Prior to being a councillor Nick was
“a member of the public moaning
about the council and the potholes and
stuff like that. And then my good lady
wife said I should put up or shut up,”
he recalls.
(Just to warn you, Nick has threatened
to impose a £1 fine on anyone who
mentions potholes to him, this
inconvenience being a County Council
not Town Council issue. “People believe
it’s me that should be going around
with some tarmac filling the holes,”
he claims).
So his wife’s advice led to his joining
the council and consequently becoming
deputy to Lynn Little, re-elected as
Mayor on 17th May – a result described
as “imperative” by Nick.
“She’s a very easy mayor to support,”
he says. “Lynn is in a very good position
at the moment to keep the balls in the
air going.”
These balls arrive in the form of what’s
being done about the aesthetics of
Carterton, how the town’s shops are
being supported, and the plans geared
towards attracting businesses here “and
not just to Witney,” says Nick.
How do you launch balls into the air in
the first place though?
“We vote on everything,” the Deputy
says. “Then the Council staff support
us in delivering the plans and decisions
which make Carterton a better place to
live and work.”
There have been cases where his ideas,
however good he has thought them to
be, have not come to fruition. “I have
lost some votes,” he says. “But I’m
happy to lose because it’s been fair and
democratic, and anybody who thinks
they have a monopoly on good ideas
is deluded.”
Our conversation would also
cover the housing in the town. “My
personal opinion,” he says, “and it
is a personal opinion, is I would like
to see organic growth. When we
have a need for houses, build them.
Or build a few, fill them and then
build another few. Being driven by
business for profit is an Achilles heel.
We should build for need not greed.”
Then there’s the matter of access
to and from Carterton. “We are
the second biggest town in West
Oxfordshire,” Nick points out. “Yet
we have to spend hours every week
travelling as the County Council
won’t build a dual carriageway to us.
It’s not a new problem, it’s a 30 year
problem, and that’s sad.”
But disappointment was not by
any means a constant theme of my
meeting with Nick, it was punctuated
more with pride and praise – with
just a couple of potholes.
“We are one of the safest places in
this country to live - this is a great
town. There are good people, good
volunteers – and society is oiled by
volunteers. My role has given me
great faith in what is the lower end
of the political system in this country.
I’m pleased to be a councillor. This
is a good place and I’m glad to be
putting my sixpence worth into it.”
Nick Leverton
9
