2nd May -When I applied for the role I thought it would be nice to have a bit more variety in my work but it is so much more than that. I have been able to help many local people and community groups since becoming the Community Champion and find it very rewarding.
1st May – Since being elected to represent Clewer & Dedworth West I have written over 500 blog posts for I Love Windsor, with over 60% having a RBWM Councillor theme. That’s a lot of content to work through to create a rounded summary for this blog!
30th April – Residents don’t want us waffling, they want to hear a clear message from each and every candidate so they can make their decision on who to vote for. Waffling and changing the subject on the post is in no-one’s best interests. Just answer the question…
30th April – Knowing by encouraging participation in the competition it will help young people grow their self confidence, that may have taken longer to achieve, gives me all the energy I need to keep hosting Youth Speaks.
29th April – I’ve been a member of Windsor & Eton Rotary for over 10 years and we have fun while raising money for good causes both locally and internationally…
28th April – What was my campaign called that saw me win Social Media Week’s Social Media Personality of the Year in 2012?
27th April – With 7 days remaining before the election it made sense to write 7 illustrative blog posts, one a day, about how I feel I have added value to the local community over the years, starting with being Chair of East Berkshire Federation of Small Businesses.
26th April – Only 1 week to go, you can cast your vote and it will all be over bar the counting… if you are missing some party literature you’d like to review then Tesco Dedworth has a selection… thank you.
25th April – You can’t keep promising and not delivering on those promises like the Conservatives have…
24th April – Many residents loved the garden centres and cafes we once had in Dedworth…
23rd April – St George’s Day. When you are the only colleague who has dressed up 😉 Sad that around 1/3rd of those that asked knew nothing of St George’s Day!
22nd April – After I won the ward seat for Clewer & Dedworth West I did some digging around and asked the following question of the Lead Member for Finance, Cllr. David Hilton, on 25th June 2019 at my 2nd ever Full Council meeting. Little did I realise what I had set in motion…
21st April – I was involved in calling in the decision to lease land to Maidenhead United for a peppercorn rent. The result of last nights O&S Panel was that the call-in by the Independent Councillors was successful and the decision has been sent back to the officer to commission a revised valuation, conduct a more thorough consultation, review the lease details and report back.
20th April – I successfully challenged this when they first tried to push it through as they wanted rapid change for something that needs to be evolved, not forced on residents. After the hustings on Monday it came up for discussion on our Windsor Election 2023 FB Group and so I put this together to help better inform those interested in discussing the topic.
19th April – I’d been happy enough to just share my video on FB but him liking it is akin to getting some bling in the honours list… I simply had to share the news…
18th April – My take on the Climate Change Hustings…
17th April – Once upon a time there was a coffee shop or two at this end of Windsor…
17th April – Climate Change hustings arranged by the Plastic Free community
16th April – When I first became a Cllr Sutherland Grange constantly looked a mess due to a number of “Recycling” bins that attracted fly tipping. Took a while to get removed but eventually the area was improved.
13th April – I’ve been Shadow Lead for Infrastructure, now call Place, since I started as a Councillor. For a few short months I was Vice Chair of the O&S Panel but that wasn’t part of the Conservative master plan.
12th April – Sometimes you have to push content a few times for folk to hear. Silly for candidates to miss out on opportunities to get their message out but life is full of choices.
8th April – Most local FB Groups will not want to be inundated with political commentary so I created a new group… let’s see who if anyone, turns up 😉
8th April – Everyone’s now an Independent! Thought it best to find a definition for clarity…
6th April The council announced the candidates for this years election on 5th April…
5th April was this month’s Planning Panel where the main focus was on King Edward Court. I spent time talking with officers and the developers sharing my concerns prior to the meeting. You can watch the video, read my script or both here…
1st April I spent a few hours each day over 15 days delivering close to 3,000 election flyers with my bestie Sid…
31st March Cabinet accepted the Sawyers Close Stakeholder Masterplan and their are concerns around parking but can those concerns be smoothed away? We can do things to address parking but should we also be looking closely at the green credentials of future residents?
28th March Windsor Yards planning application is coming to the Planning Panel on Wed 5th April
26th March How can you find out more about Planning decisions?
