After eight years of dedicated public service, newly retired councillor, Mick Lucas, is stepping away from representing the residents of Rodbourne Cheney and entering the latest phase of his life. We caught up with Mick to ask him about his motivation and time as a councillor, the challenges of local government, and what’s next after politics.
What was the specific moment or issue that first made you decide to run for office?
I’d been involved in a group of the Borough and Parish councils trying to extend the Thamesdown Drive dual carriageway into Great Western Way. I was on there as part of the Rodbourne Cheney Resident Association working with them. This was my starter of wanting to be involved in local issues. So, when the Parish of Central Swindon North was being formed, I put my name forward and was helped by the then Borough Councillor, Des Moffatt.
Saying that, I’d been involved, or on the periphery, with people that were involved in Parish Councils or similar. One of my schoolmates, Ron Hatch was a councillor for Stratton St Margaret. Arthur Miles, the father of another schoolmate, Graham Miles, was a councillor for Highworth Rural District Council. And then there was Jim Masters, who I knew as a trade unionist, Borough Councillor and Mayor, and late became a relative when I married my wife.
I was also active within the Union at work, and that background of being actively involved at work as a union member, and in local issues and affairs as a resident were at the heart of why I decided to run for office.
Looking back at your first weeks on the Council, what surprised you most about how local government works?
I would think some of the new members will find this as well. Parish Councils are at the lower end of the scale compared to others, but it’s the same sort of principle, but possibly on a lower scale. It’s the amount of work and information that’s needed when trying to implement changes and improvements and the challenge of doing so within the council budget. You might want to do something for your area, and it’s a case of getting the money. And then if you’ve got the money, it has to go through various stages, because you have to be transparent with what you’re spending the council’s, money on. For example, if you want a contractor to do work, the process of looking around for contractors, then selecting the best contractor to deliver the requirements at the best price that’s possible takes time. Even with the support of the Parish Clark and Parish officers, the process from an initial idea to a delivered result can be long winded.
When you first became a councillor, did you did you feel that you were provided with the information that you needed to hit the ground running?
There was a little bit of not knowing quite what was going on, but we were rather fortunate with Central Swindon North Parish Council as when they were forming the Parish Council, I think it was agreed initially that the borough councillors for areas within the Parish would be part of the Parish. So, with the likes of Des Moffatt, John Ballman, and Steph Exell, there were councillors who were already involved in local government, from whom councillors, like myself, who were new to local government could learn from as time went on.
What is one thing you wish you had known on day one, that you now know, having been a counsellor for eight years?
Possibly, more than anything, is knowing how much time it takes. And knowing how much time you’ve got to spend on Parish business. A challenge at the time more than anything was attending meetings, which are usually in the evening and go on to eight, nine o’clock, and sometimes even a bit past that at times if there’s a lot on the agenda to go through. This can be a challenge, particularly if you have a full-time job and find yourself trying to find time to eat between finishing work and the start of a committee meeting, whilst facing rush-hour traffic. Outside of meetings your day can be taken up researching issues, reading council documents, and tasks such as checking and approving council expenditure. It can make for a long day.
Of all the projects, votes, or initiatives you’ve been involved in, which one do you hope the community remembers the most?
Up until recently I would have said the Moredon Sporting Hub. I was involved in that a lot from the start, attending meetings between the Parish and Borough and other parties to get it delivered. It was a bit tooth and nail and times before we were able to push it through to the end. For the local people I represented, I’m particularly proud of delivering the all-inclusive play area at Pembroke Gardens. That was a joint effort with other local councillors, Paul Exell and Ian Edwards, with all of us contributing our ward allowances over four years to build up the funds to install the play area. Hopefully that will be followed soon with the conversion of the old changing rooms at Pembroke Gardens to a local community hub for residents.
On a personal note, I was honoured to place the wreath at the Cenotaph for the Parish on two separate occasions as both my parents served in the Second World War and my grandfathers both served in the First World War.
Which achievement was the most challenging to get across the finish line?
I’ve mentioned the Moredon Sporting Hub, which had been a long running project before the Parish was even formed. For various reasons, that project was a challenge to get across the line, what with delays caused by COVID, funding challenges, and delays before construction finally started.
Another project that took time, and I think is coming up for review soon, is the grounds maintenance contract, which took a lot of negotiation, reviewing of contract bids, and trying to understand exactly what grounds work the Borough actually did within the Parish, because this wasn’t clear. There was also the consultation with Borough grounds staff, who were obviously concerned how they might be impacted by being transferred from the Borough to idverde, whom the Parish ultimately contracted to deliver grounds maintenance.
Do you feel that that the idverde contract has been a good solution and outcome for the Parish?
I think at the time it was a good outcome, bearing in mind that the Parish budget was limited and Council always seeks to keep the precept as low as possible. Bringing grounds maintenance in-house would have meant buying or hiring equipment, the creation of new job roles to manage the service, and additional costs for things like human resources and health and safety, which would have made it more expensive than employing a contractor to deliver those services.
I do think awarding the ground maintenance contract to idverde was the right decision as they had more experience in this field. As time has gone on, the Parish has worked with idverde to iron out problems, and compared to other parishes, I think we have combined well and achieved very good results. This is not to say that going forward that this arrangement is cast in stone. As well you know, the requirements and options change.
Local politics is the art of the possible. Can you tell me about a time you had to compromise to get something done?
We’ve had to compromise on certain things at times. What have we had to compromise on? Not everyone has got the same ideas or requirements for their parts of the Parish, and we have to scale back due to financial issues.
