Greens win Barnham by-election

Votes were counted on Thursday night, following the close of polls at 10pm.

Green Sue Wallsgrove has has now been elected as the new Arun district councillor for Barnham ward.

Ms Wallsgrove was elected with 786 votes.

Conservative Party candidate Graham Jones came in second place with 641 votes followed by the Labour Party’s Alan Butcher who received 116 votes.

Ms Wallsgrove is now the second Green councillor at Arun. She joins fellow Green Isabel Thurston and Conservative Chris Hughes who also represent Barnham.

Another Green councillor Faye Catterson, was removed from office this week following a period of absence due to illness.

Ms Wallsgrove is a lifelong Barnham resident and is also a Barnham and Eastergate parish councillor.

She describes herself as an ‘active environmental campaigner’ who enjoys vegetable gardening and walking her dogs in Slindon Woods.

Her priorities include ‘speaking against plans for unsustainable development’.

“I will speak up against plans for unsustainable developments in our area, like 4,000 new houses without adequate infrastructure,” she said.

“We must address the noise, air pollution, traffic and speeding that blight our villages and only build sustainable affordable houses in the right places.”

Arun area Green Party co-ordinator Carol Birch said: “Sue will put forward fresh thinking and bold solutions for the problems facing Barnham and will work hard for her community.”

Ms Wallsgrove’s fellow Green district councillor Isabel Thurston called the result a ‘triumph’.

“Sue’s strong community links and experience of working with different groups of people, both in her professional and volunteering capacity, means that I have no doubt she [will] make an excellent councillor,” she said.

The by-election was triggered following the death of long-standing Conservative councillor John Charles in July.

Mr Charles represented Barnham from 2011 up until his death.

He also served as a West Sussex county councillor and a second by-election took place for the Felpham division.

All seats at Arun District Council will be up for election in May 2023 as the last set of elections were held in 2019 where the Conservatives lost their majority.