24th March Roads are always a hot topic for discussion…
22nd March I visited the Town Hall to submit my papers and was told by Electoral Services, I was the first to hand in my forms 😉 A small spanner… Google’s reformatting of the official document downloaded from .Gov meant I had to ask another friend to nominate me as the first had gone on holiday! I had to obtain their electoral number from the library which didn’t open till 12:30 so went for a walk to see the sights of Maidenhead… the Magnet is being demolished. There is political history in this area. I recall sitting opposite Theresa May MP in the small café at the Magnet during the last elections. The mosque was the subject of some shenanigans last election when the then leader visited and promised favours if the Conservatives were voted back in and the site was involved in a recent Code of Conduct charge…
21st March 2023 was the start of Purdah which is the period in the run-up to an election when there is a restriction in place on Councils publicising the views of political parties, issuing press releases or promoting initiatives with quotes or photos from particular councillors as this could be seen to unfairly promote one particular political party.
19th March We have published over 580 blogs on ilovewindsor.co.uk since the last elections, achieving over 128,000 page views. Over 300 were written in my capacity as a Councillor, 120 under I Love Windsor, 50 with a Tesco focus and the balance being made up of republished RBWM posts, Rotary or other Windsor relevant content.
It makes sense to revisit some of the Council related posts in the run up to the elections. To get things started, here are the most popular blog posts…
Election Flyer
Below is the content of my election flyer with links to relevant blogs. I am happy to answer any questions.
Local resident, husband, father, neighbour and Community Champion
jondavey.co.uk
Standing for re-election on Thursday 4th May 2023
jonathanldavey@gmail – 07717 820823
I have lived in Windsor for nearly 30 years. I am married to a local girl and we have two grown up children and a dog who will be helping me deliver this flyer 😉
After working for Nestle and Johnson & Johnson during my early career in sales I ran my own digital sales & marketing business. Covid saw things change for many businesses and I found myself back where I started as a teenager, in retail.
I have enjoyed the last 4 years as your local Councillor and while challenging at times, I have learned a great deal and would like to build on this experience and serve a second term.
I have shared some of my experiences on the following pages and I also thought it would be useful to share the “Role of a Councillor”.
I have been writing a local blog called ilovewindsor.co.uk for many years where I write about local news & events, my work in all its forms and my involvement with Rotary and local community initiatives.
I do not intend to canvass door to door, as some residents can find this intrusive, I am however very happy to talk on the phone, respond to emails or arrange to meet in person.
Thank you.
Jon
A few of the things I have been involved with over the last 4 years as one of the Cllrs for Clewer & Dedworth West
BUDGET REVIEW – At my second ever Full Council meeting, I raised my concerns about financial overspend in my ward (page 18) during the previous administration. I asked about the Clewer and Dedworth Neighbourhood Improvement capital scheme. This resulted in The Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accounting (CIPFA) being invited in to do a full review of RBWMs financial processes.
LOW TRAFFIC NEIGHBOURHOOD (LTN) – In early 2021 there was a suggestion that the whole of West Windsor was to become and LTN, restricting traffic flow around certain streets in Dedworth. I achieved reassurances from the Lead Member that the administration would recognise the residents’ survey. I promoted the survey, residents expressed concerns and the LTN was not implemented.
ELECTRIC VEHICLE CHARGEPOINT IMPLEMENTATION PLAN – More recently I called in the quality of the EVCIP to the Place Overview & Scrutiny Panel which uniquely saw cross party agreement achieved and a much better report put out to consultation by RBWM.
GARDEN CENTRES – The inclusion of both local garden centres in the Borough Local Plan meant that both sites were sold to developers. While I made an appeal at the Windsor planning panel for Wyevale to be retained as a community facility, permission was granted for what is now Aldi.
HEMWOOD DELL – One of my first tasks was to reassure residents that buyers could do nothing with the plots of land they bought. This was done with the invaluable support of officers and is ongoing as other plots are purchased in West Windsor and has led to the involvement of Windsor Ascot Maidenhead Community Land Trust to offer advice to local residents.
ECOLOGICAL SURVEY – As a consequence of above, an ecological survey was conducted which gives officers greater insight into the natural environment around West Windsor.
COVID – my first action was to set up a Facebook Group and invite community group leaders to join so we could share information with the wider community. I joined Tesco as my business stalled and found it very rewarding to be able to help boost the confidence of residents struggling to make sense of things.
