I'd like to thank my fellow candidates in the recent by-election campaign in Shepton Mallet and the returning officer and his staff at Mendip District Council.

As the new Liberal Democrat councillor for Shepton West, I've arrived at an amazing moment since this election removes the Conservative majority on Mendip District Council. My election also breaks the stranglehold on Shepton where four Tory councillors have serially failed to serve this town robustly.

On the doorstep during the election, I and my election team picked up almost universal dislike of many of the council's activities and the perception that the Tory Shepton councillors weren't really that interested in listening to their electorates' issues and problems. Despite the positive PR spin that the Tory-led council seem to put on all that they do (and don't do), it would appear that few, if any, are buying into their propaganda.

There are loads of pressing issues that have been raised during the election campaign and I can't wait to get stuck in to try all I can to solve some or all of them! One of the really fascinating opportunities lies in the new BBC1/Wall to Wall Productions shopping series set in the town which started shooting this week.

Shepton was selected by the production company because it is a prime example of a traditional market town that has been severely (though not irreversibly) damaged by inappropriate and atrocious planning decisions that have impacted the high street and many businesses.

I urge everyone who can, to get involved in the TV series since the town will become the focus of a debate about the shameful bully-boy tactics of the supermarket giants, the capitulation of cowed local authorities (like Mendip) and the way our lives have been changed by the roll-out of football pitch-size retail centres that have knocked the stuffing out of many towns.

If we get it right, we can make the series (due for transmission from November) be a clarion call for imaginative and intelligent regeneration of Shepton's High Street and a host of businesses.

I want to form a Stand Up 4 Shepton group that uses the chance that this TV series offers to expose the rotten way that the town has been conned and pushed around. Shepton was a thriving market town that rivalled (and according to many older residents, beat) Bath and Wells in its range of shops and goods 30 years ago. The Stand Up 4 Shepton campaign will seek out solutions that really will work in the real world, and not just attempt to turn back the clock. However we must make much greater and better use of our long history and our lovely buildings to promote Shepton as the attractive, self-confident place it deserves to be.

The prime time BBC1 TV series is a golden opportunity to confront the iniquities of planning processes that go against the best interests of the wider community (in Shepton and countless other villages, towns and cities throughout the UK) where money talks louder than sense, fairness and democracy.

If you wish to get involved in my Stand Up 4 Shepton campaign then contact me at garfield@standup4shepton.com so we can show that we really care about this place that we're lucky to live and work in!

Councillor Garfield Kennedy Shepton Mallet