'Here's what we want to see from Doncaster mayor'
Voters in Doncaster will be able to cast their ballot for a directly elected mayor, local councillor and parish representatives on 1 May.
The reopening of the city's airport has been a central point of campaigning from parties but three people involved in Doncaster communities explain what matters most to them.
Michael Price owns what is believed to be the city's only supper club, which he hosts from his home in Town Fields.
The Gourmet Kitchen owner has been running his business for 14 years and also works as a restaurant consultant.
He says the industry has been under "relentless" strain for several years.
"My wife and I are very lucky as we run a very tight, small business but lots of friends within the industry with very successful businesses and Michelin-starred restaurants are really struggling.
"Ever since Covid a lot of them have got loans that need repaying, there's been a massive increase in inflation and the cost of ingredients and the increase in VAT is something that has never been addressed.
"Typically, the hospitality business in the good days would run on a 10% margin.
"Now a lot of businesses are not making any profit whatsoever, if they are just treading water they are doing well, and then we are seeing other restaurants going bust."
Michael wants councillors and the mayor to focus on the city centre.
"Everywhere is struggling with diminishing visitors for town centres and when there are no shoppers in the area, you get all the anti-social behaviour which you can see a lot of in Doncaster. There are people with complex lives and drug addicts.
"I think that really needs to be addressed, even if the council has to fund police officers."
The city centre is also a concern for Chris Cuthbert who owns bike shop Pedal Power.
He says his business's biggest challenge is crime.
"We deal with a lot of burglaries and shoplifting, we have had a string of attempted burglaries pretty much consistently for the last few years.
"We had about 14 attempts within about six months at some point last year and that's not just isolated to us, that's all the businesses locally," he explains.
"We certainly need a reduction in crime. We need to have a general overhaul on a ground level, we need to see more policing and more engagement from the council," he adds.
Chris is also keen to see more investment in apprenticeships for young people as the skills needed to repair bikes is changing with the switch to electric cycles.
"One of the biggest issues we have is staffing.
"Across the board there has been massive governmental support in cycling and green initiatives but we are not seeing any apprenticeships coming through.
"We are spending £20m on cycle networks on the roads in Doncaster but there seems to be nothing coming through to support the growth of these initiatives," he adds.
While reopening Doncaster Sheffield Airport is a key focus for politicians, elderly people are said to be more concerned about roads, says Collette Bunker.
She is chief executive at Be:friend, a charity which helps reduce loneliness and isolation in older people.
They recently held a workshop to find out what issues elderly people were concerned about.
"When it comes to getting out and about, our older neighbours really have to think about what routes to take because they say there's a very short amount of time to cross with the green man on a pedestrian crossing.
"A lot of our older neighbours will really think about where they are going and there are certain roads they won't cross because of the panic of getting across the road in a few seconds.
"It's such an easy fix to look at pedestrian crossings," she says.
Older residents also specifically mentioned housing, according to Collette.
"There are some newly built bungalows for people aged 55-plus, accessible for wheelchair users, but they are built on two huge hills.
"So getting anywhere proves very challenging, in fact, the residents have nicknamed it Cardiac Hill.
"Looking at hills and proximity to shops during planning are little things that would make older neighbours' lives so much easier," she adds.
There are a total of 12 candidates for mayor standing for election on 1 May.
They are:
David Bettney – Social Democratic Party
Frank Calladine - British Democratic Party
Andy Hiles - Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition
Nick Fletcher – Conservative Party
Ahsan Jamil – Workers Party of Britain
Alexander Jones – Reform UK
Ros Jones – Labour Party
Mihai Melenciuc – Liberal Democrats
Richie Vallance – Independent
Andrew Walmsley – Yorkshire Party
Doug Wright – Independent
You can find out more about all the candidates here.
Listen to highlights from South Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, catch up with the latest episode of Look North
The candidates vying to be Mayor of Doncaster
What does the Mayor of Doncaster do?
Who can vote in the May local elections?

