Hi there, I’m Chris Bowers. Do you want to read about how I single-handedly
- reduced our council tax by 40 per cent?
- increased our kerbside recycling to such a level that an incinerator in Newhaven was no longer necessary?
- limited housing development to a few in-fill houses here and there?
Well if you do, I’ll have to get down to some highly creative writing, because none of the above is remotely true.
That’s the problem with being a councillor – people expect you to do the impossible. Well, the people that know what councillors do (and even who they are) do. That’s the other problem with being a councillor – very few people know who their councillors are, which councils they’re on, and what tasks those councils are responsible for. I remember Norman Baker telling me that when he became our MP he began to get all sorts of letters that he should have received when he was a councillor, simply because people don’t know who to contact about which problems.
So why should anyone be daft enough to even consider becoming a councillor? Before you completely write off my sanity, click the Why I became a councillor tab on the left and see if it might make you rethink the way you view local government. It’s fashionable to think that anyone involved in politics, at any level, is on the take and in it solely for No 1. Well that’s not my experience, in fact there are an awful lot of very good people – of various party affiliations – in politics, especially at district council level. By all means despair about them, but please don’t despise them.
I can’t promise you the kind of dreams I flippantly list in those three bullet points above, because those matters are out of our control. But if you want to contact me on a matter you think I can deal with – such as a rubbish or recycling enquiry, a problem with your council tax, a major planning application (I say ‘major’ because smaller ones such as house extensions are best dealt with between you and LDC’s planning staff), a housing issue, or anything else you think I might be able to help with – give me a call or slip me a letter or email.
Oh yes, one other thing about being a councillor. They call you ‘Councillor’, so by dint of being elected, I’ve gone from being ‘Chris’ or ‘Mr Bowers’ to ‘Councillor Bowers’. Frankly, I haven’t really got my head around this – I know it’s done out of respect, but I can’t help feeling it’s like being called ‘Postman Pat’ or ‘Fireman Sam’. So if you contact me, you don’t need to stand on ceremony. Just tell me what the issue is, and I’ll see what I can do!
Glyndebourne wind turbine
The proposal to put up a wind turbine on Mill Plain above Ringmer has split the village, with many people vehemently opposed to it and many others seeing it as a perfectly good and benign way of generating renewable energy. If you want to see what I’ve said on the subject, click on the Submissions tab to the left to read my submission to the Planning Inquiry that began on 26 February.
Newhaven incinerator
The waste incinerator planned for North Quay in Newhaven is one of our biggest local issues, because if it’s built, it will affect all parts of the Ouse Valley and Ringmer ward which I represent, especially South Heighton. As I’m deeply alarmed by the terribly backward step that this incinerator represents for the environment, I recently wrote a four-page paper explaining the complex planning background to the whole issue. Click on the underlined title above to get access to a link to the paper.
Latest Lewes District Council News
Mystery shoppers try out Environmental Health
Lewes District Council’s Environmental Health department commissioned an independent mystery shopper exercise to establish the quality of service experienced by customers who contact the department by telephone, email or letter.
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