New Melton councillor targets issues of drunkenness and drug dealing

Peter Faulkner won the vacant Melton Egerton Ward seat in yesterday’s by-election, edging out Labour’s Mike Brown by 36 votes.

Mr Faulkner (58) returns to the council after resigning last February following his election in the 2015 poll.

After the by-election result was announced this morning, he said: “I feel I have unfinished business because last time I didn’t have much

time to make an impact.

“Hopefully I can do some good for the town.”

He works as a Melton cabbie in the family business, Elaine’s Taxis.

And he is determined to lead a crackdown on the issue of drunkenness in the town, which he says he has experienced regularly through his job.

“There doesn’t seem to be any enforcement on the laws to stop people being able to visit pubs and clubs and drink themselves stupid,” said Mr Faulkner.

“There is this crazy situation in Melton where people are allowed to continue drinking to the point where they can’t even stand up

properly.

“We see a lot of this through working on the taxis and no-one seems to want to take responsibility for enforcing the law.

“I’m going to look into this issue to see if anything can be done through the council.”

Mr Faulkner is also concerned that people who sell drugs are allowed to rent homes from the council.

He said: “I want to look into why convicted drug dealers are given council houses.

“I know they have to live somewhere but I’m sure the law-abiding families in Melton think we should be taking a zero-tolerance on this.

“I want to see if anything can be done so we can make these people’s lives as a much of a misery as those they sell drugs to.”

Mr Faulkner, who thanked wife Elaine for her work on his campaign leading up to the election, said he would also be tackling issues flagged up by residents in Egerton Ward.

These include dog fouling of streets and inconsiderate car parking.

The other by-election yesterday, in Melton Sysonby Ward, was won by Conservative candidate Alison Freer-Jones, who beat Labour’s Vanessa Jackson by 799 votes to 364.

The victory for Mrs Freer-Jones, a former Mayor of Melton, means that the Tories have gained the seat from the Independents after previous incumbent Tina Culley resigned due to the pressure of personal commitments.