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28
Mar
Green Party reveals candidates for Harrogate Town Council election
The Harrogate Green Party has announced its candidates for the first-ever Harrogate Town Council election.
The party will be fielding candidates in 14 of the 19 wards on May 1. It previously said it would stand in all 19 areas and aim to win at least five seats.
A press release announcing the names yesterday said it was vital that the new council aimed to mitigate climate change.
It also said the party would support active travel and 20mph speed limits in residential areas.
Roland Strauss, Green Party candidate for Stray, said:
Many residents have expressed delight at the 20mph limits, and the likely outcome is that safer streets will encourage more people to walk and cycle rather than drive. Active travel isn’t just good for the environment, but also benefits the physical and mental health of people who live and work in the area.
The more pedestrian and cyclist friendly our town becomes, the healthier we will become as individuals as well as a society, and the lower will be our demands on our over-stretched NHS.
The Greens currently have four of the 90 councillors on North Yorkshire Council, but none of them are in Harrogate.
The Liberal Democrats have yet to announce their candidates. The Conservatives did so two weeks ago, as reported here.
The Green Party announcement was accompanied by a manifesto for the town council, which included pledges to introduce by-laws to prevent parking on pavements and install safe cycling stores.
Other policies included bringing back street cleansers and pavement gritting and allowing community groups to use the Civic Centre for free.
The 14 Green Party candidates are:
• Saltergate: Ian Charters
• Harlow: Suzanne Saeed
• St Georges: Andy Rickard
• Oatlands: Jo Webb
• Hookstone: Gilly Charters
• Stray: Roland Strauss
• Central: Sue Evans
• Coppice: Rachael Adeleke
• Bilton Grange: Tamsin Worrall
• Bilton Woodfield: James Eaton
• High Harrogate: Reg Tayler
• Fairfax: Bill Rigby
• Starbeck: Sophie Smith
• New Park: Judith Armsby
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