A 21-year-old activist student will take on council stalwart Simon Geraghty at the next local election. Tor Pingree, an avid environmentalist and musician has been working with the Green Party in Worcester, and hopes to win the seat currently up for contest in St Clements against former city council leader and conservative representative, Cllr Simon Geraghty.

She said: “In St. Clements there are a rising number of students in the area, so I do believe somebody who knows the views of the students is needed.”

However, she will look at improving public transport for the city and supporting local business as her main focus.

She said: “I wanted to ensure cyclists can travel safely by establishing more cycle lanes in Worcester as a city. There has also been a lot of cuts to bus routes in St. Clements recently which are really important to the community, especially for the elderly who perhaps cannot drive. If I could help working to solve this issue it would be fantastic.”

“We are currently working hard at the moment to try and showcase small businesses in St. Clements online, so that people in the community can see what is in their local area.”

“Our arts and cultural venues, alongside many small businesses in Worcester need support now more than ever. It would be such a loss if we were to see them all replaced by chains.

Alongside campaigning for the election, she is also studying creative Industries at Kidderminster College in her final year.

She said: “I started helping on Adrian Musson’s campaign, who was originally standing in St. Clements. He unfortunately had to drop out this year and it was Cllr Louis Stephen who asked if I wanted to stand in place. As I am so new to this I can bring new ways of thinking and coming up with solutions to problems.

“Even before I was a member of the Green party, I was doing some work alongside Extinction Rebellion.” It was Louis who reached out to me to get me on board with the Green Party.” The election will be held on May 1.