Arundel and Walberton by-election candidates make their pitches to voters

Three candidates will contest the vacant Arundel and Walberton seat with a by-election taking place on December 1.

They are Stephen Mcauliffe for the Green Party, Mario Trabucco for the Conservative Party, and Michael Ward for the Labour Party.

Each candidate has written a short statement about themselves and their priorities ahead of the poll on December 1.

More details about this and other elections can be found at the council website here: https://www.arun.gov.uk/calendar-of-elections.

Stephen Mcauliffe, Green Party

Steve McAuliffe is a Fontwell resident, parish councillor, and environmental scientist with many years’ experience.

Steve is a natural conservative when it comes to conserving the precious things in life. His parish work is dedicated to conserving the good things with which the community is blessed.

Steve works hard and gets things done. He wants to make sure the area retains its special character and remains a great place for his residents’ children and grandchildren to grow up in.

Steve will properly stand up for Arundel and Walberton, an area under constant threat – more than many others in West Sussex – from excessive house building and unnecessary road building, putting our unique environment and residents’ health at risk.

Steve has used his expertise to assess the devastating ecological and environmental impact that will result from the proposed A27 Arundel Bypass ‘grey route’. Steve will speak up to power, speak the truth, and get things done.

After serving in the army, Steve spent 20 years working in environmental management, ecology, and arboriculture. He graduated from the University of Sussex in 2001 and worked in corporate environmental governance, founding an ecology consultancy in 2015.

Now retired, Steve is studying at the University of Brighton, where he’s undertaking field research into protected species impact mitigation during construction and forestry.

Steve moved to Fontwell in 2019 and became a Walberton parish councillor in 2021. He was previously a councillor in Hailsham, East Sussex and was oversight councillor for environmental matters and vice-chair of the planning committee.

Steve lives with his partner Gemma and can often be found walking the South Downs and woodlands surrounding Walberton with his much-loved rescue staffy.

Greens aren’t told how to vote, so Steve is free to be an independent voice who will speak up for Arundel and Walberton.

Statement provided via Chichester & Arun Green Party.

Mario Trabucco, Conservative Party

It is very unfortunate that we should be celebrating a by-election, at great expense to the taxpayers (all of us, let’s not forget it) at a moment when money is tight and could be better spent. But once we are here, we must make sure to change it into an opportunity to amend mistakes made in the past and to set on a new course.

As a parish councillor, I have had ample opportunity to be critical of the way our planning system works at the local level. I recognize the challenges, of course, but we are in a situation where developers take advantage of the system, and the district council just raises its arms up, admitting defeat. We need to fight ugliness with all we have, because our built environment has a distinct effect on the way the people who live within it behave and develop.

There is no doubt that a growing population needs to be housed somewhere, but the way we consume our territory must be scrutinised long and hard before allowing massive developments to consume our countryside.

The same goes for our infrastructures which, necessary as they may be, must be designed in the most sensible way possible, providing value for money and keeping the impact to the least.

We are blessed to live in a place that has it all: the history, the landscapes, the sea, the quality of life, and a good level of economic development. This is an asset that cannot be squandered, a fragile equilibrium that demands that careful decisions are taken by people with adequate skills and sensibility, not utopic visions and cheap slogans.

I am making myself available in the same way I have done for my parish, putting my experience forward for the good of all of Arun.

Statement provided via election agent.

Michael Ward, Labour Party

The poet Hilaire Belloc lived in Slindon, the beautiful National Trust village that lies within Arundel and Slindon ward. He wrote about the great hills of the south country, and about walking in the high woods.

One reason for us living in Arundel is the beauty of its surroundings. Since the pandemic I have walked locally most days – in the high woods, on the Downs, or along the River Arun. I carry a camera, and post my photos on Twitter (@michael4arundel) or Facebook (mostly in the group Arundel Now and Then), and occasionally in the local paper.

We hold these landscapes in trust for future generations – which is why I oppose the A27 Grey Route. Instead, let’s have the Arundel Alternative, a more modest road, closer to the line of the existing A27.

Before moving here I was a councillor in London. I know how to take up problems for local people, how to get the council to deliver.

Council land should be used to benefit the whole community – not for speculative development. Where possible, councils should purchase goods and services from local suppliers.

Much of my work has been about local jobs and regeneration, working in London, Manchester, and the South East. Experience has taught me that our communities face two key questions: How will our citizens earn a living and prosper in the future? How can we ensure that employees in local businesses and in the emergency services, teachers, and NHS workers can afford to live in our towns and villages?

I pledge to work closely with our town and parish councils, and to ensure development plans work for local people and the environment.

In the September mini-budget, the Conservative government recklessly crashed the economy. Only Labour is poised ready to form an alternative government.

Statement provided by candidate