STUDLEY stalwart Hazel Wright is back on Stratford District Council after winning a crushing by-election victory.
The Station Road resident, who has campaigned tirelessly for the village for decades, garnered more votes than all the other candidates put together.
However speaking in the wake of her win she admitted she’d spent a nervous polling day on Thursday as residents went to vote in the Studley South and Sambourne ward.
“I felt I had a real battle on my hands, I just didn’t know what to expect and I was surprised to still have so much support. I can’t thank the people who voted for me enough – I just have to live up to their faith in me now!” said a delighted Hazel, who lost her district council seat eight months ago when Stratford slashed its number of councillors from 53 to 36 as the result of a local government boundary review.
“People were saying it’s about the village, and this is our village, this is what we care about, and this is something that has always been there, both in Studley and Sambourne and I think people wanted a continuation of what we had already started,” said the Lib Dem councillor.
“For me it’s about the local environment, the physical appearance of the villages and the spirit of the locality.
“In Studley there is the issue of the Co-op site while at the entrance to the village we have dirty scruffy signs – what does that say about where we live? Yet we are the gateway to Stratford,” she said.
She admitted that she’d had to work hard to get up to speed with the issues faced by Sambourne.
“In many ways Studley and Sambourne are very similar; Sambourne wants to keep its distinctive nature as a typical English village and keep the encroach of Redditch at bay and Studley faces a similar threat.”
However she also vowed to work hard to improve broadband speeds in Sambourne where many residents work from home.
She also believes that, given her years of experience as a district councillor, she will be able to achieve real results even though Stratford district is dominated by the Conservatives.
“I’m used to working in a minority and getting results as all too often, given their majority, it’s all too easy for the controlling group to just wave things through. I on the other hand tend to look at the detail, propose amendments and achieve success that way,” she said.
Following her success she was met by a flood of messages, tweets and calls from well-wishers, including a tweet from Lib Dem leader Tim Farron.
However she said her victory would have happened without the help of Studley county councillor Clive Rickhards and a dedicated team of helpers: “People have fantastic, neighbours have helped out, people have dropped in and said ‘right, I’ve got a couple of hours, what can I do?’ and come across from Redditch to lend a hand, I can’t thank them all enough.”
The by-election was called following the resignation of Nick Moon, who served an eight-month tenure for the Conservatives in the ward before quitting, only to stand again as an Independent.
Speaking in the wake of the result he said: “I am fine – I didn’t expect to win but I put my best foot forward and stood by my principles, I was not prepared to sit on the sidelines.
“Hazel is clearly very passionate and has lots of support – I wish her well, good luck to her.
“I have no regrets and will be kept busy by Studley Business Forum, my work with helping to see St Nicholas Church in Alcester restored and my role as a school governor.”
The council is now made up of 30 Conservatives, four Lib Dems, one Labour and one Independent.
Full Results:
Studley with Sambourne by-election Turnout: 39.5 per cent
Hazel Wright (Lib Dem) – 632 votes ELECTED
Paul Beaman (Cons) – 233 votes
Nick Moon (Ind) – 66 votes
Karen Somner-Brown (Lab) – 156 votes
Nigel Rogers (UKIP) – 55 votes
