Councillor Interview: Cllr Brian Collin

Councillor Brian Collin

Profile:

Cllr Brian Collin has spent 28 years being a councillor in Winchester. He has moved from various wards over the year – from Oliver’s Battery, to Eastgate, and then to St John and All Saint, his current ward.

The way Cllr Collin became a county and (now former) city councillor started with him helping at general election, and was consequently then invited and voted in the year after to represent his area at the time – Oliver Battery – as a councillor. He continued to do so for the next 24 years, but then changed ward a couple more times after. He did not plan on becoming a councillor.

Cllr Collin retired from his computer and IT career  in october 2008.

Direct quote on issue in ward:

“The biggest thing going on in my ward is for Highcliffe and Winnall to get 20mph limits. Everybody agrees that 20mph makes the streets feel safer. They aren’t necessarily safer, but they feel safer. And because they feel safer, people are more willing to walk around and cycle. All of a sudden people are getting more exercise, and mums are less worried about their children going to school on foot rather than being taken in a big 4×4. Everything flows from making the streets feel safer and calming the traffic down to 20mph. Having said that there are some challenges because some people say it is a waste of money, the police have got no resources to enforce it. So the idea is that we are going to get the community to enforce it themselves via a process called Community Speed Watch. Community Speed Watch is where local residents, not necessarily in their own area, man for a couple of hours at a particular time a sign with how fast you’re going and a smiley face or a sad face depending on whether you’re under or over the speed limit. So if you go past it and it says ’29mph smiley face’, fine. If it says ’32 mph’, on the assumption it is 30mph, sad face. Then two further volunteers would then take down your registration and the make and model of your car, pass that to the police, and the police will send you a letter.”