I would like to make sure that residents of Aveley are the ones shaping their local area, giving power to the people in deciding what happens to their village.

Full statement

For too long we have been asked for our opinion during consultations, just to be ignored as private investors are prioritised. I have lived in Aveley for 22 years, and would stand for many issues I have noticed myself such as:

• Fixing potholes caused by the neglect of our roads
• Preventing the illegal use of our roads by HGV
• Preventing fly-tipping in known locations such as Ship Lane
• Clearance of public footpath 145 which has been massively overgrown and therefore illegally inaccessible for years
• Protection and further accessibility of our green spaces
• Activities for young people such as bringing back the youth club and further investment into the library
• More public bins to prevent rubbish on the streets
• Blocking construction of private luxury housing that no one in the area can actually afford, and instead building much needed affordable council housing
• Work with other councils across Thurrock to bring bus prices back to their previous prices, before the removal of the national £2 fare cap
• Standing against proposed data centre development near Aveley, such as the ones proposed for North Ockendon, and the former Arena Essex site. Both of which would pollute the area, destroy green belt land, and raise water and energy costs.

These are only a few of my own personal thoughts on what the area needs, but as stated before I would always prioritise and amplify the voice of my community. I am a working class lifelong resident of Aveley and as such would stand for the needs of Aveley. If elected my first action would be to speak with as many residents as possible, and prioritise the most pressing issues we as a community face.