CONSERVATIVE candidate and sitting councillor Francis Lankester assured All Saints residents that the Tory-led council, was working hard to provide a city centre community centre.

"The Conservatives will deliver the new community centre either using Perryfields, once the county council decides if we can use it, or with a brand new building," said the secondary school teacher, who is trustee and vice-chairman of a local youth group.

Coun Lankester said the council would be bidding for money to fund traffic-calming measures in Stanley Road and Wyld's Lane and would put "slow" markings in Hill Street and Byfield Rise.

The cabinet member for housing, who lives in Stanley Road, has ensured that rubbish and syringes were cleared up from Stanley Road Primary School field and regularly gets graffiti in the area removed.

Coun Lankester, who is the only councillor to put out a regular newsletter, said he has also worked with the police to stop motorbike nuisance on Diglis fields.

If re-elected he pledged to get litter-pickers out of their cabs to sweep and hose litter up.

He also believes residents need to be kept up-to-date with the development of Diglis and the proposed new link road.

LABOUR party candidate Andrew Watson said he would fight to get the much-needed community centre if he were elected.

"Labour made funds available for the project but the Tory controlled Council still hasn't started it," he said.

The accountant said his party's residents' surveys revealed that, as well as vandalism and street cleaning, parking was a big problem throughout the ward.

"The Diglis redevelopment could make parking worse and if I am elected I pledge to work closely with local residents to ensure that common sense decisions are made about this problem and important environmental issues such as the impact on flooding," he said.

"The key is to involve people and listen to their views. Such an approach would have avoided the obvious mistake made outside Mr Ceci's shop," he added.

Mr Watson, who is married and has two grown-up sons, agreed that road safety on Stanley Road was an important issue.

"The road is poorly lit, badly needs traffic-calming measures and there are serious parking problems," he said. "I would fight to improve the situation."

n "IT is about time the council started prioritising the poor and run-down areas of the city," according to Socialist Alternative Party candidate Rob Menzies.

The 40-year-old social worker, who moved to Worcester in 1993, accused the council of "squandering" money on transferring the control of council housing to a housing association.

"I want to ask our council how much of our money is being wasted in this exercise through the hiring of private consultants," he said.

"This money be spent on the things we need instead such as council housing repairs, and measures such as those raised by the residents of All Saints ward.

Mr Menzies, said he agreed with Mr Ceci about the lack of kerbs on Wyld's Lane.

"I find it strange at a time when disability rights and access issues are correctly being addressed, that such an obvious lack of consideration has taken place in the planning of this particular traffic-calming measure."