A FORMER Kays employee has been revealed as Labour’s candidate for the keenly-contested St Clement seat in May’s local elections.
Paul Walters is chair of Worcester Labour Party and hopes to renew links with the ward that began in the 1970s whilst working for Kays of Worcester.
Mr Walters will be challenging sitting Conservative Coun Simon Geraghty, the former leader of Worcester City Council and current County Council leader.
“I enjoyed working with local people from St Clement and neighbouring areas in St Johns, whilst being based in the Bromyard Road Warehouse and Offices for more than 20 years,” he said.
“Kays always felt like a community to me and I’m asking the people of St Clement to give me the opportunity to represent them, and to help recreate that community spirit in the ward by meaningful communications with residents, and a desire to listen to their views and concerns.”
“Becoming a City councillor is a responsibility that should not be undertaken unless you are sufficiently committed and motivated to fulfil this important role. Representing people is an honour and a privilege, but requires hard work, experience and of course, time.
“St Clement is facing a number of issues that directly impact on the ward now. Traffic will only increase with the new housing builds and the Malvern Hills development, and it’s very disappointing to see it impact on people already.
“Parking is a perennial problem that will only worsen, and we really need a scheme to protect residents.
“Pollution and noise result from both of these issues and of course increased traffic volumes create further pressure on infrastructure in the area.
“I’m also very interested to hear what local people have to say about the proposed Kepax Bridge since the entry point this side of the river is likely to be within the ward.
“I think I have the qualities and importantly, the time, to act as a champion for the ward and constructively represent residents’ interests.”
St Clement has been tightly contested ward on Worcester Council for a number of years, with Conservative Chris Mitchell winning the Ward with 619 votes in 2019 over Labour’s Ian Craigan with 392 and the Green Party finishing third with 199 votes.
