My politics: Councillor Martyn Forster

I think it’s important for a councillor to listen to what people have to say about their lives before deciding how to go about empowering them politically.

To be effective as a councillor, or as part of any working group, you also need to foster friendships, support and goodwill from all sides. I believe that local democracy is a team game of working relationships embracing people of many beliefs and backgrounds. Local people need to be encouraged and supported in their quest for better, more accountable services from their elected representatives.

As in most organisations, belonging to a party gives you the feeling that you are no longer part of a silent majority: you are nailing your colours to the mast and trying to change things for the better. However, I do try to remember that not everybody is as politically motivated as a councillor, and most people are naturally only concerned about the issues that affect them personally.

My priority is to work towards establishing proper door step recycling facilities for everyone in Bexhill and carefully planned regeneration of this division, in particular. No more waste in Bexhill!

Bexhill needs a proper bypass to relieve the congested A259. We also need to make sure the Worsham Farm development is carefully designed with high quality infrastructure so it does not turn into another cultural desert dormitory.

The Pebsham Country Park Project is on schedule and promises to be an exciting prospect for the future of this area. I support the efforts of East Sussex County Council to bring about closer ties with Europe in order to secure much needed funding for major projects throughout East Sussex.

Some websites I recommend

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Liberal Democrats

The official site of the Liberal Democrats, led by Charles Kennedy.

St Mary's Westwood Children’s Trust

Find out about St Mary’s School, a non-maintained special school which was founded in 1922 and is dedicated to providing a first class waking curriculum, supplemented by high levels of therapy, care and nursing, to children and young people with very special needs.

Bexhill Against Landfill / Incineration (Bali)

BALI was set up four years ago to fight plans to dump more waste or waste facilities anywhere in Bexhill-on-Sea.

Sussex Wildlife Trust

The leading conservation organisation in East and West Sussex. It looks after over 3,000 acres of downland, woodland, wetland and heath and works with local schools, land owners, companies and local communities to conserve Sussex.

De La Warr Pavilion Trust

The website for the De La Warr Pavilion. Includes the history of the building and details of the range of cultural activities held in this famous architectural treasure.