Candidate Profiles: Charlie Easton, Peninsula

Name: Charlie Easton (Conservative)
Ward: Peninsula

Please can you tell Greenwich.co.uk readers a little about yourself.

I’m Charlie, I live and work locally, as an HR Administrator at the National Maritime Museum. I also study part time at the University of Greenwich. I have a blog, gipsymoth.blogspot.com where I talk about my studies, thoughts and experiences as I go about my week. I enjoy visiting parks and museums, walking and learning about London’s history in the little spare time I have amongst everything else! My favourite TV show is House, and my favourite meal is Chicken Madras with fluffy rice (and I’m one of the few people I know who actually likes Lime Chutney on their poppadum’s!)

Why does it matter that people vote in council elections?

The average household in Greenwich gives over £1,000 a year to the Council, to provide and run local services such as schools, libraries, community centres, parks and leisure facilities. The Council has the power to approve or refuse planning applications, to sign off large events and projects such as the Olympics or Crossrail and to ensure the streets and houses of the borough are kept neat and tidy. There are over 220,000 people in the borough, yet turnout for local elections in the area sits between 20-40% of the voting population. The council has the power to spend a great deal of money and change the quality of life of its residents. By voting for 3 councillors in the local elections, we all have a say in whether it does this, how it does this and how well it does this.

Why are you standing to be a councillor?

Every time I used to see something in the area that looked untidy, or read that a local service was underperforming or closing, it used to sadden and frustrate me. For somewhere that has so much culture and potential and so many visitors from outside the area, Greenwich underperforms locally and nationally in a number of areas, such as providing decent housing provision, good schools and local employment opportunities. The more I looked into the council’s record on its ability to improve delivery of local services, the more I realised the incumbents weren’t making the most of what they have. And rather than accept that things would only ever be as good as they are, I decided to get involved with Greenwich Conservatives and help them hold the council to account. By standing as a councillor in Peninsula, I hope that voters will permit me to take my fight for better services in Greenwich right to the Town Hall.

What do you like most about the area you wish to represent?

There’s a lot to like in the Peninsula – the East Greenwich Pleasurance, the local pubs, the views across the river, the shops and houses, new and old. But (perhaps oddly) my favourite landmark in the ward is the power station and the old coal jetty. Its size and location beneath the meridian laser on the banks of the river make it as much a local landmark as the Naval College or Observatory. Its Charlie & the Chocolate Factory-like air of desertion make it intriguing, and its functional yet elegant design – particularly the little turret on the side – make what perhaps ought to be a building you turn your eye from a building your eye is drawn towards. And like the more culturally valued buildings in Greenwich, it has an air of permanence about it. I like it

If elected, what would be your priorities for the Peninsula / Greenwich West ward over the next four years?

-Secure a sustainable future for East Greenwich Library, which has been neglected by the council and under threat of closure for over a decade. Andrew Carnegie donated the borough the money to build and maintain the library in perpetuity for the public good: to keep our promise to Carnegie and the people of Greenwich is the least we can do.

-Stop the Council from granting consent to build housing on green space like Woodlands Park Road when plots like the site of the former East Greenwich housing office remain derelict.

-Use the land where Greenwich hospital stood: if money for the proposed development cannot be found, the land should be offered in the meantime as allotments, parking space or an area for an East Greenwich market.

-Change the way the council responds to fly tipping and littering. It took me 4 phone calls, 3 call centre operatives, 2 polite “asks” of Cleansweep on the street, 1 manager, 1 meeting and 10 weeks for the council to clear up a single shopping trolley. The system is expensive and clearly not fit for purpose – a more robust system that responds effectively to local residents’ requests needs to be established as a matter of urgency.