John Taylor
Conservative Party
Wardle, Shore & West Littleborough Ward
Please be assured that if I am re-elected, I will continue to work hard to improve our environment and ensure our ward remains a great place to live.
As your locally elected representative the good of the community will continue to be at the heart of everything I do and I will always work with residents on areas of community or individual concern.
I am from Littleborough, I grew up here, went to school here and together with my wife Sue we have chosen to live here with our family too. We live on Union Road and prior to that we lived in Wardle Village; in fact, I have lived here virtually the whole of my life and I enjoy being a part of the local community.
I have a long history of public service having spent thirty years working as a police officer and was fortunate enough to serve our Borough for many of those years at varying ranks from Constable to Chief Inspector. Before retiring in 2015, I was responsible for the delivery of Neighbourhood Policing, Community Engagement, addressing anti social behaviour and working with Rochdale Council to make our Borough a safer place.
Throughout my service I recognised the importance of working closely with people, understanding their needs and taking action to improve the quality of their lives. My policing experience coupled with my more recent working knowledge of Rochdale Council as an elected member has given me an excellent grounding in addressing local concerns and I want to continue using my experience for the benefit of our community once more.
Over the last five years I have had the privilege of representing you as one of your ward councillors, I have undertaken the role with a determination to make a positive difference for everyone and I have raised the issues you are most concerned about. I have been very vocal when improvements have been needed, for example I have lobbied the Government, The Chief Constable, The Mayor of Greater Manchester and Rochdale Council to tackle road safety – this is taken far more seriously now but we still have quite a way to go before I will be satisfied. My campaigning has now secured funding for a 20mph zone throughout Wardle village – something that is needed in other parts of the ward and borough too.
You have also told me how you want our greenbelt and open spaces to be protected, I agree with you and have campaigned very hard to achieve those aims over the last five years. I have recently spent three days at the Places for Everyone hearings to ensure your views and your voice have been articulated to the Government Inspectors. None of the other candidates were present or took part on any of those discussions.
I always listen to what you say, especially when you tell me what is important to you. You have been very clear about what your five priorities are;
- Protecting our villages
- No new developments on the greenbelt
- Protecting our green spaces from unnecessary development
- Improving road safety
- Tackling the cost-of-living crisis
I agree with you entirely and with your support I will continue to pursue all five of those priorities.
Working with our community is of paramount importance to me and I am pleased to support groups such as Wardle Football Club, Friends of Barkers Wood, Wardle Bowling Club, Wardle Society, Littleborough Civic Trust and Littleborough Events and Associations Forum (LEAF).
Furthermore, I will ensure every resident and business owner has appropriate access to council services, that our ward receives a fair share of public services and that public money is spent wisely.
Our ward is unique and, in my opinion, it is the jewel in the crown when compared to other parts of the Borough. If re-elected I will continue fighting to keep it that way.
