I am standing to be your next Elmbridge Councillor for Molesey East at the election on May 2nd.
As my name shows, and by my accent, I am French by origin (and I made my military service in the French Air Force). I am however a UK citizen and I have been living in East Molesey, Wolsey Road, for nearly 11 years, with my wife and my two children.
After working in France in the French Treasury and later in the private sector, I moved to Molesey and continued my career as Managing Director of MSCI (Morgan Stanley Capital International).
My affection for Molesey runs deep. Now fully retired, I am wholly available to dedicate myself to civic duties, unencumbered by the time constraints of employment.
If I am elected, I will be available full time to work for the community and work on all the issues raised by the residents. I will do it with an open mind and no partisanship, working with all for the sole benefit of the Molesey community.
Working closely with John Cope and Steve Bax, I will fight to have our community centre fully open, continue fixing the potholes after the winter weather, protect our green spaces, and tackle the abuse of our riverside. I want our green spaces, like Hurst Park, protected from being concreted over.
The illegal mooring in Molesey is a real scandal. I am making this issue my priority.
I have observed the Environment Agency's (EA) negligence in addressing illegal mooring, where some boats have remained stationary since 2018. This is in stark contrast with Richmond and Kingston, where local councils own the land, swiftly enforce and even scrapping offending boats.
But here on the river around Hurst Park where, unfortunately, EA own the majority of the riverside land, they are responsible for carrying out enforcement. And their management is a disgrace. Moreover they act as if they are a law unto themselves.
Upon my election to the council, I will exert all my efforts to overcome our riverbank problems. I intend to vigorously pursue the possibility that Elmbridge Council acquire ownership or leasing of the land currently under the EA's control. Unless the EA starts to initiate effective actions to rid our banks of unauthorised overstaying boats, I believe that transfer of ownership or leasing of the land to Elmbridge Council will be essential if we are to overcome our riverbank problems, ensuring our community's welfare and environmental integrity.
Regrettably, Elmbridge Council, led by its liberal democrat majority, has historically hesitated to take such decisive steps, preferring instead to defer to the EA's questionable management, just as they have been reluctant to adopt a PSPO (Public Space Protection Order) and finally adopted it after 4 years.
I also wish to follow and better control the Elmbridge council budget, a budget of around £20 million, financed mostly by our council taxes, business rates and … off street parking fees. Elmbridge taxes are increased year after year at the maximum allowed by the government. According to a council report, “Elmbridge council is an extreme national outlier in terms of its discretionary service offers. Elmbridge has high levels of discretionary expenditure.” There is a need to better control these spending in order to focus on real priorities and avoid wastes.