LEDBURY'S latest town councillor, Phillip Howells, has spoken of his aims, as he takes up the mantle of public service.

Cllr Howells, of Kempley Brook Drive, who stood on the Liberal Democrat ticket and won with 224 votes, sees the increasing need to control housing developments in the market town.

He said: "We need to ensure we put in place action plans to fully implement the Town Plan produced a couple of years ago, and the Neighbourhood Development Plan now at its inspection stage.

"I was on the working group that produced the plan which is now urgently needed to be in place to provide the planning development legal protection we need to have some control over the type of developments we want in Ledbury."

Cllr Howells added: "I will work to help ensure the plan gets adopted as soon as possible once it has past the inspection stage."

Cllr Howells, who has previously stood for election to the town council on several occasions, unsuccessfully, also wants to fight for better community facilities for all groups, "the youth and elderly for example, since we have many of both groups in Ledbury".

He added: "We also need to work to find ways to make our town an area we can be proud of, not only to live and work in, but also to attract the visitors on which much of the town’s economy depends.

"This means pavements, gutters and paths over which we can have some control as a town council, but also putting pressure to have our roads improved – such as the section at The Homend up to the station which is in sore need of repair."

Cllr Howells made the headlines three years ago when, at the age of 68, he was officially crowned as the UK’s Most Over Active Pensioner.

He was selected for the coveted title in a public vote that saw him go up against a Himalayan mountain trekker, a transatlantic sailor, a Cornish triathlete and a scuba-diving ‘supergran’.

Despite tough competition from the other contestants, sprightly Phillip pipped the other finalists to the finishing post as a result of his impressive array of physical achievements, which included running 167 marathons.