regular event to get men talking, this is really helping lots of men all over the Borough and is being rolled out nationally soon.
I recently facilitated a meeting for social housing tenants to collectively present their issues to Accent Housing.
Going forward I would like to get more involved with the villages working group and the town centre working group to see how we can further support small businesses in the Borough, I would like the Borough to do more with schools so kids have an idea what councils do as we struggle to engage younger people in local issues.
I am currently working on improving communications at all levels as I don't feel we communicate effectively with residents and could vastly improve it.
Being accessible and being at grass roots with the community provides me with a good steer of what residents want and the chance to engage more people on what the council does and can do.
I believe I am committed and passionate and work hard for the residents of our villages, I have loved my time as a councillor and wish to continue working for you all.
I have been lucky enough to get in at WPC for the next term but I need your votes to carry on being your Borough councillor for the next term.
If you want someone who you believe works hard to make the village and community a better place, and a person you can relate to who has strong family values and someone you can always get hold of, then please vote for local Conservatives on 4th May.
Valerie White:
My name is Valerie White. I was brought up on a council estate in Wallasey on the Wirral. My parents moved our family south when I was a teenager and I eventually settled permanently in Bagshot in 1987. Unbeknown to me then I could not have picked a better, safer place to have and bring up a family. As a Mum to two energetic sporty boys Surrey Heath was the perfect place to live with many outdoor and other facilities on the doorstep.
When the boys were teenagers I was persuaded to become a councillor and represented Windlesham at Windlesham Parish Council and got to know the village and it’s residents well. Over the last 12 years I have represented Bagshot at Parish and Borough level. The ‘Bagshot Ward’ includes North Windlesham at Borough level.
I hoped that being a councillor was the way to become involved in the Ward and to help residents. The ‘job’ didn’t disappoint and I hope I haven’t disappointed those who previously elected me. I have represented all residents to the best of my ability.
I don’t have any fancy qualifications or any special skills. I like to think I obtained my ‘degree’ in common sense from the University of Life and Hard Knocks.
My experience has been gained by sitting on various committees which include Planning, Licensing, Audit & Standards and Performance & Finance. I am the Borough councils representative on the Police and Crime Panel. I am a trustee for Windlesham United Charities which includes James Butler Almshouses and for many years was a trustee for W.C. Lees Almshouses in Windlesham. I am also chair of trustees for Bagshot Village Community Library. Keeping the library open as a Community Partnered Library (CPL) is one of my proudest achievements. Although, this would not be possible with out the many volunteers involved in the day to day running of this precious facility. Working together is the key to success in any situation.
Another proud achievement was being elected as Mayor of the Borough of Surrey Heath.
It is not only the big issues in our Borough that need to be addressed by your elected representatives but the problems individuals face in the ward. I have tried very hard to help and assist many of you over time and would be honoured to have the opportunity to continue to do so.
I am not one for fancy words, self promotion or empty promises but what I can promise is to continue to work hard on behalf of the whole ward and represent all our residents. Thank you for reading and don’t forget to vote on 4th May.
Pictured, Mark, Frank and Valerie in Bagshot High Street
