Rothbury Ward Election. County Council Elections. Which Candidates Speak for Nature?

Election of County Councillor for the Rothbury Ward, May 1st 2025

It was quite a surprise when eight (8) candidates put themselves forward, hoping to be our new Ward Councillor. Possibly many stood, because the incumbent Cllr, Steven Bridgett, had stated that he would not be standing.

We had hoped that a hustings could be held, so that the residents of the Rothbury Ward could see and hear what each candidate had to offer, in terms of their beliefs and feelings about biodiversity, and nature.

We approached the U3A Discussion Group to see if they could organise this, but, unfortunately, because of timings, it was not a possibility.

How we went about it.
This is what we did, and how it was shared.

Members of Rothbury CAN drafted questions, and the questions were put in a letter, emailed to each of the candidates.
We explained that their answers would be published, and shared.

All candidates answered, and they naturally hoped their answers would be widely available.

Cllr Bridgett's response was published on the closing date for responses, directly onto the Rothbury & Coquetdale 'Official' Facebook page.
Unfortunately, the anonymous, sole administrator of the Official Rothbury & Coquetdale page, refused to publish this account of the answers. Many people tried to post it, but unfortunately no-one had any success. That page also did not allow any of the other candidates, except for Cllr Bridgett, to post on that page either

Rothbury CAN approached Cllr Bridgett for help in getting this information onto the 'official' FB page. As this is where he regularly posts information, and had posted his own response.But, unfortunately, he did not reply.

So this article was only seen on the 'other'community FB page: Rothbury, Northumberland. (Apologies for not linking to the 'official' FB page, but Rothbury CAN members are blocked from it, so cannot link).

Nevertheless, this blog received over 1000 views.

The outsome of the election was a diminished majority for Cllr Bridgett, as the votes were spread across the 8 candidates.

So many of us will be disappointed with the results - 55 % of the people who voted in our ward, did not get the result they hoped for. Of all the electorate in our Ward, 73% of people did not vote for the person elected. This, of course, is the fault of the FPTP system we have.

Rothbury Ward Local Council Elections

Because environmental issues are our main concern, we decided to write to each candidate inviting them to answer 6 specific questions about biodiversity and climate change. We also invited them to tell us about themselves, what they feel are the most important aspects in representing the Rothbury Ward, and what they believe the main role of a County Councillor is. The range of answers is very interesting and we hope you enjoy reading them all. We look forward to working with the successful candidate. And we thank all of the candidates for their generous responses.

We are sharing the letter we wrote to each candidate. And the letters we received from the candidates, as PDFs.

Question One

What can you/ do you intend to do to help remove sewage from our waterways? Do you feel developers should share the cost of upgrading sewage treatment plants that are beyond capacity to get planning permission? What will you do to ensure new development does not increase flood risk?

Question Two

How would you ensure that all residents, particularly those in social or rented housing, have access to solar energy and battery storage to reduce their household bills and reduce global warming?
EV Charging: residents who cannot park near enough to their homes to have a home charger. What will you do to ensure these residents can cheaply and efficiently charge their cars?

Question Three

Compared to many other counties, the provision for doorstep recycling in Northumberland is extremely limited. What will you do to improve this and increase the proportion of waste that is recycled?

Question Four

Hedge-cutting and chemical spraying.
What are your views on when hedges should be cut, and how?
Will you join with us to request an end to the spraying of pollinator killing weedkiller, by NCC on our paths and building edges, etc?

Question Five

What would you do to increase biodiversity at the Parish level?

Question Six

How do you feel about the purchase, by the Wildlife Trusts, of the Rothbury Estate?

Question Seven

What do you feel are the most important aspects in representing the Rothbury Ward? What do you feel the main role of a County Councillor is?

Candidate Responses

View the PDFs below for the each candidate's answer.