Worthing councillor stepping down at election calls it ‘one of the most rewarding periods of my life’

Steve Wills, who is the Conservative councillor for Castle ward at Worthing Borough Council, will step down on May 5.

Councillor Wills was first elected in 2016 and was due to serve as Castle ward councillor until May 2024 after being re-elected last year.

Now an official notice of vacancy has now been issued on the council’s website and a new ward councillor will be chosen at the May elections.

Mr Wills will remain in post until then, when he will step down ‘for health and personal reasons’.

“Working with and representing the residents of Castle ward has been one of the most rewarding periods of my life,” he said.

Mr Wills was born in Fulham, West London, according to a bio on the West Worthing Conservative Association’s website, but he moved to Worthing in 2007 to retire with his wife, Lesley.

The former milkman and later sales manager unfortunately fell ill with pancreatitis in 2010 and says the ‘fantastic’ care he received at Worthing Hopsital inspired him to ‘give something back’.

Mr Wills then went on to join the West Worthing Conservative Association.

He spent a number of years campaigning for the party before standing for election in Castle ward.

His priorities for the area include protecting green spaces and opposing the Chatsmore Farm (Goring Gap) development as well as supporting local initiatives like the Empty Plate Café.

Mr Wills says the highlights of his time as a councillor include securing extra lighting for Lavant Close, helping to clear overgrown banks at Ferring Rife, and helping to secure new premises for The Strand medical practice.

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