By Carmelo Garcia – Local Democracy Reporter
Concerns over a new 10,000-home garden town near Tewkesbury , road congestion and flooding are said to be the main issues which led to the election of the Borough Council’s first Reform UK councillor.
That is the view of Northway Councillor Graham Bocking who was elected in a by-election yesterday (July 10). The Reform UK candidate received 374 votes ahead of Liberal Democrat Guy Fancourt who polled 279.
A total of 116 people voted for Conservative Kevin Cromwell while Green Party candidate James Robins and Labour’s Joseph Jones received 91 and 44 votes respectively.
Turnout in the by-election, which was triggered after the death of “much-respected Cllr Elaine MacTiernan, was 25.31 per cent. Councillor Bocking said was honoured to have been elected to represent Northway.
He said one of the biggest issues which came up on the doorstep was the garden communities plan.
The Borough Council’s vision for the major new housing scheme near junction 9 of the M5 was rebranded as “a series of connected garden communities” last year.
The project was previously known as Tewkesbury Garden Town. “One of the biggest things affecting Northway is the garden town,” he said.
“They now call it the garden communities, it’s constantly changing. The size has changed.”
He claimed the Liberal Democrats previously ran a campaign against the proposal. “The party that’s in power now for the last election, saying they’d stopped it and got in and doubled it,” he said.
“That didn’t go down particularly well.” He said another huge issue is concerns over road, traffic and flooding.
“The other major issue that’s mentioned is flooding. And again, that comes in with the new development that’s coming along and the cumulative impact flood risk assessments.”
The political makeup of the Borough Council is 16 Liberal Democrats, nine Conservatives,, seven Independents, four Greens, two Isbourne and Winchcombe Independents and one Reform UK councillor.