I have been a resident in St. Ives for the past 40 years following a career relocation from Hertfordshire in 1984, and since then my two children have been born and grown up in the town, attending the local schools.
I will be retiring in 2024 after spending the past 40 years as a Chartered Town Planner. My early career was spent working in local government and for the last 33 years I was a planning consultant for a long-established local firm of chartered surveyors, where I was a director and more recently a consultant. My professional career has provided an insight into the commercial world of property and development, as well as environmental issues including transport, flooding, historic buildings and ecology – all matters that have a bearing on the future of the town.
When we moved I recall the diverse range of shops in the town centre, the vibrant weekly market and the busy bank holiday market that stretched from the end of Station Road to Crown Street, when it would take you half an hour to work your way through the busy crowds that were drawn to the town. The town centre is now a different place with many challenges, and it is perhaps unrealistic to expect those days will return. However, my hope is that I can contribute to the regeneration of the town centre so that it is a more vibrant place, and I am open to hearing from residents of the town and the local business community with thoughts on how the Town Council might assist in enabling the enhancement of the town so that it is a better place for the future.