Louis Stephen

I have lived in Worcester for 28 years and have two grown-up children who attended Cherry Orchard Primary, Nunnery Wood High school and Sixth Form College. I enjoy cycling for fitness and take delight in learning new skills. Before retiring to put something back into the local community I worked for many years as a senior engineering manager at Worcester Bosch.

My main priorities for the city are to encourage smaller independent businesses over the large corporate chains, to reduce the amount of city-centre congestion and to increase the number of affordable homes. New homes must be found, but in policy terms, we should resist building on greenfield sites like Middle Battenhall Farm, St Peters and Norton. We should instead be building on brownfield sites and encouraging more flats above our city-centre shops.

I believe that we can reduce the amount of traffic in Worcester with good town planning and encouraging more walking/cycling and investing in public transport.

Battenhall and St Peter’s is already a wonderful place to live, but it will only remain so through effective representation at the council. New challenges are developing around social isolation particularly amongst the elderly, the lack of bus services alongside noise and pollution from our major roads.  These will need clear leadership and a detailed understanding of residents’ views. I want to use my experience to ensure our area continues to be a fantastic place to live for years to come.

I was first elected to the city council in 2016. I take pride in cross party working with all political parties in the interests of Worcester residents. Last year I had the great honour to be elected as Worcester’s Mayor. I’m currently the Green Party group leader at the city council.