Bedford Elections: Councillor hoping for reelection wants to see school changes through and "will never stop" helping families

A councillor seeking reelection in the new Wootton and Kempston Rural ward said he wants to see the changes to the local schools completed.

John Wheeler is running with Tristan Tyerman as the Conservative candidates for the new ward.

John, who was first elected as the councillor for Wootton eight years ago, said: “Between schools, the parish council, and the community, we’ve done so much in Wootton. But there are still things that need to be pushed, and there are still lots of things happening.

“We’ve got Wootton’s neighbourhood plan in place, and we’ve got the two tier school conversion coming in. I’m very involved in this and I would like to see it through to completion.

“All the development promises need to be finished as well,” he said.

Following boundary changes, the ward now includes Kempston Rural.

John said: “If elected I will look forward to working with Kempston Rural’s Parish Council and working for the residents to help achieve their goals and help resolve their issues,” he said.

“I will spend as much time as required to achieve this and look forward to being involved in their community.”

John moved to Wootton around 25 years ago, and has been a parish councillor for 18 years.

“But I found that even after all the fantastic work the parish council did, you couldn’t always get things done,” he said.

“I just thought the best way for me to help the residents is to stand as a borough councillor,” he said.

John said his friend Mark Smith, a former councillor, helped prepare him for life as a borough councillor.

“There is a lot of difference between being a parish and a borough councillor, there’s a lot more to it than meets the eye,” he said.

“There are a lot more meetings, a lot of training initially, and I think when I sat there for the first meetings it soon dawned on me that there was a lot of responsibility.

“You are making decisions for your ward residents and for the borough residents,” he said.

Residents can follow John’s campaign on Facebook or they can call him on 07913 409 433.

“It’s always a constant battle as a borough councillor, and the role has completely changed,” he said.

“I spend a lot of my time helping families struggling with benefits, trying to get children into schools, really helping the community and getting involved.

“That’s something I love doing and I will never stop doing it,” he said.