John Oldfield

Councillor

What part of the village do you live in.

My wife and I moved from Ruislip (West London) to West Drive, Ham Manor in 2009. 

What is your background?

By profession a Chartered Civil and Structural Engineer. After retiring as Head of Engineering of the London Borough of Harrow (Borough Engineer) I became the Practice Manager of a NHS GP Surgery in Ruislip. My National Service was in the Royal Engineers and following this I served in the Territorial Army for 24 years.  

What made you want to become a councillor? 

I believed my experience in Local Government and the NHS would be of use to the Parish Council and I had a general wish to contribute to the life and wellbeing of the village  

What do you hope to achieve in the area during your time as councillor? 

I chaired the Council for 2 years and had previously chaired both the Planning and the Governance & Oversight Committees, 

My main interests are planning and the local infrastructure. Like all of our councillors (and I believe the whole village) I despair at the relentless growth of housing in the area without the infrastructure to support it. Clearly the village needs, and would benefit from, “truly” affordable housing, but none of the current developments meet this criteria. We have managed to improve dialogue with some of the developers and have had some influence on the quality of design, landscaping, and leisure areas etc. but, of course, their main aim is to maximise profits. Both the Parish and Arun District Council are the “victims” of current Central Government Policies which lay down housing numbers required.  New legislation currently being considered may assist us and the ADC in this regard however I will continue to argue our case wherever and whenever I can against these inappropriate proposals and the lack of infrastructure to support them 

What are your other interests?

Our daughter and granddaughter moved to the village at the same time as us, and with the 3 dogs we have between us, I am kept pretty busy. In my spare time I like gardening, walking and eating out.   

Please feel free to email John at the following address - john.oldfield@angmering-pc.gov.uk

John represents Angmering Village Ward