Ben Walker

Ben was born at the Bristol Royal Infirmary (St Michaels) and originally lived in Yate until the age of two with his family. The family then moved closer to their families in Filton, Little Stoke & Southmead, moving into Conygre Grove in Filton.

Ben grew up in Filton, attending Filton Hill Primary School and then Filton High School. His father was a carpenter by trade, carrying out his apprenticeship at Rolls Royce, then working at the BBC as a set builder before starting his own construction business which still operates today. Bens mother predominately brought up the family also working at Filton College and then for a local doctors surgery. Ben has two sisters and one brother.

Ben was a keen sportsman and Marine Cadet whilst in school, before becoming a Sea Cadet Instructor and developing a Junior Section for 10-12 year olds.

He then went on to join Her Majesty’s Royal Navy on completion of A-levels and served at various establishments and Naval Bases, including a tour in the Falklands Islands. Type 42 Destroyers, HMS York & Southampton were both served on by Ben where he saw active service with HMS Southampton in the Afghanistan war.

After serving seven years in the Royal Navy, Ben left and trained as a Hotel & Public House Manager, returning and working in Bristol before starting his own bar-bistro in Bristol’s city centre. Simultaneously to this, he started his own construction company, working alongside his father, again which operates today.

Ben‘s involvement with politics and local government began in 2005 and he was elected to Bradley Stoke Town Council in 2007 where he lives. He has served as the Mayor of Bradley Stoke for two consecutive terms and the Vice Chairman of South Gloucestershire Council in his first year of election to the Local Authority in 2011. He has also served on the Standards Board for England (South Gloucestershire) which dealt with the Councillors Code of Conduct and he also managed political campaigns locally.

He is an extremely pro-active local councillor with key interests in young people, community and community development. His involvement with local charities has seen him raise over £32K in the last three years for a number of local charities including, St Peters Hospice, Local Scouts, Conservation Groups, Childline, Men’s Health Charities to name a few.

He currently supports a number of local charities, grass root football clubs including the 1st Team Sponsor for Bradley Stoke Town FC, is a trustee of the Almondsbury Charity and a School Governor at Meadowbrook Primary School in Bradley Stoke.

Ben continues to represent Bradley Stoke North on both the Town and South Gloucestershire Councils, working extremely hard for the residents of the locality and right across the district and city when required. With a reputation to speak out for the good of the community and act to assist people, Ben is an example of what should be expected from locally elected representatives at all levels.