I’ve lived in Bicester for over 20 years and as your Labour candidate in the May elections and a planner for and with local authorities all my working life, my concern is that the town’s physical and social infrastructure is not keeping pace with development. The drive for housing and development at all costs is harming the local environment, reducing green space, increasing congestion and pollution and our local elected representatives have failed to make Bicester a true ‘Garden Town’. I will campaign to ensure the promised improvements to infrastructure, such as the realignment of Howes Lane, are kept and the green spaces, like Oxford Road sports ground, and the environment are better protected. A strong supporter of working with communities, I will help set up a Citizen’s Assembly to  address the climate emergency at local level, and support tackling Bicester’s share of the 50% of homes in Cherwell with an energy efficiency rating below average. The cost of housing is a barrier to young people in particular renting or buying their own homes in Bicester and Labour will deliver more genuinely affordable homes and introduce a Tenants’ Charter  to improve the standards of rented accommodation.