Peasedown St John goes to the polls on Monday, 15th August to fill two vacancies on the Parish Council that have arisen. This week, we introduce readers to former Magistrate, City Councillor, School Governor and Methodist Church volunteer, Ray Love, Green Party candidate and former Entertainments Manager for the village festival, Party in the Park, Danny Brothers, and veteran campaigner and former Deputy Leader of B&NES Council, Nathan Hartley. Polling stations will be open from 7 a.m. – 10 p.m. on Monday, with the result expected to be declared later in the evening.

Ray Love

Ray Love, a Writhlington School Governor and volunteer at Peasedown St John Methodist Church will be standing in the by-election for a place on Peasedown St John Parish Council.

Ray, who has lived in the village for three years, has extended family in Peasedown. He has worked extensively with Youth Counselling Organisations for 14–19-year-olds, is a founder and main Trustee of Youth Mental Health Befrienders and was a Magistrate for four years.

He is standing for the Parish Council as he hopes to be a fresh face with lots of experience, having spent sixteen years as a City Councillor, chairing committees on Social Welfare and Housing and on his speciality of Mental Health and organising campaigns to stop the closure of Acute Beds in major hospitals.

Ray said: “In Peasedown St John, I am aware of the overcrowding at the Primary School and the need for a roundabout at the village junction with the A367 Radstock Road.

“Also with the building of the new Pharmacy at Hillcrest Surgery, what is to happen to the existing pharmacy in the village – and how it will affect the elderly at that end of the village?”

Mr Love is standing against Nathan Hartley and Danny Brothers for a place on the Parish Council.

Danny Brothers

Local resident and former Party in the Park Entertainments Manager, Danny Brothers, will be standing alongside Ray Love and Nathan Hartley in Peasedown St John’s upcoming by-election.

Originally from Northampton, Danny has lived in Peasedown for the past five years.

He said: “Since moving here, we’ve been welcomed in so many different ways, whether it be through the local church or through baby/toddler groups and have been made to feel like we’ve lived here all our lives!

“I’ve since been involved in Party in the Park as Entertainments Manager for three years and have been an active member of a number of groups in the village through my time as a stay at home dad to my daughter (and now one-year-old son too!).

“I wanted to apply to be on the Parish Council because I see it as another chance to give back to the community that has helped us develop as a family and that has been such a huge part of my children’s upbringing. I love the heart of this village, I love the way anyone you pass in the street will say ‘hello’ or ‘Good Morning’ and I love how the community comes together and works together for local events.

“I want to stand not just to fill another place around the table, but to represent the ideas and passions of the people of Peasedown, to fight for not just what I think is right, but for what the heart of the community thinks is right. I want to be here to listen, to learn and to try as best as I can to bring a fresh voice to the Parish Council.

“I fully identify with the values of the Green Party. I believe in a political system that puts the public, and not the powerful, first. I believe in a society that can, and does, support everyone’s needs. I believe that everyone should have a secure and affordable place to live. And I believe in transparency, in honesty and in standing up and accepting mistakes if things don’t go quite to plan. It’s these values that underpin who I am and I’m proud to be standing as a Green candidate because I believe that I can bring these values to the Parish Council to best represent the views of the people of Peasedown.”

Nathan Hartley

Nathan Hartley, who previously served as a B&NES Councillor for the village from 2007–2015, as well as Deputy Leader of B&NES Council and Leader of the Independents, stood down from district-level politics last year to take a ‘year out’ to travel.

Nathan said: “Peasedown St John really is a fantastic place to live. Since I first became a Councillor in 2007, there has been a huge growth in the number of community projects and initiatives that bring people together.

“After travelling around Europe and parts of Asia last year, I realised how significant and special the strength of community feeling is in our village – something I’ve not found elsewhere.”

Nathan will be standing as an Independent candidate in the by-election.

He added: “I realised some time ago that party-politics gets in the way of local politics. Representatives on Town and Parish Councils shouldn’t be affiliated to a party – but rather prioritise the needs of the local people they represent. I’m standing in this by-election on my record of action over the last fifteen years. I do hope the people of Peasedown will, once again, lend me their support.”