Page 8 - Oundle Life October 2021

Oundle lives...
IAN
CLARK
the Mayor
During this year, Councillor Ian Clark became Mayor of Oundle. Born in South Africa, he then grew up in Australia and has now been happily settled in Oundle for over half his life – so he’s almost a local!
When did you become Mayor? May this year – it’s simply a person to chair council meetings, but clearly ‘the chain’ brings with it certain extra expectations from residents, and so far (apart from introducing myself awkwardly!) it’s been
a pleasure.
What is the best thing about your job? My job – teaching?? The buzz when it works!
How have you seen your role change during the pandemic? I’ve only been Mayor in the pandemic so that’s hard to answer! Being a Councillor has been odd since Covid – we’ve adapted really well, and online meetings were terrific, especially as we could be more reactive to things. Since the legislation has changed and
we can’t do them anymore, it’s always harder to get a group together, which slows things down. Our hands are tied in many ways by protocol – agendas must be published a certain amount of time before meetings, and things not on them can’t be discussed or decided upon, meaning a decision that seems simple can take months.
Had you previously been on the Council long? Just a couple of years – I was frustrated as a resident that I never knew what the council was doing and why, so I joined to help make OTC communicate better. I think things are better, but every time I come across someone who has no idea what we’re doing, it’s a reality check! Any advice welcome from residents!
You have £10 to give to charity, who do you choose? I should say something local, but it would almost certainly go to African Promise, a superb ‘one man’ charity that works with a handful of schools in a remote area of Kenya.
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