Chris has lived in Dorking with his family for over 30 years, and is active in our community having volunteered with the police, sports clubs, Mental Health and carers organisations. I intend to vigorously protect us from the major threats facing our local NHS/Social/Mental-Health services and green belt, and environmental threats from the oil well sites on our borders.
Lisa has been a Mole Valley resident for 15 years, spearheading such projects as Community Speed Watch, low-traffic residential areas and proper clearing of pavements, giving people a realistic alternative to car use.
Lisa was motivated to move in to politics when Mole Valley became the target of unwelcome interest from the oil exploration industry, which further threatens the air we breathe, our water and Green Belt, and perpetuates the climate breakdown that we are already experiencing. Lisa has worked to improve cycling and walking infrastructure and accessibility, and public transport.
Lisa believes passionately that the key to a positive future is through strong local communities, protecting and promoting local trades, businesses and services to create local jobs for local people, to propel the new generation of green jobs to ensure we build a strong and sustainable post-COVID economy. Lisa supports a Work From Home culture. Less commuting time means an immediate significant reduction in our fossil fuels use, less time feeling stressed sitting in traffic and more time in the place we live and love, and with our families.
Lisa is a keen home cook, allotmenter and travels by bike whenever possible.
I would strive to maintain the natural beauty and balance in the environment; keep our towns alive and stimulating especially after the decline caused by covid; ensure all our citizens are housed and cared for.
I will continue to oppose fracking and Gatwick airport extension; hold the council to account over the climate emergency; support investment in our towns' infrastructure; support policies for and investment in affordable housing; support investment in social services.
Gerard has lived in Mole Valley for the last 30 years. He worked in IT and in Risk Management for the banking industry before retiring several years ago. He moved to the centre of Dorking in 2021 and is keen to see the Green Party take a much greater role in local affairs.
I would work to protect the local environment, and oppose oil drilling and building on the Green Belt. Our villages require much needed support for policies on affordable housing, better public transport and local jobs.
After living in Mole Valley for 30 years, John appreciates what a pleasant and safe environment it is to live in. However, like much of the South East, Mole Valley faces increasing pressure on its urban and green spaces from unsympathetic housing development, Gatwick expansion and fracking. These developments pose real threats to the health and quality of life of thousands of Mole Valley residents. John believes that only the Green Party offers effective and coherent policies which will enable Mole Valley to continue to develop, while maintaining it as a special place to live.
Fiona lives in Mole Valley with her family, and works for a hospital in London. She is passionate about the environment and wants to make sure our council does more to protect it.
I have worked in Ashtead and seen many changes, not always for the better, during my 30 years residing here. Our local amenities are vital to the community and I am concerned about green belt issues and affordable housing. I would like to tackle the problem of cleaning up our water ways, especially the River Mole. The importance of our environment, ecosystem, and wildlife all go hand in hand and we need to protect them for future generations, so it goes without saying, I am a keen organic gardener, which is mentally satisfying. I have also worked in conjunction with the Surrey Mental Health Team and the NHS, providing workshops and shows on a variety of mental health issues, which I feel strongly about. In addition to this, I am passionate about ‘Reduce, Recycle and Reuse’ issues. It’s time for a change.
Jo Sherring has lived in Mole Valley for over 20 years. She is a mother of two, and grandmother of three. She is involved in a number of local charities and attends St Georges Church in Ashtead. Jo says “Issues around how we treat the planet we live on should be top of the agenda. I am very aware of the legacy we are leaving for our children and grandchildren and we need to do better!”
Working for the Department of the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, Melissa has lived in Leatherhead South for 10 years with her husband and two teenage children. A regular at Fortyfoot Park with her two dogs, she is keen to represent the residents by supporting concerns on new housing proposals.
I will help build a sustainable future where our greenbelt is fully protected. I strongly believe in community engagement and consensus politics. My aim is for Mole Valley council to provide better tools so people can recognise positive change - increases in recycling, downturn in pollution, engage in development plans and tell the council where they don’t feel safe. A community exists only when people feel their voices are heard.
How Green is Mole Valley?
Not Green enough? This is your chance to elect a MVDC councillor who will:
protect the Green Belt and the Surrey Hills Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty
support a balanced approach to planning and house building that protects local human and environmental interests: we need truly affordable homes for rent or purchase close to services and transport
urgently tackle the increasing pollution of the river Mole
prioritise action on flooding and traffic management
promote local small businesses
protect the area from oil drilling and other damaging developments
stop proposals for a third runway at Gatwick
improve waste management and recycling and stop fly-tipping
support local initiatives such as the Brockham Parish Environment Strategy.
On the Council I would be the voice of Mole Valley’s rural areas and keep ‘green’ issues at the forefront of policy discussions and decisions.
I lived in Brockham for nine years and both my children went to the primary school. It is a beautiful and rewarding place to live and as a councillor I will fight to protect it for current and future generations. I served in the Royal Navy in the 1980s, then had a career in teaching in comprehensive schools including seven years as a headteacher. I also have experience in fundraising for various charities and currently volunteer with Epsom Refugee network and find time for beekeeping.
Emily is a graphic artist committed to seeing fairness and equality practised in society and governmental spheres, especially for minority groups. She believes passionately in protecting our environment, and in particular our local countryside and Areas of Natural Beauty. Emily fully supports the Green Party view that a successful economy is one that provides a sustainable and fair society for all. In achieving this she will campaign on increasing social infrastructure such as affordable and social housing, mental health and care services, and public transport.
I was born in Westcott and having lived here most of my life, I love the beautiful unspoilt nature of our environment and wish to keep it that way. That means campaigning to maintain the Green Belt and stopping unnecessary developments, such as the proposed Sondes Place housing estate, whilst ensuring that sensible developments on brown field sites provide affordable housing, as well as resources for Romany and Traveller groups who continue to face serious discrimination.
I believe we urgently need 20mph speed limits in built up areas and other traffic control measures, particularly around schools and proper maintenance of roads for cyclists (I am one myself) and drivers, with pothole repairs and proper bicycle lanes.
I am concerned at the threats to High St shops and the dismantling of local resources in villages, which are so important to outr way of life, and which need proper support from the council.
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Conservative MP, Sir Paul Beresford, is standing down at the next election in 2024-25. Lisa has been a Parish Councillor in Mole Valley for 8 years, a former Mole Valley District Councillor, and is supported by three Green Party Horley councillors. Lisa will:
We want an MP for Epsom & Ewell who will focus on making change happen in our communities, as well as nationally and internationally.
Our candidate in Epsom & Ewell, Stephen McKenna is a Town Planner and Chartered Surveyor, now working for a charity specialising in Neighbourhood Planning. A visiting lecturer in Urban Planning at Hertfordshire University, he is also the National Convenor for the Green Party on Housing Policy.
Elected as a councillor since 2016 to Reigate and Banstead Borough Council, Stephen says, “I’ve always cared about nature. I see its decline closely connected to the growing power of vested interests over our Parliament with unwelcome effects like increasing poverty, the lack of social housing, poor state schools, underfunded further and adult education, the reduction in our rights and a diminishing democratic future.” What are his key priorities for Epsom & Ewell?
Green Party Fun Quiz Night
Green Party Fun Quiz Night on 30th January 2024 at 7:30pm at the Lincoln Arms, Dorking RH4 1TF by Dorking and Deepdene Stations.
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