New council chairman is looking to parish's future

July 01 2019
New council chairman is looking to parish's future

The new chairman of St Peter’s Parish Council has outlined issues he sees as priorities after taking up the post.

Alan Tucker was returned to the council in the parish elections and voted into the chair by his fellow members.

He is concerned about the future of the village hall, with the clock running down on the lease it has from Tesco, and what that will mean for community groups that use it for their activities if the facility is lost.

Mr Tucker  is also keen to see St Peter’s green spaces maintained and enhanced and protected in the long term in the face of ongoing planning developments.

“It may be a long way off but I’m concerned about the future of the village hall and, linked to it, the future of Tesco,” he said, “We know that the village hall has a non-negotiable lease until 2027.”

He added that the parish council was collaborating increasingly closely with St Peter’s Village Hall Association on the issue, explaining: “We need to work with the village hall to work out a future here.”

If St Peter’s sought an alternative to the village hall, cost could be a stumbling block Mr Tucker explained, saying: “If you’re going to build a new village hall you have got to get the money – design it, build the thing. Where do we get the money from? That’s if the community want it.”

He said the village hall was well used but: “We might not have anything. We have got to try and invest to protect our facilities by building or keeping hold of that one.”

Outlining his commitment to maintaining St Peter’s green spaces, he said: “St Peter’s, overall, is a low crime area and though there are a few issues, particularly with litter around the MUGA and the shops complex, overall the environment of the parish is good.

“It is, therefore, important to maintain that through keeping our green areas and, where possible, not supporting changes - such as building or alterations - that affects the aesthetics of the area.”

That meant keeping an eye on planning applications to “make sure they fit in.”

He went on: “If we can maintain the aesthetics of St Peter’s these problems are going to stay very, very small because it will be a desirable place to live in.”

In line with that aim he wanted to replace litter bins in the area.

In terms of running the parish council, which has an annual budget of £38,000, Mr Tucker said: “I think you have got to get the processes right because then you can put them in the background and just get on with the work.”

He explained the council was moving into the 20th century by going online, adding: “We are getting better at using social media.

“I feel if we get these things going we will start to get more feedback because we will start to get views coming in about what parishioners want and that way we can try and help.”

 

Alan wants to give something back to the community

Alan Tucker brings experience of human resources and facilities management to his role as St Peter’s Parish Council chairman.

Bristol-born, he went into human resources – then called personnel – with the former Central Electricity Generating Board (CEGB) after attending school in Devon.

He worked in Gloucester for CEGB’s development and construction division and at Morecambe Bay for Nuclear Electric (now EDF) nuclear power stations. Part of his role there was liaising with Lancashire Wildlife Trust on its reserve near the power stations.

Mr Tucker, who is married with two children and one grandchild, moved to Worcester in 1998.

He said he had always been interested in public services and decided to get involved in parish council affairs four years ago.

“Basically I contacted the clerk one day, who said come along, we have got vacancies,” he explained, adding: “See what you think and if you are still interested at the end of it we will go through a co-option process.”

He joined the parish council at the same time as Alan Tidy, who he has succeeded as chairman.

Mr Tucker said: “I love St Peter’s - it’s a lovely suburb, it’s very green.

“It’s quite well serviced. It’s in the right place, with brilliant road links.

“We have enjoyed ourselves here. Trying to do something for the community or give something back to the community just seemed the thing to do.”

He is a Bristol City Football Club season ticket holder and enjoys watching T20 matches at Worcestershire County Cricket Club.