A Little About Me
Born and bred in the Garden of England, I left my small home village at the age of 20 to join the Royal Air Force. I trained as an Electronics Technician, and served for 10 years, mainly in the UK, but I did do a six-month tour in the Falkland Islands.
I left the Royal Air Force at the age of 30 as my military career was not going anywhere, but have used my military background as the basis for the civilian career that has followed. I still work in the defence industry to this day. I moved to Wiltshire in June 2001 and lived in Chippenham from then until I moved to Calne in 2014.
I have always been interested in politics, and take note of what our politicians get up to. I have always voted, and I strongly believe that you should always be able to get your voice heard. I had been in regular contact with Cllr Ian Thorn about several issues in the town over recent years and in February 2022 I was asked by Cllr Thorn if I would like to stand to fill one of the two posts that had become vacant after the councillors elected at the previous elections, had retired.
To be honest, this was a role, that I had never actually even considered before. Still, after careful consideration and several conversations with other councillors, I agreed to stand, but so did 10 other people. I was lucky and successfully co-opted into Calne Town Council Central Ward on the 26th of March 2022.
What I Did as a Town Councillor
Contrary to what many believe, being a town councillor did not come with brown envelopes loaded with used tenners or any other kind of bribe, favour or backhander. It is unpaid (unlike your Wiltshire Councillors who get an “Allowance”) and I can categorically say that I have recioeved or been paid to do anything as a councillor. In fact I even pay for all the costs for managing and running this website myself. All Councillors are bound by the Seven Principles of Public Life (here).
I still have a full-time job, which pays a salary, so I can pay my bills and live the life to which I have become accustomed (drinking cider and going on holiday). I also have some caring responsibilities for my father who is in his 90’s. My unpaid role as a Town Councillor was on top of those other responsibilities.
It was my role as a Town Councillor to represent you, the constituents at the town level, to help make decisions on the finances of the town council and to hold the officers (paid employees) of the town council to account. To find out more about what Calne Town Council does and its responsibilities, please visit the Calne Town Council website here.
As part of my role as a Town Councillor, I saton four sub-committees and a number of working groups, as well as doing a small amount of casework for residents.
No individual town councillor has overall responsibility and no individual councillor can give orders to the council or its officers. All the decisions we make are made as a coporate body via the vote. As individual councilors we can request things be done and things be changed but the final decision has to be agreed by majority vote. This does often slow down progress, but it does ensure no individual councillor has more sway or influence than others, and that any decisions made are done so with impartiality.
Sub-Committees
To help speed up the decision making but retain the impartiality that is required, Calne Town Council has delegated some decisions via four sub-committees to the Full Council, These four sub committees are made up of various Town Councillors and have representation from all four wards.
The Planning, Licensing, and Highways Consultative Committee
This meets on a three-weekly cycle, to deal with the town council’s response to planning applications, licensing requests, and highway consultations. This committee is one of those I really enjoy sitting on and getting involved in the discusions, as it can have a real impact on the town.
The Amenities and Facilities Committee
This meets quarterly to deals with matters relating to our parks, buildings, sports pitches, cemeteries, allotments, play areas, and green spaces.
Town and Community Matters
This deals with matters including, allocating grants, community events, supporting the local business economy, tourism, community engagement, and projects.
The Governance, Policy and Resources Committee
This meets quarterly and deals with matters including, finance, auditing, staffing matters, and policies.