A councillor who has represented a village near Bath for the past twenty years has announced her retirement.
Cllr Sarah Bevan with Cllr Karen Walker and Gavin Heathcote
Councillor Sarah Bevan, who represents Peasedown St John, was first elected to Bath & North East Somerset Council in 2003 and has served five terms.
During her tenure, Sarah has served as Chairwoman of the Council, Chair of the Resources Scrutiny Panel, and Leader of the Independent Group.
She said: “Representing Peasedown St John on the council has been one of the greatest privileges of my life.
“I’d like to express my gratitude to everyone who has supported me along the way, in particular the thousands of residents I’ve met over the years.”
Since 2003, Sarah has completed almost 10,000 pieces of casework, every one of them in response to a resident who has got in touch with her asking for help and support.
To succeed her on the council, Sarah has given her public endorsement to Gavin Heathcote at the upcoming local elections.
Sarah said: “Peasedown St John has an even brighter future ahead of it.
“It’s because of this that I’m giving my public backing to Gavin Heathcote to succeed me on the council.
“Gavin will stand as the second Independent Candidate alongside Cllr Karen Walker on May 4th in Peasedown St John.”
Gavin Heathcote is known in the village for his community activism and is also one of the founders of the Peasedown Community Trust.
Gavin said: “Thank you to Sarah for everything you’ve done for us over the last 20 years.
“Your public support means a lot to me – we’ll always be grateful for the work you’ve done to help and aid residents over the last two decades.
“If it’s the will of the electorate, I’d be honoured to join Cllr Karen Walker on the council. Together, we’ll be a strong team for Peasedown – always fighting hard for residents and campaigning for more funding and investment for our great community.”
Villagers in Peasedown St John will have two votes to elect two councillors to represent it on 4th May.
Re-standing alongside Gavin is long serving councillor Karen Walker, who added: “I’ve been working with Gavin for the last 10 years in Peasedown on a range of community projects.
“He knows the area well and has a real passion for campaigning for a fairer deal for residents.
“Together we hope to continue to put Peasedown first! With additional funding coming to the community soon we’ll be working with residents to make sure it’s spent on the issues that matter to them.”
