It has been a little while since I last wrote a proper update here, so I thought it was worth saying where things stand.
The County Council election was disappointing. I would be lying if I said otherwise.
I put a huge amount into it because I genuinely believed Brightlingsea and the surrounding villages deserved a strong, practical voice at County Hall. But I was also incredibly grateful for the support I received, and the result showed that a lot of people do want someone who will keep pushing on the things that are too often treated as boring or unimportant.
Potholes. Pavements. Drains. Buses. Road safety. SEND. Planning. Infrastructure. Basic services actually working.
Those issues have not gone away because the election has finished.
I am not writing this as a current councillor, and I am not going to pretend that I have powers I do not have. But stepping away from a council role, or not winning an election, does not mean you stop caring about whether your town is working properly.
Since the election I have been keeping an eye on local meetings, following up issues that are still unresolved, speaking to residents, helping where I can and thinking about what the next few years could mean for Brightlingsea and the wider area.
That has included the usual local frustrations.
The blocked drain outside Spar and Stoneridge is still there, despite having been reported years ago and despite Essex County Council saying it would be dealt with “ASAP” last October.
It is one small example, but it tells a bigger story. People do not expect perfection. They understand that councils have limited money, competing pressures and plenty of things to deal with. What people struggle to accept is being told something will be done, then seeing nothing happen for months or years.
I have also continued trying to do useful things in the community where I can. Last week I helped with the mock interviews at Colne Community School again, probably for the 5th year running. The students were brilliant. We hear plenty when young people get something wrong, but not nearly enough when they are polite, capable, thoughtful and willing to put themselves forward. The Year 9 students who volunteered to do an interview with no preparation at all were particularly impressive.
Brightlingsea has plenty going for it. It has good people, strong community groups, brilliant young people, independent businesses and residents who genuinely care about the place.
But we also need local government that is better at turning good intentions into visible results.
A practical idea for the new councils
One thing I have been thinking about is what local government reorganisation could make possible, if it is handled properly.
There is a real danger that it becomes years of meetings, arguments, consultants, organisational charts and political theatre while residents are still dealing with broken pavements, unreliable buses, drainage problems and services that are difficult to access.
But there is also an opportunity.
A larger unitary authority, with a bigger estate and more resources, should be able to think more strategically about the land and buildings it already owns.
That brings me to solar carports, inspired by an article I read this morning.
The basic idea is simple. Put solar panels on canopies above existing car parks.
The cars stay where they are. The car park stays a car park. But the space above it starts doing something useful.
It can provide shade in hot weather, shelter when it rains, generate electricity for nearby council buildings or public charging points, and potentially reduce bills or create an income stream.
It is not a magic money tree, and it would not work everywhere.
Some sites would have poor grid connections. Some would be too small. Some would be too expensive to make viable. There would be planning, drainage, design and maintenance issues to work through.
But that is exactly why a future unitary authority should not just dismiss the idea with a shrug. It should carry out a proper review of its car parks, depots, leisure centres, offices and other assets, identify the sites where the numbers work, then get on and do the best ones.
There are already huge areas of public tarmac across Essex. We should be asking how they can work harder for residents.
This is not about pretending every local problem can be solved with a solar panel.
It is about practical thinking.
If we are going to have major changes to local government, I want to see more ideas like this: use what we already have, reduce running costs where possible, create sensible new income, make public spaces better and put any savings back into the services people actually rely on.
And most importantly, do not let the big strategic ideas distract from the basics.
A council that can install solar canopies but cannot clear a drain outside a busy local shop has still missed the point.
The challenge for whoever runs the new councils is not to choose between ambition and the everyday stuff.
It is to do both.
Fix the drains. Repair the pavements. Sort the potholes. Improve buses and road safety. Support children and families who need help. Make planning decisions that properly account for infrastructure.
Then look for sensible ways to make the council estate work better, save money and create opportunities for the future.
That is the kind of local government I think people would actually recognise as progress.
I will keep sharing updates, raising issues and putting forward practical ideas where I think they are worth discussing.
Not because I think I have all the answers, but because Brightlingsea deserves people who keep asking the questions.