A dozen councillors are standing down ahead of the all-out Bracknell Forest Council elections this year.
Every four years. the entirety of Bracknell Forest Council is voted in.
This year, 11 councillors are standing down ahead of the election, with 10 of those being Conservatives.
It is also the first year that under new boundaries, with the number of councillors being reduced from 42 to 41, so changes and new faces on the council are guaranteed.
You can see which councillors are retiring (at least for now) below:
Robert Angell
Cllr Angell, a Conservative representing Bullbrook, has been a councillor since 1997 in stints.
He entered the council in 1997 as a representative for Great Hollands South, eventually representing Bullbrook from 2011 onwards.
Cllr Angell has recently served as the chair of the overview and scrutiny commission and a member of the planning committee.
Nigel Atkinson
Cllr Atkinson has been a Conservative representative for Ascot ward since 2015, and has served as the council’s designated commuter champion.
He is also on Winkfield Parish Council as a representative for Winkfield & Cranbourne, which he is also stepping down from.
Michael Brossard
Cllr Brossard has been a Conservative representative for Central Sandhurst for both Bracknell Forest and Sandhurst Town councils since 2007.
He has long served as the vice-chairman of the influential planning committee, which decides planning applications.
Cllr Brossard is hoping to stay on Sandhurst Town Council as a Conservative candidate.
Marc Brunel-Walker
Cllr Brunel-Walker, a Conservative representing Crown Wood announced that he would not be standing in the elections earlier this year.
He was first elected 20 years ago in 2003, and during that time served as executive member for economic development and regeneration, seeing through The Lexicon project to fruition.
Cllr Brunel-Walker gave a farewell speech at his last meeting as chair of the town centre regeneration committee on Monday, March 20.
Back in 2019, he indicated that he intended to run as the MP for Bracknell.
Sandra Ingham
Cllr Sandra Ingham is a Conservative representative for Warfield Harvest Ride, and has been on the council since 2015.
Notably, she served as Bracknell Town Mayor from 2018-19, at the time when the late Queen Elizabeth II visited The Lexicon in October 2018.
She did stand as an Independent candidate at the Bracknell Forest elections in 2011 but was not elected.
Gaby Kennedy
Cllr Kennedy is a Conservative for Central Sandhurst, being on Bracknell Forest and Sandhurst Town councils.
She was first elected to the town council in 2015, then won a by-election to enter Bracknell Forest in 2016.
Cllr Kennedy has recently been present at full council meetings and a member of the climate change advisory panel founded in 2021.
Ian Kirke
Cllr Kirke is what is called a ‘double hatter’ councillor, representing the Bullbrook wards on both Bracknell Forest and Bracknell Town councils, getting onto the town council in a by election in 2018 then Bracknell Forest in 2019.
He has recently served on the environment and communities overview and scrutiny panel and the licensing and safety panel.
Cllr Kirke will be retiring from both councils this year.
Isabel Mattick
Cllr Mattick is a Conservative representative for Harmans Water.
She’s been elected in stints, serving as a councillor for Old Bracknell from 2000-2003, then came back to the council from 2015 onwards.
She has recently served as a member of the planning committee, the chair of the disability and access forum, and a member of the health and care overview and scrutiny panel, where she made noteworthy interventions into the investigation over the councils disabled parking blue badge process.
Pauline McKenzie
Another ‘double hatter’ cllr McKenzie is a Conservative representative for College Town on Bracknell Forest and Sandhurst Town councils.
Cllr McKenzie was elected to Sandhurst Town Council in 2011, then to Bracknell Forest in 2015.
She has served as a member of the planning committee and the overview and scrutiny panel.
Thomas Parker
Cllr Thomas Parker became the youngest councillor when he was elected as a Liberal Democrat representative for Wildridings & Central in the 2019 elections.
He announced that he would no longer stand late last year, accusing some fellow councillors of “unnecessary behaviour and toxicity.”
Cllr Parker also serves on Bracknell Town Council, but is also stepping down from that role as well.
John Porter
Cllr Porter is a Conservative for Owlsmoor, first elected to both Bracknell Forest and Sandhurst Town councils in 2011.
He has recently served as the chair of licensing and safety committee and communities and environment overview and scrutiny panel.
Cllr Porter is standing down from both councils this year.
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