The Maldon District Green party has announced its candidates for the Essex County Council elections on Thursday, 6 May.

For the first time in many years, there will be a Green Party candidate standing in each of the three Maldon Districts: Maldon, Southminster and Heybridge & Tollesbury.

All three candidates are lifelong residents of the Dengie Peninsula and longstanding supporters of The Green Party.

The candidates are:

•Janet Band (nee Dine), Maldon – Janet Band is a Professor of International Economic Development Law and former barrister who has lived in Burnham-on-Crouch for many years. Janet is a longstanding environmental campaigner whose priorities include facilitating greener transportation and the introduction of cycle infrastructure in the local area.

•James Taylor, Southminster – James Taylor was born and lives in Burnham-on-Crouch. He holds a masters degree in Human Ecology and is the former chair of the environmental charity, The Permaculture Association. James' priorities include working with local nature conservancy organisations to fund biodiversity initiatives and creating new allotments and green spaces in the local area.

•Jonathan King, Heybridge & Tollesbury – Jonathan King has lived in the local area all his life, running a smallholding in Tolleshunt D'Arcy until his recent retirement. His priorities include increasing funding for home insulation to those on lower incomes, as well as forming a council 'task force' to propose environmental policy initiatives.

The candidates issued the following joint statement: "People are really starting to wake up to the seriousness of the environmental problems we face and, although local politics is largely about the practical decisions to do with essential services, trying to transition to a 'greener', more sustainable world has to happen at every level of society.

"The county council should lead the way and help to make sure it's at the forefront of the agenda. We hope we can rely