Paul lives in the centre of Lancaster and works full-time as a maths teacher in a local secondary school.
Before becoming a councillor, Paul volunteered for the Samaritans for over 20 years, where he provided emotional support to those in crisis, as well as being branch chairman and leading outreach work with other agencies to better support callers.
Paul was first elected as City Councillor for Castle Ward in May 2019.
Paul believes that we all have a role to play in supporting and improving community life and has a vision of a more liveable city in Lancaster, in which we have the best possible living environment, opportunity for sustainable living and travel, and reduced isolation in the community.
Paul is active in helping to keep our city clean and tidy, organising litter picks and community weeding. In 2024, with other Green Councillors and local residents, he successfully got the County Council to agree to a trial on certain streets to stop weeds being treated with glyphosate spray, due to concerns about the effects of this herbicide on humans and the environment – with residents instead taking responsibility for weeding to improve the appearance of our streets and support biodiversity.
On transport, Paul has been actively campaigning for pedestrian and road safety for many years as a member of Dynamo Cycle Campaign, where he has led campaigns, and worked hard to bring required improvements to the attention of the Council. He consulted with the County Council on the Transport Master Plan and proposed imaginative solutions to encourage sustainable transport. Since being elected, Paul worked with the County council to propose changes to road layouts to give more space for cyclists and pedestrians during the emergency phase of the Covid pandemic, and brought the City Council together to call on County to introduce a 20mph speed limit through the centre of Lancaster.
On housing, Paul understands public concerns about affordable housing and the unsuitable conversion of homes to rental housing for multiple people and wishes to reverse this through changes to the licensing of smaller HMOs.
Paul is also an advocate for recycling and initiated the setting up of a Recycling Working Group comprising Councillors from all parties on the City Council.
To contact Cllr Stubbins – email: pstubbins@lancaster.gov.uk