Nathan was asked to answer this question- You should vote for me in the Coed Eva election because– and this is his answer.
Our children deserve better..
I can drive on the roads trying my best to avoid all the potholes, I can walk the streets at night despite the poorly lit pavements whilst trying my best to avoid all the dog mess and trying not to look at all the litter, but I want better for my children.
My children attend the local high school, a school that is still in special measures, which compelled me to stand as a councillor for the first time.
The Labour led council have failed many of us and they are now failing our children too, their election campaign doesn’t address any of the local issues that affect us on a day to day basis, either:
a) They cannot see the issues that we see, or
b) They can see the issues, they just don’t know how to resolve them
Instead they are campaigning on national issues that they have no control over. There are major issues at national level across many parties, but don’t let that distract you from these elections, which are about local people in the communities working to resolve local issues.
During the first lockdown, as site secretary for one of the local allotment sites, I used my own money and resources to ensure that the allotment was COVID safe, which included the purchase and construction of an automatic hand sanitiser station; this was to ensure that everyone at the allotment could attend site safely and for many of the plot holders this was their only form of exercise and only source of companionship.
It was important to me that the community facilities remained open and COVID safe for those that needed it most.
There are many issues that need to be addressed urgently, including:
- Improving the education in our schools
- Turning back on all street lighting
- Clearing up the dog mess & litter
- Filling in potholes and resurfacing many roads
Many of the issues have been longstanding and with quicker intervention they could have been resolved at minimal cost and minimum disruption; unfortunately, the council wait for something to fail before addressing the issue which normally results in a more expensive repair/clean-up operation.
If elected as the local councillor I would regularly walk every pavement in the ward to look for issues to resolve before they escalate, issues that causes annoyance for the residents and costs a lot more to resolve if left unattended. It shouldn’t be up to the residents to constantly highlight the issues in the ward, the councillor should be pro-active in the community seeking out potential problems all year round and in all weathers; not just the month leading up to an election.
A preventative maintenance schedule would be immediately drawn up and I would use my experience in facilities management to ensure that problems are identified, logged, and resolved in a timely manner.
If elected I would also provide monthly ward surgeries where people can come and speak face to face. I would ensure that I was easily contactable, whether face to face, email, telephone or via social media. It should always be easy for you to contact your local councillor.
I have spent the last 25 years working in the Renewable Energy sector, designing Wind Farms and Battery Energy Storage Systems across the world and more recently also designing Electric Vehicle charging systems. I would use my knowledge and experience to provide invaluable leadership in the council as we move towards a more sustainable future.
An integral part of my role is to maximise efficiency and drive down costs, something which is sorely needed in our council; rather than just expecting us, the council taxpayer, to underwrite the inefficiencies in the system.
Many of us have grown up in the area and have just got used to the way things are, but we can do so much better, for us and our children.
Vote for Nathan Edmunds on Thursday 5th May.
Click here to read a full list of all the candidates standing in the Torfaen County Borough Council elections on Thursday 5 May 2022.