VOTE JASPER WARWICK For independent local councillor 5th Sept 2024

I am writing to you to ask for your vote in this week’s Camden Council by-election.

Why Me?

Unlike the other candidates in this by-election, I actually live in the ward I want to represent. I have lived in Cantelowes Road since 2004 and brought up my family here. I love our diverse, friendly, and quirky neighbourhood. While I am broadly supportive of the current administration, I do feel we have been let down by our local Labour councillors and we need an independent voice in the council to speak up for the interests of our community.

What angers me is that our councillors did nothing to oppose the planning application that saw the closure of the popular York Way Fish Bar this year. This despite there being massive local opposition to the application and clear advice from officers within Camden Council that its loss would be detrimental to the area.

I believe Camden needs more independent councillors who will work with the executive to improve the decision-making process but who are not afraid to call out bad ideas and policies when they see them.

My politics could be best described as centre left but not aligned to any particular party. During my lifetime I have voted for all the major parties and also Green. I am not anti-Labour but I am pro-democracy and I believe that having a wider range of views in our local council will make for better decision making which will benefit everyone.

What experience do I have?

I am a freelance computer programmer working in the consultancy industry, this has given me experience in understanding complex problems and developing solutions to meet them. I believe this will help me understand the issues than Camden Council face and offer alternative approaches.

But the most important experience I have is the 20 years I have lived among you and the desire to make our neighbourhood better for all of us.

What will I do if elected?

If I was elected as your councillor, I would engage with you to identify the problems in our neighbourhood that need fixing and then work with the council to find solutions. As an independent councillor I believe I can focus on the needs of our ward instead of the party politics.

Some things I would like to see happen

I would look at how we can make the Camden Square LTN work better. I would push to allow residents of Camden Square with cars to cross their own LTN, also I believe that businesses who have premises based in the LTN should be allowed to cross.

I would also push to have the LTN suspended during the replacement of the Agar Grove railway bridge which is scheduled at the end of the year. This will cause massive disruption to the neighbourhood which could be made a lot less stressful by suspending the LTN for the duration of the works.

I would like to see the council deal more effectively with the prostitution and anti-social behaviour that takes place at the end of Agar Grove.

I have seen the council waste tens of thousands of pounds on unnecessary road works yet the cement spills on York Way are left untouched as a danger to cyclists and bikers for years. This waste cannot continue.

I want Camden to provide a way for residents to share the issues they experience (whether anti-social behaviour or other problems) so we can build up a picture of what is happening in our neighbourhood and where the council need to focus its attention. The council will then report back on the steps they are taking to address them. Local accountability.

[Printed and promoted by Jasper Warwick 21 Cantelowes Road, NW1 9XR]