DOUBLE YELLOW LINES SMITHS LAND & LONGMEAD – After I received a number of complaints about dangerous parking, I surveyed local residents and double yellow lines were introduced within 6 months.
REPORT IT – I have been making use of the RBWM Report It function on the website to let officers know about problems with overgrown hedges, fly tipping, potholes and other issues and have encouraged residents to do the same.
HELPING LOCAL RESIDENTS – When local residents contact me regarding an issue they have, I look into it quickly and respond as soon as I have any relevant information. If I can’t help I let residents know straight away.
450 PROPOSED NEW HOMES IN WEST WINDSOR – I am working proactively with Wates and RBWM officers to get the best outcomes for residents. I ran a survey in May 2022 over 200 residents responded and the data is being used in the discussions. At a recent planning meeting I fought hard for Bray Parish Council’s air quality report to be taken seriously and remedial actions taken to help reduce future levels before they exceed the legal limits.
DOG AGILITY – After complaints from residents about the grass cutting at Victoria Park I took a look for myself and discovered ruts running the full length of the park, including the dog agility section. Talking to residents they said that children and dogs had been injured running in the par. I spoke with officers and they arranged for the ruts to be filled in.
DEDWORTH CHRISTMAS FAIR – I was a founder member of the committee which hosted a Christmas Fair at woody’s and the Pirate Park.Hundreds of local people turned out at the end of November 2021, making for a great start to the Christmas season.
GREEN ROOM SCHOOL AND SWAN PUB – Although not in my ward, I have been very inspired by the work done at The Green Room School to help students who struggle with mainstream education. I have helped in a number of ways, most recently through my work as a Community Champion, providing hundreds of unwanted Christmas gifts for the students to sell at their weekly markets to help raise funds for the student business projects.
CLEWER AND DEDWORTH WEST WARD BOUNDARIES – I am often asked which roads are included in the ward. Essentially everything west of Smith’s Lane and Wolf Lane.
The Role of a Councillor
Cllrs are often asked to try and fix things which are outside of their sphere of influence. I have extracted the following from the Local Government Association website and thought it would be useful for local residents to read what the role of a local Councillor is.
Representing Your Local Area
A councillor’s primary role is to represent their ward or division and the people who live in it. Councillors provide a bridge between the community and the council. As well as being an advocate for local residents and signposting them to the right people at the council, you will need to keep them informed about the issues that affect them.
In order to understand and represent local views and priorities, you need to build strong relationships and encourage local people to make their views known and engage with you and the council. Good communication and engagement are central to being an effective councillor.
As a local councillor, your residents will expect you to:
– respond to their queries and investigate their concerns (casework)
– communicate council decisions that affect them
– know your patch and be aware of any problems
– know and work with representatives of local organisations, interest groups and businesses
– represent their views at council meetings
– lead local campaigns on their behalf.
Community Leadership
Community leadership is at the heart of modern local government. Councils work in partnership with local communities and organisations – including the public, voluntary, community and private sectors – to develop a vision for their local area, working collaboratively to improve services and quality of life for citizens. Councillors have a lead role in this process.
Developing Council Policies
Councils need clear strategies and policies to enable them to achieve their vision for the area, make the best use of resources and deliver services that meet the needs of local communities. As a councillor you will contribute to the development of these policies and strategies, bringing the views and priorities of your local area to the debate. How you do this will depend on the committees and forums you are appointed to. However, the council’s policy framework must be signed off by full council, on which every councillor sits.
Planning and Regulations
Councils are not just service providers; they also act as regulators. As a councillor you may be appointed to sit on the planning and regulatory committee – considering issues such as planning applications, licences for pubs and restaurants and ensuring that businesses comply with the law. In these roles, councillors are required to act independently and are not subject to the group or party whip. Most councils arrange special training for this.
My Commitment to Local Residents
My commitment to local residents is that I will keep the above in mind at all times, enabling me, should I be re-elected, to fulfil the role of Councillor to the best of my ability.
If something is outside my remit I will say so and attempt to point the resident in the right direction.
I will continue to build good relationships with officers and residents to enable me to find solutions to problems, seek and encourage feedback on proposals and try to facilitate better outcomes as quickly as possible. I will endeavour to keep residents involved and well informed at all times.
Thank you.
Jon
If you would like a hard copy of the above flyer then please complete the form below and I’ll arrange delivery…
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