Meet the Candidates: Jackie Walker

Jackie Walker (Lab)

I HAVE lived in Middle Assendon with my husband and son for almost 20 years. Prior to this, I worked as a civil servant and training consultant.

I am now able to give more back to the community. Over the past year, I have attended meetings at the town council and been co-opted on to the neighbourhood plan committee and the transport strategy group. This would help with my work at the district council i.e. making sure the streets of Henley are cleared of rubbish, on time and with care and that Henley leisure centre is maintained.

I would work with the town council to best understand planning comments in order to reach a good decision. I will hold developers to their required delivery of affordable housing and promote social housing.

My concerns over the district’s local plan are the building of more houses than we need, the loss of green belt land and the environmental impact, plus the risk of an increase in traffic through Henley. The Growth Deal concern is about sustainability and whether the infrastructure is accounted for. I will look to develop strategies to mitigate the impact from the increase in traffic and the effect on air quality.

We need to look after our green spaces and build and grow sustainably while taking action to tackle climate change. I’m opposed to the environmentally damaging Oxford-Cambridge Expressway.