Radstock has said goodbye to its first ever Mayor, Keith Tyrrell, who has had to step down after having had heart surgery. He is being succeeded by fellow Town Councillor and previous Deputy Mayor, Rupert Bevan, and Keith speaks to The Journal this week about building bridges with B&NES, the challenges the town faces; its future and generally getting things done.

When his resignation was announced at the last Town Council meeting, Councillors spoke kindly of his time in the Chair; Cllr Shearn added that he hoped to see him back one day. Keith explains: “I had major heart surgery a few months ago and my rehabilitation is taking longer than anticipated – so I have taken stock of things and feel I can’t commit to the Council at this time. I felt it was best to walk away and recuperate with my family.

“At the moment, I am taking things week by week.

“When I joined the Council I was fairly naive and was surprised to be elected as Chair after a couple of years. From that moment, I really wanted to raise the profile of the town and its Council to enable Radstock to grow and benefit from that.

“On speaking to experienced people in local Councils on how to achieve this, the advice I received was that Radstock needed a prominent figure, such as a Mayor, and it was unanimously voted for.

“I was hugely proud and privileged to be the very first Mayor of Radstock and that will continue and be passed on.

“Building bridges with B&NES Council was also really important; historically the Town Council had always had a difficult relationship with the local authority, due to regeneration, but I quickly realised that we needed to have a more positive relationship with them rather than resisting change.

“You have to put the past behind you and start afresh. My sole aim was always to get everyone working together as a team. I was very lucky that I had a lot of support within the Town Council, people outside and indeed at B&NES – it was a boost to know that we were making progress.

“For the future, I would really like to see Radstock have its own Community Hub, with the Town Council office within it, to make it more accessible for residents.

“I felt that we all worked well together during my year of office – there was a feeling of unity within the Town Council and a feel-good factor that we were progressing – we had many issues to face; the new Medical Centre, trying to bring back the railway, parking issues and getting problems solved. There is a lack of land in Radstock, so we are limited to where to site a new car park, but this is ongoing, with B&NES and the Council taking the issue seriously.

“What is needed is a long- stay car park for workers and commuters and the Council have looked at the land and finances available for a nominal fee all-day car park. With regard to the railway, although it is a long-term project, money is available through the Government and that is looking promising. It would help parking, commuting and ultimately bring people to Radstock. At some point, you have to speculate to accumulate.

“I believe that the Town Council is in a much stronger position, both financially and in its effectiveness. Truthfully, Town and Parish Councils can make very little difference sometimes – but you have to have a credible voice to make local authorities sit up and listen. In return, we found the Council were well supported.

“It would be great to see local residents (women in particular, there is only one female Town Councillor at the moment), to stand for the Town Council in 2019.

“Radstock needs Independent Councillors and I really urge people to maintain that, as politics should play no part at a local level. To maintain the progress that has been made, it needs to be as Independent as possible.

“I would like to wish the new Mayor, Rupert Bevan and the Town Council well – he will make a good Mayor. My advice would be to keep working together and don’t get sidetracked from the major issues. Keep the dialogue going with B&NES in making major plans.

“My hopes for Radstock are for it to have a proper infrastructure. The regeneration of the town was a hugely missed opportunity – at that time the Town Council had very little input in to what happened. It’s been very piecemeal – a Medical Centre, for example, should have played a big part in some kind of masterplan. In some ways, sadly it was out of the Town Council’s hands. It either accepted what was on the table or we would lose it, and I think that was not good for the area. The Council have been picking up the pieces and trying to make the best of it ever since.

“I stood for things I believe in, like the Medical Centre – I really appreciate that there were people that didn’t want it, but I believed it to be right for Radstock. You are never going to please all the people all the time and I accepted that – but you have to look at the bigger picture and make progress.

Because there is very little space in Radstock, there really wasn’t anywhere else for it to go at that time. Ideally, we didn’t want it to go on Waterloo Road – it should have been part of a bigger plan in the first place. On that basis, you can’t turn something like that down.

“Radstock couldn’t be left without a Doctor’s Surgery and the plan was also a means of safeguarding the town’s Library and Children’s Centre.

“It’s good to see the development on the Charlton’s site – it’s been done well. The Town Square situation is really frustrating; it would be great to see a link to the two areas joined together and I really hope for the future that this issue can be resolved; I think it’s imperative that the old joins the new.

Keith began his foray into local Council after a fatal road crash in 2007 on Frome Road, where he lived. He began communicating with B&NES Council and local Highways Departments and was approached to sit on the Town Council. He hoped that having lived in the area for thirty years, he could make a difference, drawing on his experience as a Business Development Manager.

He cites his biggest achievement as the safety improvements on Frome Road, which have included a speed camera, a safe paved area outside Writhlington School, help with resurfacing of the roads and village hall car park and campaigning for safety work to be carried out at the notorious Terry Hill crossroads, which will begin this month.

He adds: “I’m really sad to leave. I have enjoyed my time in office, despite criticisms that you will always face. There are a lot of projects that I would like to see come to fruition and I look forward to watching them unfold – it will see Radstock as a far better place to live, work and visit than in the past.

“I would like to thank everyone who has offered me good wishes since my operation and during my recuperation. A really big thank you to you all; it has meant a lot and made me feel that the work that I have done in three years with the Council really has been worthwhile. But I have to let it all go for now and take time to smell the roses.

“Whether I go back in the future or not, I hope people remember that I was open and honest in everything I did, and stood for what I believed in for the benefit of Radstock.”