Councillor Ray Manning is the Conservative candidate for Over and Willingham in the SCDC election on 5th May.

Ray is a fruit grower like his father and grandfather before him and has lived in Willingham all his life.

He and his wife Marion, who works on their farm, have two grown up children living in the village – Wendy, who runs the Bushel Box farm shop, and James who farms the arable land and restores vintage tractors.

Ray has served on the Parish Council for nearly 40 years and the District Council for twelve years.  He has been Leader of SCDC since 2007.

He is committed to preserving the countryside and our village way of life.

Local action by Ray Manning
"I have always worked on the land growing trees and still enjoy planting and establishing orchards," says Ray.

"There are not many orchards left in the district and so it is great to see tree planting and community orchards being created.

"As our villages have expanded and more and more people work away, we need these quiet spaces to connect with the countryside and also as a small haven for wildlife.

"The Community Chest scheme has been really good at helping small projects in our two villages, not just trees but all sorts of projects and I will see it continues to do so.

Taking a stand
"South Cambridgeshire is rightly listed as one of the best places to live – but that attractiveness brings with it the problem of increasing demand for housing," says Ray.

"If we build too many houses in our villages we risk spoiling the way of life we enjoy – but without more homes there will be nowhere for our children to live.

"The new town of Northstowe will help provide some of the extra houses the area needs – in particular Starter Homes to get local people on the first rung of the housing ladder.

"The project has been much delayed but has now commenced and the facilities are being built ready for the first houses.

"For many years Willingham Parish Council has been arguing for a bypass and I have always supported it.

"The increased traffic from Northstowe will make it even more necessary to avoid delays and rat running through our villages."

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Contact Ray Manning
     130 Station Road, Willingham, CB24 5HG
     01954 261 235
     ray@englishplums.co.uk

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