When I spoke to the then Clerk about becoming a Parish Councillor, he invited me to meet a couple of councillors to see whether it was something I wanted to do. The first councillor I met was Bill. Bill and I talked for an hour about many subjects, not just being a Parish Councillor, and, well, the rest is history, as I've now been in the role for over ten years.

Bill later went on to become Parish Chairman for a number of years and was involved in numerous projects during that time. Although I didn't get to the council office much during the day because I work full-time, I arrived there one day to find Bill surrounded by green wheelie bins. I asked him, "What's in the bins?" Forty minutes later, I knew all about Christmas LED light strings, power supplies on various buildings around the village, and how it was a young person's job to climb the ladders.

The passion Bill had for the village and his community shone through in conversations like that.

As I said, Bill was involved in many projects, but I can't finish without talking about the Neighbourhood Plan. When we, as a council, decided to undertake it, we knew it would be a huge and long-running project. Bill volunteered to write the first draft, and what an excellent draft it was. Although others have since become involved and taken the plan forward, it was built upon the foundation that Bill created. I'll always be proud that Bill lived to see it accepted by such a large margin in the referendum.

Cllr Colin Wright

August 2026