THE Laverton ward has elected two new town councillors, Charles Pope and Marie Pope.
The by-election, which took place last Thursday, saw seven candidates standing for two seats.
The other candidates were Frank Brine, Ian Cunningham, Jon Cuthbert-Murray, Jenny Hendry and Gary Palmer.
Charles and Marie, who both stand for the Conservative Party, co-own the Westbury Delicatessen in Maristow Street which opened last June.
In a joint statement Charles and Marie said, “The election result on Thursday was a victory for the people of Westbury as well as for us both. During the campaign period it became very obvious that residents and traders were in full support of our stated priorities. We can now start to put our ideas into practice and fully intend to work hard to achieve these.
“Votes cast on Thursday for the unsuccessful were not wasted. From our discussions with these candidates and with their supporters we are aware that many views were similar to our own. Whilst we were elected and others were not, this does not mean that common objectives will not still be achieved.
“Our campaign was focused on the development of Westbury as a genuine “modern market town” in order for everyone to prosper. This is both realistic and achievable and as our first step towards this, we are dedicated to the rebirth of the Maristow Street, the Market Square and the High Street.
“The town needs more retail outlets which will encourage people to visit the town – everyone will benefit from this. There are already too many empty and underused buildings which need to be brought back to life.
“Westbury has many beautiful historic buildings – many are falling into total disuse and disrepair. This needs to be addressed and will be one of our first priorities.
“The town has some amazing and inspirational young people. They are Westbury’s future and we fully intend to find ways of involving them in projects which will enhance this for them. Conversely, we also recognise that Westbury has a problem with a minority of ill disciplined people. Where encouragement or support does not work we would seek further police involvement in pro-active control of anti-social behaviour.
“We now have the opportunity to raise concerns and ideas at council meetings and even more importantly everyone in Westbury can now benefit from a council which works together to bring about the change which is so vital to the future of the town.
“Finally, but most importantly, we also wish to take this opportunity to acknowledge all those who voted for us and in particular the many people who worked so hard in assisting us with our campaign over the last few weeks. A very big “thank you” to you all.”
The vacancies on the town council arose following the resignations of Adam Berrisford and Georgie Denison-Pender. At Thursday’s by-election 702 ballot papers were issued – a turnout of 16.65%.
