Great interview in the News Shopper read it here...

INTERVIEW: Swanscombe's new councillor reveals financial nightmare of payday lenders

  News By Heloise Wood

Steve Doran, 27, recently won the Swanscombe seat

 

SWANSCOMBE’s new councillor has revealed to News Shopper how she wants to help people struggling with payday loans after her own financial nightmare. 

Labour’s Steve Doran, won the seat earlier this month by a single vote, pushing Swanscombe and Greenhithe Residents Association candidate Vic Openshaw into second place. 

The 27-year-old has campaigned extensively about reforming payday loan companies’ policies after battling with one for 18 months. 

She said: "I took a high rate loan out just because I was struggling to get by in 2010 and because I’m on a low income, I struggled to pay it back at the end of the month. 

"This meant I took another loan out to keep up with the interest which continued for 18 months. "A lot of it is about standing up and saying ‘this happened to me’ because there is a strong stigma attached to it and an assumption about the type of person taking out a payday loan.

"Some of our recommendations I've campaigned for through Sharkstopper (Labour party pressure group) have been made law and if this legislation had been around in 2010 I wouldn’t have struggled in this way." 

Councillor Doran originally trained to be a journalist after thinking politics was not for her

She said: "I did my undergrad degree at Nottingham and then an MA in Broadcast Journalism at Nottingham Trent. I soon realised though I wanted to be making news rather than reporting on it. 

"I always thought politics wasn’t for someone like me – my mum is a hospital housekeeper (check) and my dad works on a building site. "My local Labour party has been really good about my lack of money and is supporting working class people into politics – for example, I don’t have a car so they pick me up for meetings."  

Cllr Doran now works with older people and believes it has provided good experience for her Councillor-role. 

She said: "I work in a residential care as an activities coordinator for people with dementia and nursing needs. "It’s wonderful – every day is different and I come away knowing I’ve changed someone’s life for the better. "In many ways it’s like being a councilor because you’re going to a situation you’ve never seen before and you need to think ‘how can I fix this for you’."

Finally....

New Dartford to Gravesend Fastrack bus is 'life line' for residents

Wednesday 12th December 2012

   News By George Sargent

 

KCC's David Brazier, James Moody, Mayor of Swanscombe and Greenhithe Vic Openshaw and local operations manager for Arriva Alan Hale

A NEW bus service running from Dartford to Gravesend has provided a “life line” for the elderly and infirm, an Ingress Park resident has said.The Fastrack bus service, which started running on December 10, is the first to go through the Ingress Park estate.It runs every 10 minutes and also stops in Dartford town centre, Bluewater, Ebbsfleet International, Greenhithe Station and Gravesend town centre.

Susan Butterfill, of Marial Walk, in Ingress Park, said: “It’s a life line for the elderly and infirm because they don’t have to walk nearly as far as they did before to get the bus.

“I think it’s much needed. And it also encourages people to use public transport.

“It’s a very good idea.”

But the 60-year-old grandmother said: “When I bought my house 10 years ago I was told there was going to be a bus link soon, so it’s taken a while!”

Dartford Borough and Swanscombe & Greenhithe Town Councillor Susan Butterfield

Passengers can buy a £5 weekly ticket for travel between Ingress Park and Greenhithe Station. Kent County Council deputy cabinet member for Highways, David Brazier, said: “We are absolutely delighted that Fastrack is now up and running through Ingress Park.“While it has taken longer than we would have wanted, residents now have the vital piece of public transport that they both want and need.”

Crest Nicholson is the company that built and developed the estate. Its eastern manager, James Moody, said: “Following our £3m investment into Fastrack, we are delighted that the service is now operational and that it runs through our popular Ingress Park development.“With a new phase of homes currently under construction, the bus service offers another benefit to residents looking to move to the area in the future.”