The chairman of Menston Community Association has announced he will stand as an independent candidate for the Wharfedale ward in this year’s Bradford Council elections. Dr Stephen Ellams (pictured) is teaching at The University of Leeds having retired as examiner for the Royal College of Surgeons in Edinburgh and from the NHS as a specialist oral surgeon. He has been involved in local issues for many years, particularly the issue of planning in and around Wharfedale, and says he is keen to make sure the potential merging of Burley-in-Wharfedale and Menston is resisted.