‘ALL FOR ONE, ONE FOR ALL’

In recent weeks I have had cause to give consideration to this quote from the 19thC novel by Alexandre Dumas, The Three Musketeers; a group of chivalrous swordsmen who fight for justice. It seems that locally elected representatives have a lot in common with them.

The quote means that ‘each individual should act for the benefit of the group, and the group should act for the benefit of each individual’. All very interesting when it comes to local politics.

According to the Local Government Association ‘a councillor's primary role (their underlining, not mine) is to represent their ward or division and the people who live in it. Councillors provide a bridge between the community and the council, being an advocate for local residents, signposting them to the right people and keeping them informed about issues that affect them’

This is a view I share, but not one universally acknowledged by a number of my fellow councillors. Somerset is a largely rural county and we are fortunate in that many people, often of retirement age, choose to re-locate here. The impact of this can be a double-edge sword (Musketeers analogy?!). There are those, often with income at their disposal, who are perceived to be ‘taking over’, causing resentment amongst those born and bred in the area. Then, particularly when it comes to planning, there is the NIMBY (not in my back yard) syndrome; which frustrates the hell out of developers, and sometime planning officers. We live in a constantly changing environment and having invested money, time and emotional energy in your dream home it must be really angry-making to find development encroaching on the idyllic lifestyle you dreamed of. This is a view I can sympathise with on some levels; the NIMBY refrain is persistent but in reality most people just want to have their views and opinions considered, even if the outcome is not always desirable. All this aside, significant research has shown that where we live does have a huge impact on our mental well-being. For those making a conscious decision to seek a rural environment I can see why they would want to protect it, finding it distressing to discover that a housing estate is about to be built on their doorstep.

South Somerset are currently reviewing their planning process, which everyone agrees is long overdue. Local councillors are involved in the reform that is taking place, but it concerns me that some hold the view that ‘parish and town councils have to adjust to the district council’s way of working, and learn to vote with their heads instead of their hearts’. It will be interesting, come election time, if the electorate do indeed vote with their heads instead of their hearts. I stand by the view that I have been elected, in the face of increasing bureaucracy, to represent the local community.

Where we live IS an emotional issue; can it be so wrong for an Englishman to consider his home his castle?