Simon Bell – Conservative Party Stone Urban County Council Candidate

Below is the candidate profile for Simon Bell, the Conservative Party candidate for the Staffordshire County Council Stone Urban seat.

This profile has been added to our Candidate Profiles page on our 2021 election hub – click here to see more candidate profiles.

Answers to the questions aren’t edited, other than for formating, and are therefore the candidates own words.

In your own words tell our readers about yourself

Together with my wife, Sally and our 3 now adult children, our family has spent 31 years living first in Walton and more recently Aston-by-Stone.

Since leaving university I have had a successful career in the pottery, banking and property industries. Volunteering is very important to me. After commissioning from the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst, I served in the Army Reserve Infantry for over 36 years, commanding a battalion of the Mercian Regiment (KCR) and serving on the General Staff, before retiring in the rank of Brigadier. My long and varied military and civilian career has taught me the importance of strategic vision, leadership and discipline, combined with innovation and teamwork, qualities which I believe will allow me to deliver for our town.

What’s your personal statement about why you’re standing and what you want to achieve over the term if elected?

I believe Stone can be the number one town in Staffordshire to live and work.  This is my vision, and I believe it can be achieved.  This is my motivation for seeking election as the County Councillor for Stone Urban.

We have a plan to repurpose, rebrand and reinvigorate our High Street.  People visit ‘the shops’, not one shop.  We need to create a better ‘Stone Experience’ where visitors come for several hours and spend time in our shops and hospitality venues. We need more independent retailers, and we need to build on Stone’s reputation as the Food & Drink Capital of Staffordshire.  To do this we need investment to help improve our shop frontages and consistent styling that speaks of our town’s values of a confident Victorian market town.  We should pursue a heritage-led regeneration to preserve our historic High Street buildings.  We need to engage with landlords to repurpose these buildings above ground floor level into office space to grow our town’s economy.  We need more regular markets to rebuild our reputation as a market town.  We need far greater investment in the marketing of our town to attract visitors for the ‘Stone Experience’.

When we have spoken to the people of Stone, there’s an overwhelming view that we need to make far more of our canal, one of our great assets and the birthplace of the Trent and Mersey Canal.  We should use the canal to put Stone on the map and attract more narrow boat tourists.  Other canal towns have canals lined with bars, restaurants, offices and housing: why not Stone? The fantastic development of Crown Wharf by Joules should be a springboard to further regeneration.

We have to stop building on greenfield sites and instead look to regenerating brownfield sites. I support our Neighbourhood Plan, but it is both long overdue and will soon require updating once the ‘Stafford Borough Local Plan 2020-40’ is in place next year. We need to ensure that in this new plan for Stafford Borough that our local and county representatives have the tools, funding and vision they need to protect Stone’s green spaces while encouraging sustainable development on unused brownfield sites.

The neglect of our personal health in recent decades – with soaring rates of obesity and associated cardiovascular disease, diabetes and respiratory illness – has made the impact of Covid and subsequent impact on our economy much worse than it might otherwise have been.  This is why boosting Physical Health and Mental Wellbeing is such an important part of My Plan for Stone.  I will fight to make sure Stone gets its fair share of funding to create the facilities and the environment that we need to put health and wellbeing at the centre of Stone life.

We must reverse the recent upsurge in crime that we witnessed during this last year of lockdown.  We can do this by building constructive working relationships with Staffordshire Police and the elected Police Fire Crime Commissioner (PFCC) and working as a team.  I pay tribute to Stafford Borough Police for the work they have done in their recent arrests.

We are on the cusp of a new transport revolution, as the nation converts to more sustainable means of transport.  For Stone, this means reimagining how we travel, from today’s reliance on the car to a mix of walking, cycling, electric vehicles and trains in the future.  Walking and cycling are not only environmentally friendly but also a fantastic way to improve our health.  But we are poorly served with very few routes that allow cycling to be an option for people of all ages and abilities.  We must think about how we link Walton and Stone in a safer way for pedestrians and cyclists, with a focus on improvements to the Walton roundabout.

We must prepare our town for the Electric Vehicle (EV) revolution that will come quicker than any of us can imagine.  How does a traditional Victorian town, with our rows of historic terraced houses built in an age before the internal combustion engine was invented, prepare for charging electric vehicles that require tethering to a charge point on the side of a house?  Other councils are coming up with innovative solutions such a lamp post charging and so must we.

Finally, we must improve the convenience of rail travel from Stone.  Rail has a key role to play in Stone’s sustainable green transport future and our green recovery.  Rail is a low-carbon form of transport making it an environmentally friendly way to transport people and goods across the country.  But we need better convenience for rail travel from Stone Station if it is to become a key part of our local transport strategy, and we need more frequent services and better facilities at our Station.  I am unconvinced by the case for HS2, and no one has fought harder to stop the project than Sir Bill Cash.  But despite our best efforts, HS2 looks like it will go ahead. We must ensure that Stone gains any benefit that we can from it in terms of improving our local rail connectivity.  As HS2 frees up capacity on the West Coast Mainline, I want to see the number of services from Stone Station doubled from what they are now.  We need to greatly improve the facilities at the station.  Currently parking is inadequate and forces commuters to park on side roads, inconveniencing local residents.  I will look at ways to improve parking at the station, as well as improving pedestrian and cycling access.

