Deciding who is best suited

As the current incumbent and county councillor for the past eight years for Bersted, I too will be seeking re-election to this seat.

I have in total represented Bersted for 22 years as an Arun district councillor and Bersted parish councillor; I have been chairman of Bersted parish and currently serve as vice-chairman of the council for the second time.

I have lived in the Bognor Regis area all of my life, unlike Mr Dendle who lives in and represents Arundel and only moved into the district 17 years ago.

I note in launching his campaign he was good at telling you his view but never actually mentioned what he will actually do for Bersted residents.

The electorate certainly need to know more substance.

I do however at a personal level share his views on Europe: I think an in-out referendum on Europe is long overdue and the issue should be sorted once and for all.

Perhaps I can help with some of his positions – he is a massive supporter of the St Modwen proposals for regeneration of the town which puts the Picturedrome at significant risk.

He has quite recently voted against the Civic Society petition to protect the Picturedrome... I supported it.

He was a member of Arun District Council which adopted the 2003 local plan that gave Bersted 756 houses at site 6.

I voted against it and led the campaign that ultimately challenged the decision in the High Court.

We now have well-documented flooding issues as residents feared.

I am currently working with local residents to find solutions to the many flooding issues in the area.

I will be at a meeting with all of the agencies responsible for flooding in Bersted with our local MP Nick Gibb who will be chairing the meeting after I suggested the idea.

This is not the first time I have worked across political boundaries in the interests of residents with Nick Gibb; I did so over threatened development of Chalcraft Lane and will continue to do so.

I put the electorate and their community and views first rather than my politics.

There are many other issues I could take him to task on but as he will become aware over the next few weeks, I have been doing a lot of localised work with residents and groups on many different issues.

I have my ear to the ground and know the issues well.

Bring it on – I am not arrogant enough to think I am the best candidate.

It’s a privilege to serve the community as a councillor; the electorate has bestowed that privilege to me many times before.

I will leave them to their deliberations as to who they think is best suited to represent them for the next four years.

Simon McDougall

West Sussex County Councillor

Bersted Division