NEW Bere Ferrers borough councillor Angela Blackman has pledged to work tirelessly to support her community after securing a by-election victory by just one vote.

Mrs Blackman, representating the Conservatives, was elected as the new Bere Ferrers councillor in the hotly contested poll on November 18.

She secured 362 votes, winning with 32.47% of the vote. She finished just a single vote ahead of the Labour Party candidate Isabel Saxby, who secured 361 votes. The election was called following the retirement of Robin Musgrave, who represented the Liberal Democrats and had held the post since 2007.

The poll results were: Angela Blackman, Conservative Party, 362; Isabel Saxby, Labour Party, 361; Graham Reed, Liberal Democrats, 216; Judy Maciejowska, The Green Party, 176. The turnout was 37.5%.

Mrs Blackman joins 15 other Conservatives on WDBC, giving the party overall control of the council. The Bere Ferrers ward has another councillor, Conservative Cllr Peter Crozier.

Mrs Blackman has lived about a mile outside Bere Alston for the past ten years with her husband Dave and their son, now 15, who has been brought up in the village and went to the local school.

Speaking to the Times this week, she said: ’I would like to sincerely thank all of those who took the time to vote last Thursday.

’I am your voice within WDBC and I intend to work tirelessly to support our ward in every way I possibly can.

’I will work together with my fellow councillor, Cllr Peter Crozier to ensure we are able to enjoy our beautiful corner of the county by working with the local police to ensure we are safe, promoting and protecting our local environment and supporting our already well-run clubs and groups to make them the best they can be and this is only the beginning.

’If you have any issues, I am here for each and everyone one of you, so please get in touch if I can be of any help.’

The new Cllr Blackman says she has always had a strong work ethic, having started work at the age of 16 as a modern apprentice in building control at a local authority up in North Wales.

She said: ’I studied part time whilst working full time. I undertook my degree again whilst working full time and graduated at 26, eight months pregnant. So when people ask me how I will fit it in, I’ve always had a busy but hard working, work ethic.

’I was a claims investigator for a building control and warranty provider for many years dealing with dispute resolution with homeowners and builders and had many dealings with housing associations throughout Devon and Cornwall.

’I now work back in building control for a private approved inspector.’

She said that when canvassing for the election speeding and anti-social behaviour were revealed as people’s top priorities needing action in the Bere Ferrers peninsula.

’I had already had a meeting a few weeks back with Alison Hernandez, the police and crime commissioner for Devon and Cornwall, and asked her about how I could build a good relationship with our local police.

’She has set up a Councellor Advocate Scheme which I fully intend to be a part of so that I can build a relationship with the police in order to be able to ensure our ward gets the best possible service and be at the forefront of issues whenever they arise,’ she said.

’I want to help our local businesses and shops wherever I am able. I will seek to engage with them as soon as I am fully set up to see what issues there are that they may need my help with.

’The ward has a number of teams and clubs that Cllr Peter Crozier is involved with and I want to add whatever value I can to assist with helping these teams and clubs grow.

’I love our natural environment and want to ensure that we keep it and leave it in the best possible shape for our children’s children. So I will be looking into how we can do this.’

She said she was building on the strong foundation already established by her fellow councillor Cllr Peter Crozier.

’We are a two counsellor ward, Cllr Peter Crozier has been my rock during the campaign and we will be an amazing team. We also have Cllr Debo Sellis and Cllr Philip Sanders as our county councillors who we have already built a very positive relationship with. So together we can make the place we live, safe, prosperous and an environment we can be healthy in.’