One of the biggest compromises I can remember was the awarding of the ground maintenance contract. The question was, “Do we have an outside contract, or do we go in-house?” There were several passionate discussions about this between councillors; some who wanted to bring the service in-house; others who argued that doing so would lead to astronomical increases in the precept.
In the end, heads ruled over hearts, and the decision to deliver grounds maintenance through a contractor meant that the precept was kept as low as possible, and the Parish benefited from the resources that idverde are able to deploy.
What is the most memorable interaction you’ve had with a constituent?
I don’t think I’ve had any bad interactions with constituents. It’s more a case of individuals making complaints about things, and then trying to get the issue sorted. Sometimes that isn’t possible, as the Parish might not have jurisdiction or responsibility for a particular issue.
On the other side of it, I’ve had a lot of really good comments from people in Rodbourne Cheney and Moredon over the years, especially with the new play area at Pembroke Gardens. Since we awarded the grounds contract, a lot of people have come back praising what was being done with grass cutting and hedge trimming.
It’s little bits of feedback you get from constituents, rather than somebody coming in and saying, ‘oh, thank you for doing that,’ as such. You do get a lot of satisfaction when those things happen and people offer positive feedback. You start to believe you are doing a good job.
Public service often comes at a personal cost. How did you balance the demands of the community and your role as a councillor with your personal life?
I tried to keep my personal life, where possible, to morning times and council commitments to afternoons and evenings. As you know, I organised a monthly Parish and Borough councillors’ surgery at Moredon & Rodbourne Cheney Library which could be a challenge at times because other councillors had work or other personal commitments that affected their availability.
My personal life is one of the reasons why I decided not to stand for election this year, due to my wife’s health. Balancing Parish commitments with my private life was becoming increasingly hard to do. You have to make sure that you’re able to balance those things. That’s why I tried to keep the mornings more for my wife and I, and doing personal bits and pieces. And then managing my time in the afternoon and evening to make sure I met my commitments as a councillor.
When it comes to time management, did you reserve weekends, for example, for personal life?
I’d try to, but there were things going on at weekends that meant I needed to be active as a councillor; Parish events for example. Then there are the constituents who knock on your door at the weekend asking for assistance, or might approach me when I’m down the allotment. As it’s the weekend, you often can’t provide an immediate answer, and that’s where I’d take details and follow up on it on the following Monday, or sometimes direct them to the Borough or another Parish council if the issue wasn’t one for Central Swindon North.
What’s the biggest thing people get wrong about what a Parish councillor actually does?
Probably not being aware of what things are in the control of the Parish, and which are in the control of the Borough or another organisation, such as the police. Or what things the Parish can legally deliver or do. There are certain things the Parish can and cannot do, and as a councillor, you’re often only able to support constituents by helping them get in contact with the organisation which can provide them the assistance they need.
If you had one more year in office, what is the one thing you’d like to achieve?
I think the one thing I would like to see done more than anything is the development of Pembroke Gardens. The Parish has plans for this starting with the refurbishment of the old changing rooms to create a community hub. I’d like to see the whole park developed and turned into a pleasant place for local residents to spend time in, with better planting such as trees and flower beds. Residents in the area do need a local green space that offers more than the opportunity to walk the dog or have a kick-around.
What’s the one piece of advice you would give to a new councillor?
I would say from my experience, listen to the facts that are being talked about, raise questions when necessary, and make up your mind accordingly. When you’re looking at a project, or a Council decision that has to be made, look at the pluses and minuses, where the money to fund this will come from, and sit back and listen to the facts that are being presented. Then come forward to voice any questions or objections they may have, and importantly, take time to think about how they want to vote, whether for or against, or to abstain.
Where do you see this community in 10 years’ time?
The parish might be on the right track, but I think a lot will depend on who is in Government and future plans for local government in the broad. Whether or not, this will affect parishes, or not, I don’t know. There are ongoing discussions about creating larger local government authorities, or combining some existing parishes with the aim of reducing costs in some areas, and benefiting from that.
I think that our Parish has improved things for our residents over the last eight or nine years. Our Youth Worker and youth team has had a positive impact, for example. Generally, as a Parish, we’re now pushing ahead and looking at things that we can perhaps do going forward. The Moredon Sporting Hub is an important development, and the Parish assuming direct running of Moredon Community Centre means that it is receiving much needed investment to bring it up to standard, and will provide an improved community resource to residents.
I’d like to see the Parish continue to offer more community activities aimed at developing and improving life skills for young people, and providing community events such as lunch clubs to help bring people together.
How has being a councillor changed you as a person?
Looking back at my first major involvement in local issues when we were seeking to extend the Thamesdown Drive dual carriageway into Great Western Way, I had a tendency to get more heated than I should have. The experience of being a councillor, taking part in meetings, and communicating with residents has helped me be more temperate in my approach.
More widely, and thinking of my wife’s uncle, Jim Masters, and what he and others did as councillors and community advocates for Swindon, I’ve come to a greater appreciation of how much the railways did for the town in being the forerunner of the NHS, in providing education, libraries, community development, social amenities, sports facilities and the like. As a Borough, I don’t think we’ve necessarily moved forward with that.
Aside from a well-earned rest, what are you most looking forward to doing with your newfound free time?
I’m getting on a bit now so having a little bit more rest time will be appreciated. I have my allotment to keep me happy; and to keep me out of the wife’s domain for a few hours. There’s a nice little community down there, everybody’s friendly, and there’s a community spirit where we help each other out with plants and watering when a person is on holiday or ill.