St Peter's ward

One of the biggest stories in the ward is the plans to build an £1.8 million community centre on the estate.

The future of the centre, which would be off Abbotsbury Court, is being reviewed because of a shortfall in funding.

St Peter's Village Hall Association wants to build a centre with multi-purpose halls, sports facilities and meeting rooms on the site.

Hopes are high that the project will still go ahead, but the cost of it will have to be scaled down because no grants are currently available to assist its funding.

Housing is a big issue for residents, with the former Ministry of Defence site off Bath Road currently being transformed into 91 new homes.

Some people are unhappy about the amount of noise being generated on the site by the developers.

The quality of life data for St Peter's is good news for residents, with unemployment running at just two per cent.

Only 19 per cent of residents over 16 have no qualifications, compared with 28 per cent across the county.

Home ownership in the ward is high, with 54 per cent of people owning a property, compared with an average of 43 per cent elsewhere in Worcestershire.

St Peter's parish is the ward of one of the most outspoken characters at the Guildhall, former mayor Councillor Aubrey Tarbuck.

Coun Tarbuck, who is a Conservative, made headlines in the Worcester News last month when he claimed human beings were not contributing to global warming.

Coun Roger Knight, who was brought into the city council cabinet last year to be in charge of finance, serves the ward too.

Coun Knight, also a Conservative, is up for re-election this year.

CANDIDATES

KATHERINE HARRIS, Green

A Worcester resident, Ms Harris is a teacher at Stourport High School. She is an active member of the local Greenpeace and Friends Of The Earth groups.

She is particularly interested in engaging young people in environmental issues and developing sustainable schools for the future.

If elected she says she will ensure sustainability is considered in all future council decisions, from new homes to schools to recycling.

She believes the protection of our environment and natural resources should be top of the political agenda so that our beautiful planet can be enjoyed by the next generation and beyond.

ROGER KNIGHT, Conservative

MR Knight says he has enjoyed the past three years representing St Peter's and looks forward, with your support, to continue to serve.

He says it takes one term to get a grip of how the city council works, and he can now represent residents even more effectively.

He says he has vigorously campaigned for the local play area to be refurbished, supported the regular litter blitzes and championed the recycling initiative.

He says living in the community is a great asset, and keeps him in touch with whatever may be happening, as does his links with the school, parish council and Village Hall Association.

GEORGE SQUIRES, Labour

During the 20 years he has lived in Worcester, George Squires has always been involved in local life.

When his two boys were younger, he coached the local Cubs football team.

He was then a primary school governor and more recently has become a committee member of the Black Pear Credit Union, which lends money to members when they need it.

He is also a keen musician and plays organ in his local church, St Barnabas.

Mr Squires is a computer scientist by profession, and is currently a senior manager at the Technology Innovation Centre at Millennium Point, Birmingham.