PROMINENT Green Party councillor Craig Simmons is quitting Oxford City Council.

Mr Simmons, who is leader of the Green group on the council, is not seeking re-election in the council elections on Thursday, May 6.

He has served the St Mary’s ward in East Oxford for eight years but has decided to take a break from politics to focus on his environmental consultancy business and charity commitments.

But he has vowed to return and will seek re-election in the future.

He said: “My business is doing well and I have been offered some charity work that will take me away in the summer.

“I will be around to support the group and I will stay an active member of the Green Party.”

Mr Simmons stood down from Oxfordshire County Council in 2009 after 12 years.

Fellow Green Party councillor Sushila Dhall, who represents Carfax, is not seeking re-election to the city council as she is the Green Party’s prospective parliamentary candidate for Oxford East.

Independent Working Class Association councillor Jane Lacey, who represents Northfield Brook, will also stand down in May.

Mrs Lacey said she had become disillusioned by the politics of the council but vowed to remain a community campaigner in Blackbird Leys.

She said: “I don’t do politics, I do community work. I will still be involved in Blackbird Leys as I have lived here all my life.”

Elsewhere in the city, Liberal Democrat Chris Scanlan, who represents Barton and Sandhills, is standing stand down in May after four years as a city councillor due to work commitments.

Nominations have closed for next month’s Oxford City Council election and to find out who is standing in your area visit oxfordmail.co.uk Half of the council’s 48 seats will be up for election on May 6 – with one seat being contested in each of the city’s 24 wards.

Labour took control of the city council at the 2008 elections. Prior to that, the authority had been ruled by the Liberal Democrats. But with elections for 24 seats, the political balance could shift once again.

Elections will also be held by West Oxfordshire District Council and Cherwell District Council on May 6.

In West Oxfordshire, 16 seats will be contested representing one third of the council. WODC is currently Conservative-controlled.

In Cherwell, 17 seats are up for election, representing one third of the council. The council is also currently Conservativ- controlled.

To be eligible to vote, residents must be registered to vote by April 20. For more information visit aboutmyvote.co.uk