Evingar Conservative winner to continue to 'stand up for residents'
Conservative councillor Sam Carr held on to his Evingar seat with a relatively comfortable majority in last week’s election.
Mr Carr, who was elected for the first time last year, secured 1,535 votes, ahead of the Liberal Democrats candidate Pauleen Malone (909) and Hampshire Independents candidate Phil Heath (329).
The turnout for the ward, which covers the North West Hampshire villages of Woolton Hill, Newtown, Burghclere, Ecchinswell, Highclere and Ashmansworth, was 37.8 per cent.
His win means Evingar still has three Conservative councillors, with Mr Carr joining John Izett and Graham Falconer.
Mr Carr, 27, said he was “humbled” to be re-elected.
He said: “It was a privilege and a delight to serve the nine parishes of Evingar over the last year and I’m truly humbled that residents of the ward would give me another four-year term.
“It’s such a lovely place to represent and it’s so important that people have an opportunity to choose freely the people they vote for, who govern them, so I’m honoured.”
Mr Carr, an account manager at a public relations firm and a trustee at Whitchurch Silk Mill, said his priority was standing up for residents in terms of housing developments in his part of the borough.
Around 350 homes could be built in Wash Water, just over a mile from the potential 1,000 home Sandleford development which was given the green light by central Government last week.
Elsewhere, Bishops Green faces two applications – one for 350 homes on College Copse Fields on the east side of Ecchinswell Road and 50 homes on the other – while there are also potential developments in Ashford Hill and Kingsclere.
Mr Carr continued: “We are facing housing development pressure, we’re all aware of that.
“I’m very keen to stand up for residents as I have been on planning matters.”
He also said he was keen to ensure “the borough is doing everything we can to support Ukrainian refugees and we need to continue our work to tackle the climate emergency locally”.
