New council leader promises to tackle potholes

Conservative councillor Stephen Davies is the new leader of Gloucestershire County Council

The new leader of Gloucestershire County Council has promised to tackle potholes and focus on providing infrastructure for new housing developments.

Conservative group leader Stephen Davies was elected unopposed as the new head of the authority on Wednesday.

During his maiden speech, the 62-year-old former cabinet lead for children’s safeguarding and early years, said there would not be any major changes in direction but there will be some small differences as, “I’m not Mark, I’m Stephen”.

"It is a great honour to be elected leader of this fantastic council,” he added.

“I am committed to continuing the long and successful track record this council has of being financially stable, responsible, and well-run.

"We have invested heavily in our roads and last year we resurfaced 212 roads and filled 50,000 potholes filled, but I want more residents to feel the benefit of that investment."

Conservative Mark Hawthorne was leader of the county council for 14 years

He takes over from Mark Hawthorne, who announced he was stepping down in July after 14 years in the role.

Mr Davies, who has a Spanish rescue dog and enjoys traveling in his camper van, said roads, housing infrastructure, and improving Special Education Needs and Disabilities (SEND) provision are at the the top of his ‘to do’ list.

“Whilst I support the delivery of more housing in the county it must come with the infrastructure that makes it sustainable," he added.

“There has to be government investment in roads, schools, and other vital services where housing development is being proposed.

“[I want to] make sure we are doing all we can to make accessing advice, information, and services as easy as possible for the adults and children that rely on us the most.”

Elections for Gloucestershire County Council will take place in May 2025

However, Mr Davies could face a short tenure in the job ahead of county council elections in May 2025.

The Liberal Democrats are campaigning hard for overall control, but the new Conservative leader is optimistic about his party’s chances.

“We have to demonstrate that we are good at what we do and are delivering value for money,” he added.

“The challenge for the Lib Dems is that it is very easy to be a protest party, and I find it incredibly difficult to know of what they would do differently to what we do.”

In response, the Lib Dem group said the Conservatives are collapsing in Gloucestershire and are blaming “everyone but themselves for their failures”.

Group leader, Lisa Spivey, added: “They have run out of ideas. Nothing is working. Road signs are hanging off their posts, covered in mud, there are potholes everywhere, costs for care services are spiralling out of control and children are waiting years for education needs assessments.

“The only thing the Conservatives keep doing is pouring more and more money into projects and saying everything is working perfectly, when it’s clear that it’s not.”

As a result of Mr Davies' new role, Stephan Fifield will become deputy leader and Paul McLain will step in as member for children’s safeguarding and early years.