Bracknell Forest Council leader Paul Bettison on coronavirus

Paul Bettison, leader of Bracknell Forest Council, has been working hard behind the scenes as the local authority adapts to life under lockdown and prepares for life to get back to normal.

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The council boss, whose busy days run from 7am to 2am the following morning, has been:

• Spearheading twice-weekly meetings with Chief Executive Timothy Wheadon to keep all councillors up to date

• Involved in twice-weekly teleconferences with local government secretary Robert Jenrick

• In daily contact with police bosses from around the area

• Working to get public council meetings going and decisions made

• Making sure life ‘quickly returns to normal’ when lockdown is lifted

READ MORE: Pictures of life under lockdown in Bracknell

Cllr Bettison, like more than a 1,000 “absolutely phenomenal” council staff, is working from home to keep key services running, which has meant long days for many of the authority’s employees.

He told the News: “I do tend to have to refer to my diary to see what day of the week it is because the days just blur.

“Our officers are working incredibly hard too, and many of them have commented to me saying they feel more exhausted after a day in the current regime than they would normally after a day at the office.

“It’s interesting but it’s fantastic to see how people all across are stepping up and doing acts of genuine kindness and concern for their fellow human beings.

“There are many times a day when I thank heavens for the spirit of the people of Bracknell Forest.”

The leader’s long days are filled with formal and informal meetings, such as those held with councillors and government officials, with the council regularly seeking clarity on sometimes “contradictory” advice handed down from Whitehall, such as whether recycling centres can re-open.

Some of the informal meetings and calls Cllr Bettison takes have seen him put volunteers and those with services or good to offer put in touch with those who need support, which has been the goal of the Bracknell Forest Community Response.

Daily police contact means council bosses have been working with top officers to discourage people from hanging around public play areas without restricting their daily exercise allowance.

The closing of the council’s countryside car parks and the opening up of the town centre car parks has caused some confusion, Cllr Bettison admitted, but this was done in order to keep people from ignoring lockdown rules.

He said: “Some people have asked me is it crazy we’ve opened the car parks in The Lexicon to make them free whereas some of our other car parks in our countryside places, we’ve closed?

“The simple reason for that is if you go to The Lexicon, the reason you’re probably parking there is you are either an NHS worker or a social worker that needs parking close to somebody they have to see.

“We’re doing that to help them so they’re not bothered with paying for parking.

“Nobody parks in The Lexicon and walks around the countryside and sunbathes all day, whereas with our countryside car parks they might be encouraged to.”

New powers given to local authorities by the government means decisions can now be made virtually.

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Last week, minor planning decisions set to be made by BFC’s planning committee were instead made by top officers.

Other new powers mean the council could, in the coming weeks and months, be able to hold meetings in public online.

This does not come without its difficulties, Cllr Bettison suggested, as it may be easy to get councillors to teleconference together, but less so to get members of the public involved.

One way to get around this, the leader proposed, could be to put laptops in each of the council’s meeting rooms on the ground floor to enable residents to participate in planning or licensing decisions if they cannot do so in their own homes.

These may be temporary measures, but Cllr Bettison and BFC’s top team is already thinking about how to make sure life returns to normal for residents quickly after lockdown restrictions are lifted.

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He said: “You can close things quite quickly but if you’re not careful it’s very hard to re-open them because all the staff disappear.

“We’ve been very careful in what we do to make sure our staff remain able to working for us when this problem is over, and it will be over.

“A mark of a successful council will be quickly how life for residents returns to normal.”

With this in mind, Cllr Bettison told the News he had a message for the people of Bracknell Forest.

He added: “I’d like to say a thank you to all the people of Bracknell Forest, whether they’re of Bracknell Forest because they live here or because they work here.

“Every day I am amazed at the kindnesses that are being shown by people going above and beyond for the benefit of others.

“I would also say to anybody who does believe things are not going their way and they have problems, please contact somebody.

“Don’t just sit there worrying -- get in touch, there’s plenty of people to get in touch with. The volunteer service being run by Involve and Healthwatch would love to hear from you. It’s just a phone call, so please talk to them.

“Stay in, stay safe, support the NHS, and be kind to one another.

READ MORE: Death notices in the Bracknell News last week

“Help one another. By doing that, I know we will get through this and life will return to normal and I for one look forward to that.”