Councillors’ corner – cllr Colin Goodhind

HAVING served on the town council back in the early 2000s, I decided that despite still working full-time I still had something worthwhile to offer in 2021 so here I am. 

The coming together of a like-minded group of people determined to keep politics out of local government, at least at parish level, standing together for election as “Together for Melksham” played a major part in my decision.

Fortunately for Melksham the council as a whole is pretty much similarly committed. We often disagree, have civilised but animated debates and usually agree on what we believe is best for Melksham, often backed up by surveys and personal views of the people we represent which is how it should be. My experience in the security industry, in which I’m still working, has been very helpful in my role as a local councillor.

Melksham is a lovely town in so many ways, not least its sense of community spirit and its can-do attitude in ways that affect everyday life, its transport links, attractive river, a popular parkrun and its proximity to so many nationally-recognised places of interest.

It’s not a town people generally identify as somewhere they just have to visit but one that people comment on, usually very favourably, after they’ve been here and then often re-visit. We have challenges that face most towns of a similar size such as litter and anti-social behaviour but this town is extremely good at rising to these challenges effectively.

Then there is traffic which I feel we’re not so good at dealing with. In my opinion traffic is the one thing that restricts walking in and about this town from being the pleasant experience it should be. Traffic moves much faster than it needs to and one of my aims is to help change that. I’m speaking here as a serious driver who has driven many, many thousands of miles in many parts of the world. If things just slowed down so pedestrians weren’t dominated by vehicles, including ‘through traffic’, we would all be more relaxed, safer and no doubt healthier. A few extra minutes is a small price to pay!