LOCAL elections are taking place on May 4, 2023 and the Way ward candidates for Mid Devon District Council are: 

Way: Polly Colthorpe (Conservative), Rosie Wibberley (Green).

Following are their election details.  

The polls will be open between the hours of 7am and 10pm, and local residents will be asked to select one candidate as their representatives at Mid Devon District Council.

Voters are reminded to take along their Photo ID or they will be unable to vote!

Polly Colthorpe – Conservative

Polly has represented Way Ward at Mid Devon for the past eight years.

From this election the ward will also include Thelbridge and Stockleigh English – two parishes she knows very well.

Polly has lived in Poughill for 45 years and is retired after running a small rural business breeding horses and Exmoor Horn sheep.

She knows how much effort goes into making a small business work and has always been quick to support other local businesses in need of help. As well as having 20 years' experience on our district council (10 of them as Chairman of the Planning Committee), Polly was a Devon County Councillor for 12 years (until 2021) and, in that capacity, was appointed to serve on the Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue Authority as well.

All these various roles have given Polly valuable and wide-ranging experience to put at the service of residents in Way ward. 

Rosie Wibberley - Green

Rosie has lived in the area for over 30 years and runs an organic farm and forestry business in Cruwys Morchard with her partner.  

Rosie is passionate about the environment we live in and is a founding member of the Tiverton Tree Team.  She helped with the housing section of the Neighbourhood Plan.

She said: “We're really keen to see any new development stepping up to the net-zero-carbon commitment that the council has pledged, as well as tackling fuel poverty and the lack of housing that is genuinely affordable.

“We would love to see more provision made to encourage safe cycling and pedestrian access.”

She would also like to see a genuinely fairer society, which invests in the local fabric from roads to schools.

“Having lived in Devon for most of my life, its upsetting to see how much our infrastructure has deteriorated and community assets lost. We deserve better than this.”