Tring council’s new clerk is looking forward to getting to grips with the town’s top priorities.
Married father of three Michael Curry, 58, of Wingrave, took up the reins at Tring Town Council earlier this month and is keen to make sure decisions made by elected councillors turn into action.
Mr Curry, who had been a parish councillor at Wingrave with Rowsham for eight years including chairman for five years, went into local government after his job in the criminal justice system was made redundant. He previously worked in marketing.
Mr Curry, who was previously clerk to the parish council in Midsomer Norton, in Somerset, said: “I had been interested in local government as a councillor so it was a natural career change.” He believes in taking an interest in the local community.
For 18 months Mr Curry used to travel down to Somerset on a Monday and return to Wingrave at the weekend, before being appointed to the Tring post.
As well as making sure the council operates within its legal powers, Mr Curry sees the job as ‘making sure things happen’.
He said: “It’s all about working in partnership. You have to understand the circumstances other councils are working in and put things in a way that can achieve. But it also means you need to keep the pressure on.”
In coming years, Mr Curry believes cuts to local authority funding will have ‘repercussions’ for the town council.
This, he says, means the money spent at grassroots level of local government will come under increasing scrutiny.