Brian's Empire KE
Brian Kimathi
What are the issues in the suburb that keeps changing its mind?
In the last three local elections, voters in this Peterborough ward have elected candidates from three different parties.
In 2022 they chose a Conservative, in 2023 a Liberal Democrat, and in 2024, a Peterborough First independent candidate.
Ahead of the next city council elections on 7 May, what do people who live, work or play in the suburb say are the big issues on their minds?
Ben Schofield/BBC
If she ran Peterborough City Council for a week, what would be her top priority?
"Definitely clean up the city," she says.
"They really need to get somebody in the morning to jet wash that city centre because it's absolutely filthy.
"Peterborough needs a good clean up."
Alongside potholes, fly-tipping is one of the biggest issues on her mind.
She says there is "nothing appealing about Peterborough at all at the minute" and feels the state of the city is deterring visitors.
Hampton Vale ward is at the south-western tip of Peterborough, almost four miles (6.5km) from the city centre.
Its western border is the A1(M) motorway, where huge warehouses have been built, and to the south-east – across the border into Huntingdonshire – is the village of Yaxley.
The community has been built over the past two decades on the site of the old Orton brickworks, which closed in the 1980s.
The claypits have become large, inter-connected lakes, home to swans and geese.
On the surface, it appears peaceful and tidy.
But standing at a bus stop, Maria Djmanca echoes Defalco, saying there is "too much rubbish in the streets".
Her priorities? Safety and cleaning.
"But first is safety," she adds.
Ben Schofield/BBC
Until November 2023, the council had been led by the Conservatives for more than two decades.
Ben Schofield/BBC
As well as its Anglican congregation, it is also home to a community cafe and several group activities through the week.
Fresh from a Pilates class in the church hall, Lise Gothard, 54, says there is "a lot of talk" online about anti-social behaviour in the Hamptons.
As well as bin fires, she recalls "break-ins; there's cars being stolen; people breaking into garages and stealing motorbikes".
Ben Schofield/BBC
"As a community you just want to feel safe, don't you?
"You don't want to feel that you've got to lock your door – you're going to lock your door – but you know, you want that community feeling."
Having lived in the area "for so long", she adds that it's "sad" to see the community feeling "slipping away".
Ben Schofield/BBC
But he says anti-social behaviour is "one of those things that really does affect people's day-to-day wellbeing".
He and his family were among the first to move to Hampton Vale when they relocated there in 2003.
The kitchen of their home is where his wife Bonnie, also 54, develops recipes for their sauce business.
Bonnie Yau
He, too, recalls a "spate of arson" last summer, when bins were being set on fire.
"It needs to be nipped in the bud because today's petty thief is tomorrow's bank robber," he says.
Choosing who to vote for, he adds, is not just about "who's promising what, but historically who's delivered what".
Ben Schofield/BBC
The affair over Lord Mandelson's security vetting is dominating headlines during the BBC's visit to Hampton Vale.
But none of the small sample of people we speak to mentions Mandelson.
Several other issues do crop up.
Bonnie Yau is one of several to highlight parking issues.
She says she would lower the cost of parking in the city centre "to entice more people into town".
Ben Schofield/BBC
This is "dangerous" for people with disabilities, she says, as well as "mums, dads, [and] carers who have got somebody in a wheelchair or double buggies".
Godfrey, who is taking an art class at CSK church, also mentions she would like to see more community spaces built.
Rosie Adamson, 33, from Swift Pilates and Yoga, runs classes at the church.
She would like more "community spaces that are affordable", as well as improved parks.
Ben Schofield/BBC
He says he will be supporting an "anti-war party" and questions whether money spent on war could be better spent "in our country, our people, our population".
Asked what his biggest issue is, he mentions "Trump" and adds: "If you have money, you have power – you can do whatever you want."
Ben Schofield/BBC
He says he'll choose who he feels has "got the better intentions for the community".
His biggest issue?
"Overcrowding."
Having just found a place to rent on his own, he says the city needs "more places for people to rent, more homes to be on sale, more places to be built".
"A lot of people need a place to stay."
Ben Schofield/BBC
We will find out who wins there after voting closes on 7 May.
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