Halsall councillor wants to step up to county level with new seat
MAUREEN Mills has been chosen by local residents to be the Labour candidate who challenges sitting councillor David O’Toole in the Lancashire County Council elections in May.
She hopes to secure the new West Lancashire West seat, which covers the area of Halsall, Aughton, Downholland, Haskayne, Shirdley Hill, Great Altcar and Scarisbrick.
Cllr Mills has been actively involved in the local community for many years, having served as a Halsall parish councillor for six years, including four years as the chair.
Latterly she has represented Halsall on West Lancashire Borough Council.
She has been involved in a number of projects including the production of the Halsall Parish Plan and then worked on the Traffic Group borne out of this plan.
During her time on the parish council, priorities included raising funds for renovation of the Memorial Hall and St Aidans Hall in Shirdley Hill, renovation of the War Memorial, older children’s play equipment provision, securing a new bus shelter near St Cuthbert’s Church and the introduction of Speed Indicator Devices (SpIDs) to help tackle speed and traffic issues in the area.
Cllr Mills has since stepped off Halsall Parish Council and on to West Lancashire Borough Council, where she is heavily involved, sitting on the planning and licensing committees.
Since being elected, she has strengthened the relationship between Halsall Parish Council and borough councillor, and will seek to do the same with all parish councils in the division, listening to the local issues and delivering regular updates and communicating with residents.
In recent years, her involvement with the Halsall Against Fracking group has been a priority, to protect the agricultural heritage of the area within the new West Lancashire West Division and against the many harmful effects she believes fracking could bring to our communities.
She said: “I will again be running a very transparent campaign with a clear mandate from local people; to represent them all, something that many believe the incumbent councillor has not done during his term in office.”
“Residents across the area are rightly concerned by the threat of fracking with Cuadrilla active in PEDL 165 and Aurora in PEDL 164 threatening to apply for planning permission within this newly defined division.
“There is understandable concern about increased development in the greenbelt, flooding of homes, businesses and farmland, the threat to flood pumps and decimation of local transport services leading to rural and elderly isolation.
“We need a representative for the people across the whole division, and not just those living in one particular area and I would be that councillor who represents the views of every resident on every road in the division.
“Lancashire County Council holds responsibility for many of the issues local residents are concerned about, and because of desperately significant funding cuts by the Conservative government, I would throw myself into the role of county councillor for this area and bring influence at county level in order to truly represent the division and achieve the most impact.”
Other candidates are welcome to register their interest in standing for the county council – see panel below.