My first success as a Councillor was getting Swindon Borough Council to agree to restore a sculpture in Freshbrook Village Centre.
My first success as a Councillor was getting Swindon Borough Council to agree to restore a sculpture in Freshbrook Village Centre.
The sculpture “Nexus” was made by a Japanese artist in residence over several months in the 1980’s. The artist – Hideo – moved to Swindon with his family for six months and spent the time on site carving blocks of stone from a quarry in South Wales. The stone was the same as that at Stonehenge and was basically three interlocking segments mounted on wooden railway sleepers. The sleepers have started to rot and this has jeopardised the safety of the sculpture.
A resident contacted me soon after I was elected asking if there was anything I could do and I was really pleased when the Council agreed to restore it. That is what being a councillor is about for me – being able to achieve things even in these straitened times.