Meet the candidates: Paula Brookfield

Last week we emailed all five candidates standing at local elections on 3rd May inviting them to ‘have their say’ in a questionnaire.

There are 3 candidates standing in Wednesfield South and 2 in Wednesfield North and we will publish any responses in the order we receive them.

Whilst WV11 does not back any political party, we are keen to see local politicians engaging with the community online as well as offline.

The second candidate to respond was Wednesfield South Labour candidate Paula Brookfield, here are her responses to our questionnaire…

 WV11 local candidate questionnaire

Name: Paula Brookfield

Party: Labour

Ward: Wednesfield South

Occupation: 

Although I am a qualified nurse by profession I am currently studying for my Masters Degree in ‘Voluntary and Public Sectors, Policy and Practice’ at Wolverhampton University, I am also a governor on Perry Hall Primary school in Wednesfield South.

What made you decide to stand for election?

I have, for my entire adult life, worked with and on behalf of the public, both within the NHS and on many public bodies in Wolverhampton during my free time. Standing for public office seemed a natural progression from the voluntary work I have engaged in on city wide and local health bodies, various community groups and as a school governor for the past twenty or so years, I enjoy helping individuals and groups cut through the red tape of officialdom and resolve their problems. I believe a councillor is an advocate for the people who elect them and that to do this effectively it is the resident’s views that are paramount, I therefore believe a key part of the role is to inform resident’s of what is happening in their area so that they can have a say before decisions are made, only last week I leafleted every house in the Taylor and Duke street areas giving residents details of the planning application on the Trap Works and information on how to submit their objections or support to the Planning Department, a campaign spurred on by concerned resident’s that I am pleased to see is featured on your site.

What do you believe are the key issues to be dealt with in your ward?

Generally speaking the major issues in Wednesfield are the same as elsewhere in the City a need for access to training and employment, it is vital that Wednesfield residents have access to any opportunities available such as those offered by the forthcoming Jaguar Land Rover plant on the I54, but it is not enough to rest on the jobs this site will provide, it is vital that more businesses are encouraged to come into both the Wednesfield area and the City as a whole. Wednesfield High Street continues to present problems for pedestrians due to inconsiderate drivers illegally using the pedestrianised walkways which resulted in serious injury for one elderly gentleman in the ward recently this issue must be tackled head on by the council and police. Anti social behaviour related to drinking is also causing problems for shoppers, hopefully the proposed ban on drinking in the High Street will go some way to addressing the problems both shoppers and traders are experiencing. However for many residents it is those problems which
directly effect their individual streets and estates which are important, since being selected to stand for Wednesfield South seven months ago I have been contacted by residents on a wide range of issues relating to pockets of anti-social behaviour, traffic issues including parking and speeding, housing issues, disability access issues and street cleaning to name a few, many of these issues are of necessity dealt with on a case by case basis, but some highlight wider issues which I look forward to tackling if elected.

If you are elected how do you plan to keep your constituents informed of what you are doing to represent them?

As mentioned earlier I have been active for quite a while now, I have shared two informational leaflets with Councillor Ghakal delivered to every house in the ward during November and January. In the last few months I have offered all resident’s ‘Down Your Way’ mobile surgeries, and meet the candidate sessions directly to their homes. I have delivered informational flyers (such as the one on the Taylor Street Trap Works) to areas affected by local issues and made my contact details available to all resident’s, (these are additional to the standard election materials of the last few weeks.) If elected I will continue to offer all of the above services and hold regular static surgeries in local venues as well.

How do you feel you will be able to make a difference to your constituents?

I am a committed hard worker who is dedicated to enabling residents to improve the area in which they live, I would like to encourage more residents to get involved with their community and to this end I will try to establish new community groups in the many areas that currently have no service, so that residents can share their concerns about their community and their ideas on how to improve them I will then try to facilitate those improvements making the case both within the Council and with other agencies, I also look forward to supporting existing groups with their hard work and efforts on behalf of their community.

Anything else you would like to add?

Regardless of the outcome of the election I would like to thank the residents of Wednesfield South for the kindness and support they have shown me over the last few months. I have met 1000’s of resident’s over this time and regardless of any difficulties they may have been facing at the time they have never failed to be friendly and open, I sincerely hope that I am able to work with them in the future, Paula.