VOTERS are set to go to the polls in less than a week’s time to select who they want to represent them on Malvern Hills District Council.

Boundary changes means there are 88 candidates contesting all 31 new seats in the revised wards on Malvern Hills District Council this year with polls opening from 7am to 10pm on Thursday, May 4.

In the Baldwin ward, Pam Cumming and Paul Cumming will be standing for the Conservatives and will be up against Jamie Cramp for the Liberal Democrats and Seyi Latunde-Dada for the Green Party.

For the chance to represent one of the three seats in the new Barnard’s Green ward, Labour’s Louise Lowton and Iain Dawson will be up against Malcolm Victory and Mark Driscoll for the Greens, Ian Hopwood and Julie Maclusky for the Conservatives, David Mead, Clive Fletcher and Pete Benkwitz for the Liberal Democrats and independent candidates Adrian Vines and Nick Houghton.

Marc Bayliss, the former Tory leader of Worcester City Council, will be standing for one of two seats in the Castlemorton, Welland and Wells ward alongside fellow Conservative candidate Jill Campbell. They will be standing against Eva Fielding for the Liberal Democrats and independent candidates John Gallagher and Christine Wild.

In the Great Malvern ward, Hannah Campbell and James Jarvis will be standing for the Conservatives against Jed Marson for the Liberal Democrats and independents Beverley Nielsen and Cynthia Palmer.

The contest in the Link ward will see three seats up for grabs with Lib Dem candidates Neville Mills, Clifford Hobbs and Danielle Bennett taking on Labour’s Christopher Burrows and Susan Dalley, David Watkins and Karen Hanks for the Conservatives, Richard Case for Reform UK, independent candidates Anne Cherry, Kwai Hung Chan and Clive Hooper and Green candidate Fran Victory.

It’s a four-way battle in the Pickersleigh ward for one seat with Paul Bennet for the Lib Dems taking on David Chambers for the Conservatives, Labour’s Owen Walters and independent Caroline Bovey.

In the West ward, two seats are up for grabs and Lib Dem Richard Whitehead takes on John Raine and Natalie McVey for the Greens and Conservative candidate Jennie Kelly.

The contest in Upper Howsell will see Labour’s Jan Blazak take on Surbjit Brierley for the Conservatives, Lib Dem Will Chaundy and the Green’s Jules Wood.

And in the Upton and Ripple ward two seats will be filled by either Martin Allen and Rebecca Rollinson for the Greens, Jeremy Owenson and Andrew Waddell for the Conservatives, Liz Mills for the Lib Dems or Doug Guest for Reform UK.

For the two seats representing the Alfrick, Leigh and Rushwick ward, Paul Selway-Swift will be representing the Conservatives, Sarah Rouse and Peter Whatley both stand as Malvern Hills Independents and Linda Hardwick stands for the Lib Dems.