In the run up to the General, Borough and Parish Council elections on May 7th we are publishing brief interviews with each of the candidates that respond to our request (before the end of the month).
To read the interviews with other candidates click on the tags at the bottom of the article. For example, pieces on the other candidates for the Alderley Edge Parish Council election will all be tagged 'Alderley Edge Parish Council Election'. Candidates representing the same party or group will also be connected via the tags.
Martin Hallam is a Conservative candidate for Alderley Edge Parish Council, who has not served on the Parish Council before.
Martin has lived in Alderley Edge with his wife Jane since 1993 and they have two children Sophie and Max who are both in their twenties. Martin is a lawyer and Chairman of the Governors at Terra Nova School.
He told me "Although I am a Lawyer, I am not a typical Conservative. I am from Scunthorpe (steel town in Lincolnshire), where my father was a policeman and my mother an NHS Nurse from training to retirement aged 60, although she started her working life at a colliery.
"I have generated my own work ever since I qualified in 1979 apart from when I worked "in-house". I started my post qualification career as a magistrates court advocate in Bootle, Merseyside until I moved to work in-house for the Alliance and Leicester Building Society. I computerized their debt collection, managed their litigation and dealt with the majority of their branch estate before leaving to work in London in private practice until my daughter was born. I moved North to set up and develop a real estate department for a mid-sized firm new to Manchester, like me. That firm became the largest law firm in the world until recently and "my" department became the largest in the Manchester office."
Martin is now a partner in a dispersed firm, using technology to work outside a conventional firm.
Speaking about why he is standing as a candidate, Martin said "As a lawyer, accountability and transparency are required in everything I do, as is rigour, professionalism and ethics.
"I was approached to stand because of my professional knowledge and if elected I hope that I can bring it to bear on Parish Council matters.
"I am my own man, used to providing advice whether it is welcome or not. The thought of blindly following a "higher dictat" runs completely contrary to everything I do on a daily basis. For that reason if I do not think it the correct course, I will not be doing it."
Martin added "The village has been a delightful place to live but it does have some issues. The Parish Council needs to do what it can with its limited powers, to work constructively with other authorities for the benefit of the community. I am acutely aware that this will involve making decisions which may be applauded by some and heckled by others."
When asked about the important issues Alderley Edge faces, Martin said "Long stay and short stay parking is an issue for many roads and streets in the village. Canvassing on the doorstep has rammed home how badly some streets are affected in some surprising locations. This adversely affects the quality of residents' lives on a daily basis.
"I support the plans to convert South Street car park into short stay for shoppers and to create a long stay car park at Heyes Lane allotments adjacent to the refurbished Festival Hall and new medical centre. Moving the entrance to this new facility onto Heyes Lane will remove the stress from Stamford Road/Talbot Road/Moss Road."
Martin added "Parking by parents at school pickup and drop off is yet another issue. This needs addressing in conjunction with the schools themselves and by consultation with the affected residents over parking restrictions.
"The proposal by the Conservative Group to consult on a street by street basis for the best solution for each street is the fairest, although it will be important to have the ear of Cheshire East Council to achieve the necessary orders to implement this.
"There are many other matters on which the Parish Council needs to work; the condition and appearance of London Road, continuous attention to the Park and the Cemetery and traffic calming where appropriate."
He continued "I have been made welcome on the doorsteps of Alderley Edge even by other opposing candidates! After the election, whoever makes up the Parish Council, we should not forget that we have to put the electioneering behind us and come together as a community for our own good. We all live here."
Comments
Here's what readers have had to say so far. Why not add your thoughts below.
you will be a most valuable addition to the P.C.
Just one thing concerns me. If elected, you will be on a council of 8 other people. You say "if I do not think it the correct course, I will not be doing it" So does that mean if the eight other councillors do not agree with you that you will sit there, arms folded and dogmatically refuse to agree with the majority?
Maybe if 18500 people share their views you will ignore it as it does not fit in with your thoughts. Or that you send out a parish pledge document to all the people in AE and they come back and say "we don't agree" you will ignore them too?
I think you would have fitted in to the previous PC very well. But you do have a great tan.
It means that if I do not think a particular proposal is correct I will vote against it. If I am out voted at the end of the debate then I am out voted.
It also means that I will not be seeking a parish referendum (at the public expense) every time a decision needs making, which seems to be what you would do. That course would mean we would risk more money being spent in making the decisions than would be available to implement them.
I return to the original point: parish councillors are elected to make decisions and I am not afraid to do so if I think the decision is right. I will not agree to it if I think the decision is wrong.
All the best.
Ruth