A COMMUNITY group will be standing independent candidates at the upcoming elections, after growing disillusioned with the current crop of city and county councillors.

Milford Preservation Group (MPG) has criticised the "chaos and infighting" of the city council Conservative group, and says having independent councillors is the only way to "make them listen."

It comes after a week-long virtual annual general meeting of the group.

David Lovibond, honorary secretary of the group, says it is grateful for the help of some local councillors in recent campaigns to protect the Grade 1 Listed Milford Road bridge, as well as attempts to mitigate the impact of traffic on residents, but says the group needs its own voices.

He added: “After many years of campaigning to protect the cherished landscapes and built heritage of Milford, the MPG has decided that the only way to ‘Make Them Listen’ is to have our own Independent Councillors in the places where decisions are made."

The MPG will be standing candidates for election to Salisbury City Council, Laverstock and Ford Parish Council, and for the Salisbury Milford division of Wiltshire Council.

Salisbury Journal:

David added: "The chaos and in-fighting among Salisbury City Council Tories and the constraints imposed by party political discipline in Trowbridge, as well as the obligation not to stray from party policy, have restricted what can be expected from councillors belonging to the traditional parties.

“Frankly, among the leadership of the majority party at county there is too often a sneering arrogance, an aloof indifference to the problems of local people that lights the blue touch paper for many of us. The introduction of the ETRO scheme, the innumerable examples of unanswered emails or ignored voicemails – describe the behaviour of councillors too long in power and too far removed from the concerns of those who elected them.”

The MPG says it has sometimes "struggled to attract the attention and to battle the inertia of council officials", and that it has not "had the political clout it needs to protect the green spaces of Milford from the development challenges of the ‘Wiltshire Local Plan Review’".

The group also expresses concerns about the "looming threat of the Government’s ‘Planning for the Future’ – with its bullying power to drown out the voices of local people".

“With independent councillors for Salisbury Milford division, Salisbury City, and Laverstock and Ford, the MPG will have the prominence and the authority necessary to fight effectively for the people of Milford and area,” says Lovibond. “We will fight without distraction in the interests of Milford. We will ‘Make Them Listen’.”

The next scheduled city and county council elections are in May 2021.

Salisbury City Council has been contacted for comment.

Wiltshire Council declined to comment.