CABSTAND road layout campaigner David Jolley has been chosen as the new district councillor for Portishead - following a hotly contested election contest. Mr Jolley, who led the campaign for changes in the traffic light system, collecting thousands of sig

CABSTAND road layout campaigner David Jolley has been chosen as the new district councillor for Portishead - following a hotly contested election contest.Mr Jolley, who led the campaign for changes in the traffic light system, collecting thousands of signatures of support, took the North Somerset Council seat for west ward for the Conservatives with 488 votes.Coming in second, just 36 votes behind, was Portishead and North Weston town councillor Jean Lord who was representing the Liberal Democrats. In third place was Labour and Co-operative Party candidate Pat Gardener with 205 votes and in fourth place was independent candidate Reyna Knight who polled 108 votes.In the town council elections, Liberal Democrat Colin Howells was elected with 426 votes.He was closely followed by Georgina Way who was standing for the Conservative party, who polled 419 votes.Labour and Co-operative Party candidate Pat Gardener polled 244 votes and Reyna Knight, independent,polled 156 votes. The Portishead west ward turn out was 48 per cent.Mr Jolley said: "It was a nail biting election and a very closely fought one. I am delighted to have been elected and will continue to campaign for changes to the Cabstand. I will be investigating the plans to put in the extra lane fully and asking for costings on my alternative plan to replace the lights with a roundabout."My main interest however will be looking after the interests of those people in my ward."The west ward seat was left vacant by councillor Nick Brown who died earlier this year.In Yatton Liberal Wendy Griggs took the seat which was left vacant following the death of long standing councillor Greta Lewis. The elections come in the same week as Nailsea councillor Bob Coleman swapped his allegiance as an Independent to the Conservative party following a row about the awarding of North Somerset Council's waste management contract. The move to the Conservatives means the true blues have 24 members on the council, the same as the Lib Dems.