Independent Forres Ward Moray councillors George Alexander and Lorna Creswell discuss their roles ahead of retirement in May
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TWO well-known local personalities are stepping down from public role.
Independent Moray councillors, George Alexander and Lorna Creswell, have represented the ward since 2012, and ever keen to do what is best for the area, would like to hear what is important to constituents before the council polls in May.
From election, Cllr Alexander, a former Maths teacher at Forres Academy, has focused on improving the area’s education system.
He said: “My main motivation for standing was to find out why the service in Moray was in such difficult circumstances and to identify how this could be rectified. I am disappointed that there is still a long way to go. We have too many primary schools, some of which are half full and within walking distance of each other. The idea that Moray can justify eight secondary schools, capable of providing a full breadth of curriculum from S1 to S6, is also flawed.
“We need to look at developing a sustainable model which gives a better service.”
A school estate review is currently at the public consultation stage.
Cllr Alexander added: “Consultants produced a clear report in 2014 but at that time we did not have sufficient councillors willing to take difficult decisions and others were more interested in furthering political careers.
“It will be up to our successors to rationalise the number of schools we have in Moray.”
Cllr Creswell is similarly disappointed that an ageing Forres Academy has not been replaced. However, she originally stood to influence decisions on local welfare.
She said: “I wanted to bring the voice of Ward 8 to the (full council) table. But our public facilities are still deteriorating and I’ve learned to set my expectations of what can be achieved by the local authority much lower as inequality increases.”
The former Forres House Community Centre youth worker and Forres Community Council chairwoman still hopes to help as many people as she can, maintaining her impressive record in early years, youth work, childcare and adult literacy.
She said: “I hope that our work of over the last decade has brought about some changes in attitude to those who refuse to acknowledge that inequalities in society need to be addressed with funding.
“I worked on initiatives and reports made to the council 15 years ago which highlighted the fact that something needs to be done.
“The issues are being looked at but there’s too much talk, not enough action.”
Looking ahead to Thursday May 5, Cllr Creswell has been impressed by the community’s reaction to the pandemic and hopes that some of the most active volunteers consider standing for election. Cllr Alexander stressed the importance of voting for replacement councillors on their qualities rather than their parties.
He explained: “Too many voters simply look at the party ticket and vote for that candidate. In a small community like Moray’s, that does not serve us well as we consider whether the person behind that party ticket wishes to do the best for the area or just further the aims of the party.
“We need to elect people who can display good leadership and professionalism. We have lots of people like that in the ward so let’s hope they step forward.”
Both councillors agree that working with constituents directly to solve problems had been the highlight of their 10 years’ service. But listening to party political bickering will not be missed.
Cllr Creswell confirmed her life has been dominated by her civic duties and that she is looking forward to spending more time with family and on hobbies.
Cllr Alexander agreed about the long hours and about catching up with family and friends. For him, retirement will provide time for more sustained involvement with his beloved Forres Mechanics FC and as a volunteer with Forres Heritage Trust.
