Position: Councillor
Committees: Climate & Nature
Working Groups: Policy, Village Design Statement
Outside Body Representative: Community Engagement Forum
After a brief career teaching maths in the Manchester area I moved in 1964 along with my husband, Dave, and baby son to Harris Barton. Dave and I are still there. Whilst bringing up our family I joined the newly formed Community Association and got involved in most of the community activities then in the village and helped to create a few more. This included raising funds for a Community Centre and acquiring the old Church of England school which is now Crossbow House.
Nearly 50 years ago the Government published proposals for a new city centred on Frampton Cotterell stretching from the Bristol boundary to Gloucestershire. This was when I decided I needed to join the Parish Council and stood for election. I developed a keen interest in planning and went on to represent Frampton Cotterell on Northavon District Council, Avon County Council, and South Gloucestershire Councils, having leading roles in Planning and Transport on each of them. Throughout this time my aim has been to do whatever I could to preserve Frampton Cotterell’s identity as a village with the countryside on its doorstep rather than a suburb of Bristol or part of Greater Yate. Unless our current Residents’ Survey tells us that this no longer matters, I will continue to do this as we face the proposed new planning system and South Gloucestershire’s new Local Plan.
From being a small child I have had a passion for what I now know to be Biodiversity. Whilst I am horrified to learn how much has been lost, I am delighted to find myself one of a team of Parish Councillors, led by an enthusiastic and expert Officer, determined to protect what survives in Frampton Cotterell and vastly improve it. This goes hand in hand with playing our part in facing up to the Climate emergency.
