HAGLEY has bucked the national trend at district level by becoming a political free zone for the first time its election history.

Independent candidates Rachel Jenkins and Steve Colella convincingly beat their Conservative rivals to claim places on Bromsgrove District Council.

Rachel Jenkins polled 942 votes to beat Keith Grant-Pearce (who polled 588) to represent Hagley East, while Steve Colella clocked up 1,349 votes to finish well clear of Ed Moore (who polled 700) to take Hagley West.

Mr Colella, a former Conservative who is also chairman of Hagley Parish Council, admitted to being very satisfied with the result and said: "They used to say that if you put a tin of blue rosettes up in Hagley, then people would vote for it - which is a bit of an insult.

"What we asked was for people to put their political affiliation aside when it came to the local elections.

"Issues such as roads, planning and infra-structure, we can influence what happens on people's doorstep. Ours was a community driven election.

"However, we were never complacent and put the hard work in. Our only fear was that people would choose their preferred party from the General Election in the district as well, so we tried to put over the point that people had a choice locally and a different path."

The pair now plan to join forces with a group of independent ratepayers to give communities in Bromsgrove a greater say in district matters.

Mr Colella added: "There's a great deal of work to be done.

"Hagley has seen no money at all from the New Homes Bonus scheme. It has gone straight into a central pot which is earmarked for continued investment into Bromsgrove town centre, most notably for the redevelopment of the Dolphin Centre and the District Council offices.

"There has been no investment in Hagley, no engagement and no consultation.

"There has also been a total lack of public funding for Hagley's ever ageing and overstretched community facilities."

Rachel Jenkins added: "We now represent a good proportion of the population in the district and they have spoken. They are fed of being ignored by the political parties. We promised change and we aim to deliver it."

Long-serving Conservative councillor and leader of Bromsgrove District Council, Margaret Sherry, hung on to her Belbroughton Romsley seat with 2,133 votes and fellow Tory Christopher Allen-Jones also won a seat, having polled 1,874 votes, after long-serving Conservative councillor Janice Boswell stepped down after 15 years as Furlongs ward councillor.