Dedicated and experienced councillor Karen Chilvers is to stand in her beloved Brentwood West ward on 7 May 2020, having first won it in 2007. Karen has worked tirelessley with residents since then and has a strong record of action and achievement.

Karen, 48, a marketing manager turned children's author, said

Cllr Karen Chilvers will table the following motion, seconded by Cllr Vicky Davies

"Fireworks cause considerable distress to our pets, wildlife and livestock. In addition, they cause distress to the sick, vulnerable and those with mental health issues. There are also concerns over their environmental impact.

Cllr Andy Fryd will table the following, seconded by Cllr Alison Fulcher:

"This Council resolves to increase public awareness of Brentwood's rich and vibrant, cultural and social history. Brentwood can proudly claim to be not just a participant in, but a wholehearted mover of social reform, education and cultural achievements that are sadly lacking in promotion.

Cllr Barry Aspinell will table the following motion on Five Acres Farm, seconded by Cllr David Kendall:

"This Council pledges to support the residents of Warley in committing the full weight of Brentwood's available resources, officer's time, legal/financial requirements with the objective of returning Five Acre Farm to its original green belt, green field condition and furthermore, this Council will not cease in that objective until this has been achieved".

Cllr Karen Chilvers has tabled the following motion, aimed at assisting Brentwood residents to recycle pet food packaging. It will be seconded by Cllr Jay Laplain:

Brentwood residents are excellent recyclers and make a superb effort to recycle as much as they can. However, a number of items are not easily recyclable and, no doubt, this weighs heavily on their consciences. One item type that isn't commonly recyclable is pet food packaging.

Cllr Philip Mynott has tabled the following motion to increase tree cover in Brentwood. it will be seconded by Cllr Barry Aspinell:

The Committee on Climate Change states that the UK needs 50 million new trees per year to hit net zero carbon emissions by 2050. This equates to 32,000 hectares net woodland increase annually for the next 30 years.

Cllr Jay Laplain, having recently discovered when dealing with a homeless issue for one of his Warley residents, that we have no temporary emergency accomodation for our residents but that local hotels are booked en bloc by Chelmsford City Council for theirs, has tabled the following motion that will be seconded by Cllr Karen Chilvers:

A stonishing scenes at Brentwood Council's planning committee meeting on Wednesday (18/12/19) saw West Horndon's two Conservative ward councillors speak enthusiastically in support of a major commercial application in the village, at odds with the Parish Council.

However, when it came to the crunch the motion, which appeared to be supported by their voting Conservative colleagues on the committee, the councillors came up short, failing to find the required "very special circumstances" that would necessitate the granting of permission. After 15 chaotic minutes of frantic discussion and passing messages and phones to each other desperately searching for a plausible reason, they had to admit defeat and defer the item at the firm and express direction of the Chair.

During the General Election campaign we promised we would hold the Conservatives to account. Our first challenge is over the traveller issue in Brentwood with an email direct to Alex Burghart MP from Cllr David Kendall:

Good Evening Alex