On May 6th Grantham residents, and those across the county, have the chance to decide who runs Lincolnshire County Council.

County councils cover the whole of the county and provide the majority of public services in their particular area. County councils are responsible for: education, highways, transport planning, passenger transport, social care, libraries, waste disposal, recycling centres and strategic planning.

Having represented this area since 2009, I am again asking for the residents of Grantham West to support me.

No one can deny the enormity of the challenge and change we are living through, and how we respond as the government's incredible vaccine programme kicks in will define Grantham and Lincolnshire for a generation.

We need an administration that continues to balance the books, keep council tax low (it's one of the lowest rates in the country) while at the same time investing in core services such as education and roads.

I am proud of what we have achieved in recent years, in particular:

â—Grantham Bypass: After 40 years of waiting, I am proud that I've been able to secure funding for the much-needed relief road, and we now have men and machinery on-site building it. Finally, we can move the A52 traffic off Barrowby Road and ban non-local HGV's from our town centre.

â—Education: Not only have I fought to make our schools safer with the introduction of CCTV parking enforcement outside our schools, but also I have successfully campaigned for the new primary school, Poplar Farm Primary, which opened in September 2018.

â—Roads Maintenance: the perennial problem of potholes has been a real focus during the last four years, and our area, in particular Barrowby Gate & Dysart Road, have already benefited from some of the government's latest grant funding. The newly introduced county permit scheme will also help take back control of our roads from careless and thoughtless utility companies.

â—Speeding: Barrowby Gate & Winchester Road are real hotspots for speeding; I have secured extra police enforcement, which has seen average speeds drop across the area.

â—Change: Since being elected in 2009, we have seen an unprecedented investment in Grantham, such as Market Place and Westgate improvements. Gone is the tired-looking town centre I grew up with, to be replaced by a focal point we can be proud of.

â—Taxation: We have been able to keep council tax low whilst continuing to invest in services.

â—Development: Grantham is growing, and we need to ensure that our infrastructure can cope. I have successfully lobbied for a phased approach that will see housing, jobs, roads and other facilities be delivered to support the growth effectively.

â—Safety: Making our town safer by building more pedestrian crossings than ever before on Manthorpe Road, Dysart Road, London Road and outside St Anne's Primary School. As Rectory Farm is developed north of Barrowby Road, I am lobbying to extend the 30mph zone to the A1 and a proper pedestrian crossing to link the new developments into Barrowby Gate and make walking to the school safer.

â—I care. Time and time again, I have been humbled by people asking for my help. Be that fighting to get local children into the best school for them or demanding Grantham Hospital's Accident & Emergency department stays open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

It is a real honour to represent our town and it's residents; I try and keep people informed of what I am doing via my website and social media, so please get in touch if I can help in any way.

Please find out more on my website www.votedavies.co.uk or via Facebook

• Could candidates please email details about themselves as Richard has, saying a bit about themselves, previous political experience and achievements, a career and clubs and societies background, what you hope to achieve and anything else you want to add. Please email [email protected].