I’m up at 7am on a clear, crisp morning, so walk into town to buy a newspaper. I'm fortunate enough to live within a pleasant ten-minute walk of the town centre, so rarely drive there. I discuss last night’s football results with a newsagent – my team, West Ham, lost again.
On my way home there is a notice stating that a footpath is being closed for six months. I didn’t know anything about this – only recently, a local MP opened it at a ceremony. I write a note to make further enquiries.
I read my newspaper over breakfast. There is still very little good news in the headlines, with mostly doom and gloom. Is the media making this recession worse?
I decide to deliver leaflets to a residential area in my patch. Not only is this good exercise but an opportunity to see any new developments and issues in my area. I am stopped by a local resident who complains about a roundabout which has recently been built on a main road to service a housing development. He says it is badly designed and dangerous. I promise to follow this up and report back to him.
As my wife and I are both busy this evening, our main meal is lunch. She is the deputy mayor so is out most evenings. I watch Working Lunch to keep in touch with financial and business matters before preparing for a steering group meeting about town centre developments.
An enlightened approach has been taken to form this group. It comprises of elected members and officers from the three tiers of local government as well as the Fire Service – all key landowners in the town. We have appointed a consultant who, this afternoon, will present three scenarios of how the town centre could be developed. These are very exciting times and it is rewarding to be involved.
Arriving home at 5.30pm, I step over today’s post. Whereas it used to always arrive by 9.30am, deliveries today are very erratic. I sort between Council and private letters and immediately recycle the junk mail before logging on to my laptop to catch up with emails. On average I receive 10 to 12 emails a day – most are for information, but a few need action. I send emails to relevant officers regarding the footpath closure and the new roundabout.
Next, I walk back to the Civic Centre – where I spend half my life – to observe the town council's planning committee. They are discussing several interesting applications in my division.
Home before 9pm, there is a chance to start reading the papers for a forthcoming Audit & Best Value Scrutiny meeting whilst having a much needed coffee and chocolate digestive. It’s not too bad this time as there are less than 100 pages, but they take time to absorb, being fairly detailed. I finally relax at 10pm to watch the BBC News to hear the new calamities of today.
East Sussex County Council