On 15 May, Tony Vickers took up the position of Chair of West Berkshire Council. The WBC website describes the role as follows: “The Chairman is the formal representative of the District Council and considered the “first citizen” of the district. They officiate at civic functions and also welcome distinguished visitors of national and international significance on behalf of the district. The role is supported by the Vice-Chairman, who can act as a delegate.”

Shortly after the meerting at which this was confirmed, Tony Vickers sent us the text of his acceptance speech. We’re happy to reproduce it here in full.

It is a huge honour to be appointed Chairman of Council. However my first duty is to thank the outgoing Chairman, on your behalf, for everything he has done in the past year. He has continued to raise the profile of this Council in numerous ways and he has fitted the part extremely well at numerous events. He’s been so dedicated he’s hardly given me a look-in.

It is 30 years since I first took a seat in this very Chamber; and 20 years since I last attended an Annual Council Meeting as Vice Chair. On that occasion, I was in the cheap seats! My party had just lost control.

So it has been a long wait for the honour of being your Chairman for a year. A role that I regard as in a way equally important – albeit with far less responsibility – than Leader of Council.

Important not just because I might occasionally be able to silence the Leader – simply by standing up. But because it is apolitical. Although I remain a Liberal Democrat – as I did for 20 years as a serving Army Officer – being Chairman is not about making those difficult policy decisions or spending priorities.

On our Council crest is written “Forward Together”. Where to? Towards our future, of course. But what sort of future?

We live in probably the most worrying time of all our lives. It is really hard to have faith in the future. But my theme for this year is just that: “Have Faith in Our Future”. I want to showcase some of the great things that are being done in our lovely district – most of it a National Landscape, the North Wessex Downs. Surely we all want the future for our children and grandchildren to be as safe, prosperous, healthy and enjoyable as it has been for us.

Going Forward Together means being inclusive – the “left behind” in our communities must be helped to come with us.

Some of these great things are being done by this Council. But I want us to actively seek out other projects, activities, run by organisations that are doing things equally praiseworthy which are in tune with this Council’s adopted Strategy.

I’m particularly keen to hear about and celebrate, publicise things that help achieve sustainability – in the social, economic and most especially the environmental sense as we’ve declared Climate and Ecological Emergencies in recent years.

I have three specific strands to my year as Chairman that fit the theme. The first runs right through the year and I want to reach every parish – they don’t have a mayor to help them celebrate. But that doesn’t exclude towns. Its just that they do have mayors and parishes don’t.

So could all of you, my Council colleagues, seek out something – an organisation, activity, event or project – that deserves recognition in your ward. I’m an outdoorsy sort of person – I like to ramble a lot. So an element of every event should preferably involve a walk.

Please have the organisers email chairman@westberks.gov.uk to let my team know about it. I can’t promise to attend personally but I can ask my Vice Chair or the relevant Executive Member to represent me. Any councillor can represent the Chairman.

The other two things I wish to achieve, –in brief because there will be more about them on the website and in other comms soon – are:

• Resurrecting the Award for excellence in new Development that was first established by Garry Poulson in 1996 when he was Mayor of Newbury – at the time the mayor had to be a member of Newbury District Council. The Newbury Society has now agreed, in principle, to fully underwrite an Architectural Design Award Scheme in partnership with this Council but fully funded by the Society, as a charity which exists to promote excellence in – and educate about – our local built environment. The assumption is the Council will have no direct costs. I hope the first awards will be made before the end of this Council Year.
• Promoting a relatively new charity in my ward which helps – as its name “Good Hope Farm” implies – some of those “left behind”. It allows some of our young adults with special needs – whom they call Farmers – and their carers to have outdoor supervised simple work. Everyone can contribute in a way to society – even if it is only by giving the joy of volunteering opportunities to others.

Tony Vickers’ first official activity in his new role was to attend the 25th anniversary of the Newbury Community Resource Centre, which also runs the Community Furniture Project.

The photo above shows (L-R): Kelvin Hughes, CEO of NCRC since the beginning; Sally-Ann Jay, Trustee of NCRC; Gillian Durrant, Vice Chair of Trustees of NCRC; Councillor Tony Vickers; Ian Callaghan, Trustee of NCRC; and Councillor Martha Vickers, as Chairman’s consort (who was Mayor of Newbury in 1998 when the Furniture Project was launched).