Test Valley election – Romsey Cupernham and Romsey Tadburn

These are the candidates and their own words as to why they are standing.

Romsey Cupernham

Janet Louise Burnage (Liberal Democrats)

Cllr Janet Burnage’s association with Romsey goes back over 50 years giving her a real understanding of the town’s needs.

Since being elected in 2011 as a Romsey town councillor and 2019 as a borough councillor, Janet has focused on delivering for the people of Romsey.

Janet has been involved with Romsey Future since its inception in 2013 and is an active member of Wilder Romsey and can be seen at the working parties working to improve the natural environment for the benefit of all.

Janet is also a governor of Cupernham Infants School, recognising how important education is to children in their early years. “I love Romsey and the community that makes Romsey the great place it is."

Ann Cameron Chillingworth (Labour Party)

No comment.

Neil Alan Gwynne (Liberal Democrats)

Cllr Neil Gwynne is the Liberal Democrat Group leader on Test Valley Borough Council and has a professional background in change management. He was raised in Lymington and came to live in Romsey in 2011, with his wife Kathrina and their two children. During his 10 years as chair of Plaza Theatre Neil has nearly doubled its output and led its complete refurbishment.

He has also been chair of King Johns House, member of Romsey Future, lead of the environment workstream and a founder of Wilder Romsey.

The need to tackle climate change is a passion of Neil’s and he has championed this on the borough council.

Rohit Kohli (Liberal Democrats)

Rohit Kohli has lived in Romsey for the last six years. He has loved being part of this community and wants to do more to help bring it together and improve the quality of life for my fellow residents.

He is a volunteer at Abbotswood Community Centre and has been a trustee there for four years. He established the Abbotswood table tennis club, which is now progressing really well (and it’s free to join!). Prior to living in Romsey, he lived in Southampton where he was a school governor.

Dave Maslen (Local Conservatives)

Dave has lived in Romsey for 25 years. He has worked in the drinks and hospitality industry and is the current chairman of Romsey Conservative Club. Dave organises the street marshals in Romsey for all town centre events. He’s passionate about our town and is determined to help retain its unique character.

Tim Mayer (Local Conservatives)

Tim lives in Romsey Cupernham with his wife and three children. He has been an elected city councillor before and stood in the 2017 general election. He wants to represent our fantastic area, focusing on environmentally friendly schemes. Ensuring that our most vulnerable residents are prioritised, and those of our older neighbours who have faced social isolation. Being a keen motorcyclist he’ll have a razor-sharp focus on ensuring our roads are maintained. Tim is a company director for one of Europe’s largest marina operators and most importantly, he will never forget that it is YOUR money the council spends.

John Anthony William Ray (Local Conservatives)

John has been a Romsey town councillor for 20 years, he’s a former mayor and current deputy mayor. He is president of Romsey Good Neighbours, chairman of the Town Carnival Committee, organised last year’s Jubilee street party in the town centre and is organising this year’s for the Coronation. He’s a small business owner in the town centre and is totally committed to proactively serving the residents of Romsey Rural.

Romsey Tadburn

David Charles Bloomfield (Local Conservatives) (no picture)

David is a retired senior banker who has lived in Romsey for the past 39 years. If elected, he is looking forward to representing everyone in Tadburn ward and in particular would fight the impact of the development proposed at Whitenap.

Clive Wellesley Collier (Local Conservatives)

Clive was a Test Valley Borough councillor for Abbey Ward from 2003 to 2019 during which time many improvements were made within the ward. The town centre enhancement, in the Memorial Park the Cafe, adult exercise items, the play area for older children and the redesign of the entrance were all carried out during this period. Clive now wishes to represent Tadburn Ward at Test Valley and, if elected, will bring his considerable experience and energy into improvements to that ward.

Mark Geoffrey Cooper (Liberal Democrats)

Mark Cooper is Hampshire born and was educated in Southampton at St. Mary’s College and Taunton’s School. He attended the University of Leeds 1967-1970 to read Geography and Sociology and was Student Union Secretary in 1968.

He was elected to Test Valley Borough Council and Romsey Town Council at a by-election in 1986 and has been re-elected at each successive election up to the present time. Mark was Leader of the Borough Liberal Democrats on TVBC 1991-2001 and 2011-12 and Joint Leader of Test Valley Borough Council in 1995-97 – when the Liberal Democrats and Conservatives had 22 council seats each – and was TVBC Council Leader in 1997-98. Three legacies survive from the time when Mark was Test Valley Leader:- the process of the large scale voluntary transfer of social housing to a Housing Association which made Test Valley debt free; the acquisition of land for long-term future recreation needs of which the land associated with Rooksbury Mill is an example, and which set the precedent for the acquisition of the Fishlake Meadows Nature Reserve; and free parking after 4pm!

Mark was Test Valley Borough Mayor in 2021-2022. Since 2019 he has been Chairman of TVBC’s Southern Area planning committee.

Carolyn Ann Nixon (Labour Party)

A long-time resident of Tadburn, I have been involved in many projects to enhance the area, such as the Whitenap Community Orchard and the Tadburn Meadows Local Nature Reserve. We need to safeguard these amenities and the well-being of our residents, even as the steady increase in population brings new challenges. All new housing, including starter homes, should be built to the highest sustainable standards, while access routes to town should be improved for pedestrians and cyclists. We need to see more targeted actions on insulation and public transport, to achieve the aims of the Council’s Climate Action Plan.

John Stephen Parker (Liberal Democrats)

John moved to Romsey in 1973 to work for IBM Hursley. He is currently a Romsey Tadburn borough councillor and a Romsey town councillor and has chaired Romsey Extra Parish Council over many years. He was Mayor of Romsey in 2016.

With Mark, he was instrumental in creating the Montfort Hall Community Association and building the Montfort Community Hall. John is involved with the Neighbourhood Watch Association, working closely with local police and TVBC to reduce crime in Romsey. John currently leads Romsey Future’s Local Plan Workstream which will be involved in the master planning of both Whitenap and the South of the Town Centre. It is a fact of life that virtually every acre of land around Romsey is under threat of development, not just Whitenap.