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


San Francisco Chronicle
35 minutes ago
- San Francisco Chronicle
London Breed's former chief of staff to lead urban think tank SPUR
Sean Elsbernd, a former member of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors who most recently served as chief of staff to former Mayor London Breed, has been tapped to become chief executive officer of the urban think tank SPUR. Elsbernd will replace Alicia John-Baptiste, who left the position in February to become chief of infrastructure, climate and mobility for Mayor Daniel Lurie. A city hall insider who has served as both an elected politician and low-key, behind-the-scenes power broker, Elsbernd led city and county operations for Breed and oversaw the city's regional partnerships and state legislative work. He previously served as state director for the late U.S. Senator Dianne Feinstein. 'Sean is a thoughtful and values-driven leader with deep knowledge of how Bay Area government works and how to build strong public partnerships that move policy forward,' said Lydia Tan, Chair of SPUR's Board of Directors. 'He understands SPUR's mission and brings the experience and vision we need to lead the organization into its next chapter.' SPUR, which has offices in San Jose, Oakland and San Francisco, bills itself as a 'good government' think tank that publishes policy reports laying out the case for how to improve public transit, preserve the environment, build more housing and make government more efficient and effective. Recent policy reports include: '10 ideas for equitable transportation in Oakland'; how the Bay Area could grow its population without increasing water demand; and how to reform the region's sales taxes. While SPUR doesn't endorse individual candidates its ideas are often in sync with the moderate faction of the city's political spectrum while its board of directors and membership is dominated by real estate developers, architects, nonprofit leaders and affordable housing leaders. Recently, Mayor Daniel Lurie implemented SPUR's recommendation to reorganize the Mayor's Office and create new roles to improve collaboration and accountability. SPUR also played a central role in advocating for $5.1 billion in state funding that included $400 million for Bay Area transit operations. Elsbernd has held several transit leadership roles, including serving as Chair of the Caltrain Board of Directors and as a Director of the Golden Gate Bridge, Highway and Transportation District. He led San Francisco's COVID response, providing oversight of the Department of Public Health and Department of Emergency Management. 'Having worked with Sean for years in various roles, I know he is the right person to help SPUR boost our local economies, advance new ideas and reforms and improve the lives of our residents,' said Caltrain Executive Director Michelle Bouchard. Elsbernd officially assumes the role later this month and has already begun working closely with staff, the board of directors and regional leaders to carry the organization's mission forward, according to SPUR. The organization, which holds regular talks and panels at its Urban Center at 654 Mission St., had $5.9 million in expenses in the last fiscal year. It generated $4.6 million in revenues – a combination of membership fees, grants and special events. The nonprofit took in another in another $1.3 million in donations, according to the group's annual report. 'I'm honored to be joining SPUR,' Elsbernd said. 'Throughout my public service career, I've admired SPUR's work from both inside local government and as a resident of this region. The chance to lead an organization that's driving practical, forward-looking solutions is a privilege.'
Yahoo
39 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Kennedy names new members of CDC vaccine advisory panel days after removing previous advisers
Just two days after retiring the entirety of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's vaccine advisory panel, US Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has appointed several prominent critics of the government's Covid-19 response to that committee. He announced eight new members of the CDC's Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, or ACIP, on Wednesday. Kennedy had said Monday that the previous 17-member panel that makes recommendations on who should get vaccines and when was rife with conflicts of interest and that he would appoint new 'highly credentialed' experts in time for the panel's June 25 meeting, at which the members are expected to discuss guidance for Covid-19 and HPV shots, among others. In a statement Wednesday, Kennedy said the reassembled panel will demand 'definitive safety and efficacy data before making any new vaccine recommendations, but will also review data for the current vaccine schedule as well.' The eight new ACIP members include Dr. Robert Malone, a biochemist who made early innovations in the field of messenger RNA but in more recent years has been a vocal critic of mRNA technology in Covid-19 vaccines. The CDC recently narrowed its recommendations for mRNA Covid-19 shots, but some advocates in the Make America Healthy Again space have pressed Kennedy to go further and bar the vaccines entirely. Another new member is Dr. Martin Kulldorff, a biostatistician and epidemiologist who co-authored an October 2020 strategy on herd immunity known as the Great Barrington Declaration with Dr. Jay Bhattacharya, now director of the US National Institutes of Health. Both Malone's and Kulldorff's names were circulated early in the second Trump administration as potential advisers on ACIP or other panels, according to a person familiar with the process who requested anonymity because they weren't authorized to speak with CNN. Kennedy also chose Dr. James Pagano, an emergency medicine physician he described as a 'strong advocate for evidence-based medicine' who has served on hospital committees and medical executive boards. Dr. Retsef Levi, an MIT professor who has published studies on mRNA vaccines and cardiovascular events, is also joining the panel. Levi is a professor of operations management. Several of the new members have served in federal health agencies previously, including Dr. Joseph Hibbeln, a former acting chief of the NIH's section on nutritional neurosciences. Dr. Cody Meissner, a Dartmouth professor of pediatrics who also signed the Great Barrington Declaration, has previously served on ACIP and on the US Food and Drug Administration's Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee. Dr. Vicky Pebsworth, the Pacific region director of the National Association of Catholic Nurses, also served on the FDA committee and on a national panel reviewing the 2009 H1N1 swine flu vaccine. Dr. Michael Ross, a professor of obstetrics and gynecology at George Washington University and Virginia Commonwealth University, has previously served on the CDC's Advisory Committee for the Prevention of Breast and Cervical Cancer. Kennedy also nodded in his statement to Ross' 'continued service on biotech and healthcare boards.' The private equity company Havencrest, in which Ross is an operating partner, describes him on its site as a 'serial CEO' who has served on the boards of several biotechnology companies.
Yahoo
39 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Popular Tijuana taqueria opens location in San Diego County
(FOX 5/KUSI) — Tacos el Franc, one of Tijuana's most renowned taquerias, opened its first location in the United States this Wednesday in a shopping plaza in National City.••• Lee este artículo en español The new location is located in Westfield Plaza Bonita, right at the plaza's east entrance. Two Baja California restaurants receive Michelin stars The taco chain is known for its Tijuana-style meats, and its menu includes asada, adobada, cabeza, suadero, tripa, campechano, and lengua, as well as vegetarian tacos and other dishes. Its name comes from the French ancestry of the family that founded the company. Founder Javier Valadez worked at a taco stand in Tijuana in 1974 and opened the first Tacos el Franc in 1996. Visit The San Diego Guide to find unique places and experiences The taqueria has been recognized by the Michelin Guide and gained even more fame when it was featured in the popular Netflix series, Taco Chronicles. The Tijuana location is located at the intersection of downtown and Zona Río. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.