Cllr Sam Carling
City Councillor for West Chesterton
I’m originally from the North East of England, and moved to Cambridge to study – then fell in love with the city! I have a background in biological sciences, and work as a researcher. I’ve had the privilege of representing West Chesterton on the City Council since May 2022, and I’m hoping residents will choose to re-elect me this coming May.
I have a strong record of action in West Chesterton. I’ve secured funding for a variety of local projects, including improvements to Alexandra Gardens and additional trees on our streets. I’ve helped residents with local planning issues, housing problems, and a variety of other individual issues – from broken lights to faulty, noisy drain covers. I’ve also been driving Labour’s efforts to end pollution in the River Cam, such as through supporting a section of the river to become designated bathing water, which (if approved by DEFRA) will place new legal obligations on water companies to clean up their act.
In terms of my broader work within the council, I am the Executive Councillor for Open Spaces and City Services – meaning I oversee a variety of our day-to-day services, including how our parks and open spaces are maintained. In that capacity, I’m working to deliver Cambridge Labour’s pledge around tackling the biodiversity emergency. I’m also heavily involved in our work to modernise the council, protecting our services and improving how we deliver them despite the Conservative government’s budget cuts.
I also do a lot of work on the regulatory side of the council, being part of committees that make decisions on planning, licensing and employment cases. I find this work very rewarding, and seeing such a variety of cases across the city ensures that I can offer effective support to West Chesterton residents that raise planning and licensing issues with me.