What they think – all the candidates for Filton’s two places on South Glos Council

With two places representing Filton on South Gloucestershire Council up for grabs, Filtonvoice invited candidates to submit profiles of approximately 150 words and a photograph. These have been published below, in party alphabetical order. Where profiles were not available, we have published a short party manifesto.

Esther Adjeivi

Esther is currently a town councillor and has represented the Charborough Ward since she was co-opted. By profession she is a psychiatric healthcare assistant at Avon and Wiltshire Mental Health Partnership NHS Trust. She is hoping to join South Gloucestershire Council as district councillor to continue to promote the town’s interest. Craft is her hobby and she uses her leisure time knitting.

Frédéric Contenot

Frédéric has lived in the South Gloucestershire area for over 16 years with his family and has always loved supporting the local community. He is a Royal Aeronautical Society chartered engineer in the aerospace industry with over 25 years of international professional experience in Aircraft Systems Integration. He currently works for one of the reputable aerospace companies in Filton. He believes that his skills will be well used if elected as a South Gloucestershire district councillor representing Filton.

Dan Boardman

I am a project manager for a company that uses microalgae to remove pollution from sewage effluent to protect fish in rivers. I have lived in Filton for the past five years and became a councillor for Filton Town Council in 2021. Many of the wards within South Gloucestershire are rural so the challenges and needs of the residents of Filton and other urban areas on the fringes of Bristol can become overlooked in decisions around transport, housing and the planning of new developments.

Jenny Vernon

I’ve lived in Filton and Patchway all my life. My children and some of my grandchildren have had the chance to grow up in the area too. I work for Southern Brooks, a charity that works across South Gloucestershire, supporting individuals and communities to develop skills and connections, and previously worked as a social housing consultant for over 30 years. I have been involved with a community housing project in Patchway and have supported residents when their landlord wanted to redevelop the areas in which they lived.

I am passionate about social justice, developing a green economy and addressing the climate and biodiversity emergency. I would love to represent Filton on South Glos Council so I can use my skills and experiences to support the issues important to the local community, especially the challenges with the proliferation of HMOs and poor transport. I want to work towards a fairer, greener South Gloucestershire.

Independent

Andy Robinson

Hello, my name is Andy Robinson, and I am standing as an Independent candidate. I have lived in Filton with my wife Louise for fifteen years and I work locally as an engineer. For the past four years I have been a Filton town councillor, during which time I have been actively raising issues concerning residents and giving them a voice. Filton currently has the third highest precept (parish tax) in England and FTC are unnecessarily collecting more than £250K. Filton also has the second worst crime figures in Gloucestershire’s 305 towns (crimerate.co.uk/Gloucestershire/filton).

The issues facing Filton are lack of affordable housing and proliferation of HMOs, crime, traffic and the loss of local amenities. I care deeply about Filton, its residents and our community. Our precept needs to be reduced, we need to engage with A&S Police and understand why our crime figures are so high and what can be done, and we need to offer more local amenities for all our residents.

Alex Doyle

I’m an Aerospace Engineer and project manager who worked in Filton for 8 years, currently working at the National Composite Centre. I have lived in and around Filton for the last 12 years, actively sitting as a magistrate in Avon & Somerset. I am supportive of my local community, participating in mentoring programmes for secondary & university students, having previously been a STEM ambassador. As a Filton Town Councillor for over 6 years, I am the current Chair of the Finance Committee. I was one of the key councillors in creating and pushing forward the motion to refurbish and partner our leisure centre with Active Nation, providing a new facility to the residents of Filton while significantly reducing the financial burden placed on the taxpayers, enabling the council to develop our green spaces, support the local community and help the most vulnerable people during this cost-of-living crisis, while freezing council tax for local residents this year.

Adam Monk

I live in Filton with Claire and our children and we have lived here for over 25 years. I have had the honour of representing Filton on South Glos Council for the last 3 terms and I am looking for your support to continue to do so. My day job is running a company that helps companies deliver IT related projects and I believe a lot of these skills are transferable to being a councillor. I have been very active as a councillor in the last 4 years, for example working with FACE to establish the local COVID 19 response, helping vulnerable people with shopping, prescription collection, household maintenance or just someone to talk too. More recently I have been driving the Article 4 implementation to address concerns over HMOs. In addition, I, along with Labour colleagues, have created a fund for those living in rented accommodation to make their homes more fuel efficient, saving money and reducing carbon footprint. Please vote Labour on May 4th.

Richard William Emmerson

Martin Braid Joinson

South Gloucestershire Liberal Democrats have launched their manifesto for the Council Elections on

the 4th of May.

It has been prepared with two huge challenges facing our region in mind – the threat from climate

change and the cost-of-living crisis.

The priorities of a Liberal Democrat run Council will be:

Tackling the Climate and Ecological emergency. Helping people insulate their homes, cutting their carbon footprint and bills.

Supporting innovation to build a greener economy.

Getting our area moving. We will work with communities and transport operators to deliver a joined-up transport system.

Helping residents with the cost-of-living crisis. We will offer support and advice to people and businesses, to help them cut their bills and grow the local economy.

Bringing back local decision making. Making sure your voices are heard and the issues that matter to you are tackled.