South Kesteven district councillor and Stamford town councillor reflects on first 18 months in office during a coronavirus pandemic

Council meetings have looked a little different over the last years with councillors meeting virtually instead of inside historic chambers.

It’s been a learning curve for everyone but none more so than the newest councillors, who were elected in 2019.

Here, Amanda Wheeler, who was elected to the St George’s ward on both Stamford Town Council and South Kesteven District Council as a Liberal Democrat, reflects on her time so far in office.

“I was honoured (and honestly very surprised) to find myself elected as both a district and town councillor, and since then I have thrown myself into council work with enthusiasm, commitment and a little trepidation. There have been several challenges along the way:

There’s a lot to learn.

Luckily, there are also lots of training opportunities and I have attended workshops on planning, communities, climate action, to name but a few. I have also started building relationships with the council officers – one of the hardest tasks was working out who I need to go to for what piece of information. There are also several wise and experienced councillors who have been happy to give advice.

There’s a lot to do.

Being a local councillor means you represent your local community and are there to advise and support them. Within my first year, I have listened to concerns from residents on a whole spectrum of issues: elections, boilers, parking, planning, recycling, electric cars, licensing, trees, foodbanks, homelessness, environment, housing, roads, green spaces, rubbish, roads, racism and markets. Some of these have been easy to solve, some have taken hours to unpick and some are still perplexing me. But I have certainly had my eyes opened as to the value of council work and to the importance of electing hard-working people to represent you.

There’s a lot of opposition.

At South Kesteven District Council there are 56 councillors. Of these, 40 are Conservative, with 11 Independent, 3 Labour and 2 Liberal Democracts. That means it is very hard to get motions through, as the Conservative party vote together, defeating almost everything.

I was, however, delighted that an anti-racism motion I proposed was eventually passed unanimously at a full council meeting. So there is hope!

But there’s also a lot of cooperation.

After being elected as one of only two Lib Dems at district, Coun Harrish Bisnauthsing and I were approached by the leader of the Independent group and invited to join forces with them. This has been a very positive experience, enabling us to have a bigger representation on committees at district but also meaning that we participate in group meetings and support each other in council.

Cross-party committees have been a positive experience for me: the events committee at the town council, helping to organise events such as the Stamford Christmas Market and Spooktacular, and the rural and communities committee at cistrict.

However, the one area in which I feel I have the most to offer is climate action. I am on the climate group at district and I now chairman the climate action group at town. The town group comprises town councillors, district councillors, county councillors and representatives from several town groups who share a concern for the environment and the impact of climate change. Together, we are trying to reduce our carbon footprint and bring about positive changes to support this goal. It is early days, but the keen volunteers on our group are already investigating several projects such as creating wildflower verges and installing drinking water fountains.

It’s been an interesting year and a challenging one and that’s without even mentioning the impact of Covid-19. The pandemic has changed almost everything we do at council: priorities, meetings, support networks, budgets.

One benefit has been virtual meetings. I’ve now been able to ‘attend’ more council meetings, one from a hotel room in Belfast when I was on a work trip for another of my jobs, another from an airport lounge, but mostly from the comfort of my own home. These virtual meetings encourage participation, while keeping down travel costs and the associated environmental impact.

Another benefit has been community provision. SKDC set up a community hub to support all residents in the district. Several support groups made up of volunteers such as SOS (Support Our Stamford) sprang up to help individuals and families with shopping, prescriptions and other needs. From the tragedy of the pandemic, I hope will grow a more caring community with a more cared-for environment.

I would like to encourage anyone who is thinking about becoming a councillor to give it serious consideration. It is challenging, it is rewarding, but above all, it is important. I’d be more than happy to offer advice and support, from my limited understanding at one year in.

Do email me on: amanda.wheeler@southkesteven.gov.uk if you’d like to know more.”