Residents to take battle to electorate

9:42am Friday 8th September 2006

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THE gloves are off in Stockton Heath as a rebel group vows to take down current councillors at the next election.

Even their name means business: SHARC - Stockton Heath Alternative Residents' Council. And it has warned that it will upset the political balance by standing against the village's parish council in May.

Co-ordinator Patrick Mullee said: "We want to sweep away local representatives who don't listen. We are targeting all the parish councillors who have not supported us over the school."

The threat comes after the group, made up of outspoken residents, were continually at loggerheads over the local authority's controversial u-turn to demolish and rebuild Stockton Heath Primary School.

It claims parish councillors did not support a campaign to save the school.

Clashes over the school and the scrapping of the Forge machinery have been prevalent at monthly parish council meetings.

"SHARC will be supporting people who feel their arguments are not getting heard by the council. We feel nothing is being done to protect our village," added Mr Mullee, who resigned as a parish councillor last year following the original decision to bulldoze the Egerton Street building.