THE main focus for whoever wins the Walcot and Park North Wards will be ensuring the area is kept looking clean and the roads are left clear from inconsiderate parking.

A key asset in the community is Sussex Square, which is set to undergo a £10m refurbishment which will see new retail and residential units.

However, elsewhere residents want more to be done about litter and parking is a big issue.

Carolanne Bond, who is the chairwoman of the Swindon Walcot and Parks Community Group which is non-party political, says she would like to see more litter bins in the area.

She said: “As it stands we have no litter bins in the area which means the area can easily become a mess.

“Elsewhere I have seen councils put bins on all street corners which reduced the amount of hours street cleaners spent out and about so any money spent on bins can be saved there. I want to see whoever the new councillor is pushing for that.”

As the area has grown and many families have more than one car, pressure has grown on many of the narrow roads. This problem is exacerbated during Swindon Town matches in particular when the roads become full of vehicles.

Carolanne said: “As people have got more cars the roads have become more crowded. A lot of them have had to pave over their front gardens to put a car there.

“I don’t blame them for doing this because there is so little space on the roads. I’m not sure what can be done about this but I would like to see more done during Swindon matches because people park all over the place.”

Another concern is the condition of many of the pavements in the area, which are falling into disrepair.

“I have to use a mobility scooter,” said Carolanne, “and when I go along some of the pavements I am all over the place. For the elderly it is really bad.

The ward of Walcot and Park North has traditionally been a stronghold for the Labour Party and this was once again the case in 2012.

All three of the seats were won by the party with a strong margin.

WALCOT AND PARK NORTH CANDIDATES:
Abdul AMIN (Labour)
Pavlos CHATZINOPOULOS (Social Democratic Party)
Kathleen MCCARTHY (Liberal Democrat)
Jennifer MILES (Green Party)
Emily PRYOR (Conservative)
Melanie STANBURY (UK Independence Party)
2012 election turnout: 29 per cent