Who is Sophie?
Hello, my name is Sophie Dack, and I am proud to be standing for re-election to Dinnington Ward at the Local Election on May 2nd 2024.
Over the last 5 years, I have been at the heart of our local community, supporting our fantastic local MP Alexander Stafford and working with residents on a vast range of issues. What has struck me most has been the strong sense of community spirit and a desire for change. 50 years of Labour in power in Rotherham has meant 5 decades of Dinnington being ignored in favour of Rotherham Town Centre, Dinnington being overlooked for funding and investment and a general sense that Rotherham does not care about us.
Alongside Ben, Julz and Alexander, I have been determined to turn the tide on this. As a Local Conservative team, we have united with the community to put pressure on the council to step up and finally prioritise Dinnington. The culmination of this long campaign was our being successful in securing millions of pounds worth of funding to regenerate the market area on Laughton Road. But this is not the end of the campaign and, more recently, we have built upon this success by ensuring that Dinnington will have a banking hub within the next 12 months.
As one of the largest towns in the area, Dinnington has the potential to be a bustling high street and a destination for surrounding, smaller areas. Because successive Labour councils have failed to plan for Dinnington, it isn’t there; however, with a strong, Local Conservative team behind residents and businesses, we are confident that now could be a great time for the area. With new businesses looking to invest in Dinnington, a McDonald’s set to open and a brand-new market with high quality retail units on the horizon, Dinnington’s future is bright.
The communities in Dinnington Ward are diverse, with our town centre surrounded by beautiful rural villages with different strengths and challenges. I have worked hard alongside Brookhouse and Slade Hooton residents to hold water companies and the council to account and fix persistent issues with the brook.
I am passionate about preserving our countryside. Do we need new homes? Yes, but once the countryside has been concreted over, it is gone, taking nature and biodiversity with it, and turning us into a concrete jungle just to tick housing target boxes. And where we do build new homes, they are no good to anyone if we don’t build communities first. Without schools, GP surgeries, pharmacies and community amenities, we are destroying our countryside and parks and increasing flooding risks for partially formed housing estates with lots of problems. When I am not working or campaigning, one of my favourite past-times is dog walking in our lovely area (with the Laughton-en-le-Morthen to Roche Abbey route being a favourite) and I want to see these areas preserved for future generations.
The issue that comes up time and time again is road safety. I am working with residents in Laughton-en-le-Morthen and Throapham, plus residents on Swinston Hill Road, to tackle the issues of speeding traffic and dangerous parking. As councillors, we have secured almost £100k to build a safe footpath between Laughton Common and Thurcroft following the tragic death of a teenage boy on this road last year. But this is just one road, and we will continue to call for road safety measures in the areas mentioned if re-elected. Rotherham Labour are pre-occupied building cycle lanes in Rotherham Town Centre and illuminating clock towers, when really, they should be tackling the real issues facing our residents, like resurfacing roads and tackling congestion on the A57 from the Red Lion roundabout.
I will continue to call for a police station on Dinnington High Street, to clamp down on crime and antisocial behaviour in our town centre and to support residents in villages like Firbeck, Letwell, Gildingwells and Carr in tackling issues like off-road bikes, theft, and rural crime. Labour have been consistently clear that they do not think this is the answer – they say that there is no funding for this, but then underspend their budget by millions. What they mean is that it is not their priority. If re-elected, I will make the case for a police station alongside my colleagues.
Dinnington has been overlooked for long enough. If re-elected, I reaffirm my promise to residents to be a strong voice for Dinnington.
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