The choice is yours: Cookham by-election candidates

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It may not be Westminster, but tension is building up in Cookham Rise ward as three people go head-to-head to fill the vacant parish council seat.

Candidates Nigel Topping, (Ind), Fiona Hewer (Lib Dem) and Beryl McNeaney (Ind) will contest the Cookham Parish Council by-election on Thursday, July 10.

Voting will take place from 7am to 10pm at Pinder Hall. The by-election follows the resignation of Cllr John Hewitt (Cookham Rise, Ind) earlier this year.

Mr Hewitt, of Westwood Green, runs his own catering business and felt he could no longer be on the council due to work pressure.

We will bring you the results of the election on the website on Friday.

Candidate profiles

Nigel Topping (pic 1)
Age: 64
Party: Independent

Founder member of the Rotary Club of Cookham Bridge, Mr Topping has also been on the management committee of Pinder Hall for more than 10 years.
Mr Topping, who moved to Cookham Rise nearly 30 years ago, said: “Having come from Lancashire, I wanted to move closer to London for work and came across Cookham and loved it.”
He wants to see more facilities for young people and is against further housing developments in Cookham. “I have found that the village is getting more and more congested,” he said. The strategic planner, who used to work for Mercedes and BMW, retired in 2004.
In his spare time, Mr Topping plays the piano and keyboard and plays Fifties and Sixties music in pubs with his band Hods. He also enjoys playing golf in Stoke Poges.

Fiona Hewer (pic 2)
Age: 41
Party: Liberal Democrats

The professional meteorologist has her own business and works as an environmental consultant providing services to organisations in the public and private sector.
“I think standing as a councillor is a great way of helping our village to keep the things we love,” said Mrs Hewer, of Lower Road. “Cookham is a special area with its landscape and the association with Stanley Spencer.”
Fiona, who moved to Cookham 18 months ago, said her main concern is road safety, particularly around Whyteladyes Lane.
In her spare time, Mrs Hewer is a National Trails volunteer who reports on the Thames Path between Cookham Lock and Boulters Lock.
A cricket fan, she used to play for Reading Ridgeway Cricket Club. She also enjoys babysitting her niece and nephew.

Beryl McNeaney (pic 3)
Age: 71
Party: Independent

A grandmother of four, Mrs McNeaney was born and brought up in Cookham and was a pupil of Cookham Dean Primary School, Bigfrith Lane, and then Maidenhead Grammar School, in Shoppenhangers Road.
She now works as a sales advisor for the Montrose Group in High Wycombe and lives in Dean Lane. “I moved away to west London for a while when I owned a pub, but came back when my mother died,” said Mrs McNeaney. “I am very passionate about the village.”
Mrs McNeaney says she would be a good councillor because she always knows what is going on in the area.
Her main concern is about the village being over-developed and listed buildings being lost.
In her spare time, Mrs McNeaney swims and looks after her allotment in Cookham Dean.