Meet the Parish Council – Luke Edwards
As part of an ongoing ‘getting to know your council’ feature in the Parish Magazine, I have courageously offered (drawn the short straw) to go first.
I have lived in Great Bentley almost 30 years (I am desperately trying to cling on to what remains of my 20’s), with the exception of a stint at the University of Southampton studying for my degree. I now work just down the road as the Digital and Rights Manager for the publishing firm Penguin Random House at their TBS distribution site in Frating.
I have tried to immerse myself within community life, and have active roles within various Village clubs and societies, some of you will recognise me from my acting début as Hugo Horton in Bentley Green Players rendition of The Vicar of Dibley and subsequently, The Vicar of Dibley: The Second Coming (a part my Friends all say I was born to play!)
I am also a Governor at the ‘Ofsted Outstanding’ Great Bentley Primary school, a school I once attended more than a little while ago!
I joined Great Bentley Parish Council around 6 years ago. I have always tried to give a balanced opinion and particularly stand up for the views of the younger generation. I am passionate about our village and ensuring it remains a viable and great place to live for future generations.
Having grown up in and around Great Bentley, I guess you could say it is within my blood. I often hear people talking about what a fantastic place Great Bentley is to live, and they are absolutely right, so as part of this ‘tome’ I thought I would outline what to me, makes Great Bentley a truly great place to live.
There are numerous aspects to our village which I think contribute to making Great Bentley such a top-notch place to live, like our rural location with uninterrupted aspects of beautiful rolling countryside, the fantastic local amenities and businesses and the acres of space we have to enjoy. However what makes Great Bentley great to me is our community.
Great Bentley has a community which makes me proud to be a part of it. We have a community which truly rallies together in the face of adversity, which celebrates together and which morns together.
This sense of community is a rare thing these days, we must embrace ours, support it and nurture it.
So many villages and towns have lost their sense of community; they become just empty shells, they become just collections of houses where people reside. So here is my rallying call to you: Let’s protect our community so Great Bentley continues to be the Great village we all love to live in.
With that in mind I would urge you to not take our surroundings for granted, to support our village amenities and businesses and to get actively involved in our village community. Join a club or society; support village events and engage with your Parish Council. We are here to listen and serve you. Ultimately, without you, our community is nothing.