Rail travel is a basic right for all of us in Stone.  But the lack of a bridge with a lift to access the northbound platform means that we are denying rail services to disabled passengers and passengers facing mobility restraints such as heavy luggage or pushchairs. I will lobby for ‘Access for All’ funding to have a new bridge with lift facilities that makes rail travel possible for everybody in our town. Other Staffordshire railway stations have successfully won funding for such improvements – why not Stone?

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How does standing as a political party candidate affect serving local people on local issues?

Having the support of a political party makes a huge difference when it comes to successful outcomes on local issues – and is an absolute necessity if Stone is to be successful in winning the funding that our town badly needs.  It allows a councillor to work with party structures both locally and nationally to support Stone.  An independent councillor without a national party affiliation does not have that support structure, and the job becomes very difficult, if not impossible, as we are currently seeing in Stone.

For example, it’s absolutely right that Stone should fight for a share of the £3 billion bus fund.  But the chances of a bid being successful will be many times higher for a councillor who can turn to a party network stretching across every level of national and local government.

Another case: Stone needs investment in cycle lanes. All the parties standing at this election agree.  Indeed, it is a key strategic aim (SA5) within the Neighbourhood Plan, identified as a local need back in 2016.  There is government funding for cycle lanes, but Stone has – yet again – missed out.  £1.8million of Active Travel funding delivering investment in cycle lanes in four Staffordshire towns: why not Stone? But our elected councillors lack a party structure to allow for well organised and effective bids for central government funding streams, and so Stone is denied its fair share of desperately needed investment.

We are seeing to Stone’s great cost just how difficult a job local government is without a party structure behind you at all levels.  This is true whether a councillor is Conservative, Labour or Lib Dem:  all these parties benefit from party structure and support.

Sadly, Stone now cuts an isolated figure, without any alliances or any support of fellow councillors.  Stone has lost its voice, and only with cooperation and support at all levels of government can our voice be restored.

Do you live in the area you’re standing for, if not what’s your link to Stone and your reason for standing in this area and not your own?

I live in Aston-by-Stone, which is just over the electoral border in Stone Rural.  Stone has been my home for 31 years and I see myself as very much part of the Stone community, and I am seeking election in order to give back to that community.

What’s been your history as a political councillor?

I’ve never been a political councillor, as I’ve previously dedicated my time to my military service.  Although this is the first time I’ve stood for election, I have worked with ministers in the MOD and I understand the critical links to be successful in public office.  It is absolutely vital to work closely with ALL levels of local and national government.  It is only by forging constructive relationships that we open the doors of opportunity for Stone.  Continually attacking council colleagues and decision makers leads to an isolationist mentality and a lack of investment into our town as a result.

Apart from family commitments what other commitments do you have on your time? This could be work, business, voluntary or community roles – if these are linked to organisations in Stone then please mention it.

• Stone Helpline – Volunteer
• National Memorial Arboretum – Chairman of Memorial and Landscapes Committee
• West Midlands Reserve Forces and Cadets Association (WM RFCA) – Board Member
• WM RFCA – Regional County Chairman
• Board Member Mercian Regiment Council – Deputy Colonel of the Regiment (Marketing and Recruiting)
• 4^th Battalion Mercia Regiment – Honorary Colonel
• Mercian Regiment – Army Trustee
• Jewish Committee for Her Majesty’s Forces – President
• Congleton Drill Hall Trust – Army Trustee
• Royal British Legion – Member
• Christie Against Cancer – Personally raised £8,510
• Devised and Delivered Stone High Street Video Support – #DownOurHighStreet over 65 videos

I also own and run a successful property business which has after 11 years has gained 17 National Awards for customer service.

What are the top 5 issues that you think affect the residents of Stone currently have?

Whilst we may be emerging from the effects of the COVID virus, we are still very much in a battle with the economic and long-term health impacts of the pandemic.

People worry about the economy, about their jobs and how they will provide for themselves and their families.  People are now far more conscience of their physical health and mental wellbeing.  And they care about the environment that we live in, which means we need to protect and enhance our green and blue spaces as well as reimagine how we travel.

1. We need to reinvigorate our local economy, by creating an environment that attracts private inward investment to create skilled well-paid jobs. We need to breathe new life into our high street.  It is only by growing our local economy that we improve everyone’s standard of living.
2. We need to enhance our green and blue spaces to create an environment that encourages physical activity as well as creating tranquil areas where we can relax outdoors. Children’s play facilities must be improved as a matter of urgency.
3. We need to improve our sports and leisure facilities and support our local sports clubs to encourage more active lives.
4. We need safer streets and a swift return to the low crime levels that Stone is known for.
5. As our nation Builds Back Better, we need make sure that Stone is not left behind and this includes planning for more sustainable transport strategies.

How will you keep in touch with your constituents’ concerns?

People can write to me at my Stone Conservative email address or get in touch with us via our Facebook page.  As people may have noticed, I do like to produce the occasional video which I think is a great way to keep people up to date on the work I would be doing for Stone.  I am always available for a face to face meet up – hopefully over a coffee or a beer once our fabulous hospitality businesses open up again.