Interview: Neil Connor - Candidate for Parish Councillor
Neil Connor is standing in the by-election for Parish Councillor. chilbolton.news went to find out more about him and what he wants to achieve.
Background
Neil Connor was born in London, but was brought up in High Wycombe. He studied International Politics at Aberystwyth University and his first job was in Credit Control at Digital Equipment Corporation, based in Reading.
His job entailed chasing payments, calling customers asking “when are you going to pay?” He learned a lot from it, but after 18 months he enrolled on a six-month sales training course. He wanted a customer-facing role, and moved into sales and business management.
He later moved to Syntegra, where he did integration and consultancy for local authorities. He also worked with the Department for Transport to help bring commercial thinking to Government.
He has lived in the Village with his wife Julie and their three children for 25 years. He has recently retired.
Why Parish Councillor?
Neil told us that he hadn’t been that engaged with the work of Parish Council for 24 years. That changed in December 2024. Since the public meeting then, he has been attending Parish Council meetings.
What does he make of it? “When it comes to housing and infrastructure, the Parish Council just isn’t being open or transparent.”
He asked himself “Where was the communication? The engagement? The trust?” He also felt that the Strategic Working Group had a fixed idea, rather than thinking of alternatives. “So far, it has all has been ‘Council-led’” he says.
“I found it sad how things were happening. I thought to myself somebody needs to get involved,” so he joined the Community Development Committee and Chilbolton Community Land Trust.
After what Neil calls the “ambush meeting”, at which CDC’s Terms of Reference were changed and Cllr David Hall resigned as Chair of CDC, Neil took over as acting Chair. He has guided the work since then, and for him, “the financial numbers and the commercial case have to add up.”
Personal qualities
He brings what he’s learned in business to his new roles within the Village “I’m quite a driving person, but I think strategically, and I work as a team player.”
He says he tries not to be too political, preferring to apply his work experience and his sense of humour.
Notably, he wants to “change the ambush mentality”, to let people know beforehand what he is going to do, and why.
He also wants to avoid the proposed development changing the character of the Village. “I’m quite passionate about it,” he says.
Development of 25 homes
Asked about the how the proposal for 25 homes has been managed, he is blunt - “It has been a shambles.” He says there have been honest mistakes along the way, but there has also been “poor management.”
In particular, he says that the Parish Council doesn’t understand why villagers have objections or why there is a perception of conflict of interest. “It seems there is something of a ‘bunker mentality’ or even a lack of emotional intelligence at times,” he says.
On the other hand, though, he points out where the Parish Council got it right. “On the response to the Test Valley Borough Council Local Plan, they had three meetings. They took on board the feedback from residents. They listened and reflected that back to the Parish.”
He expresses his frustrations over the work of the CDC: “We’re trying to be objective and deliver some stuff, but we’re being thwarted at every turn.” He points out that the meeting Councillors will have with TVBC next week should actually have happened back in August.
On the specific proposal to build 25 homes he says he is supportive of it “but not necessarily on that site. We need to complete the evaluation and see how it compares to other sites, including a proper discussion about how it would be owned and managed.”
One thing he is clear about is that the community needs to be asked “Do you support this development?” He says “I don’t care whether it is a vote or a referendum, but we need to ask the residents. Having the community saying ‘we support it’ would be good.”
Trust and conflicts of interest
Neil believes that the Parish Council has lost the trust of residents. “Since February this year, I’ve been asking about this in public meetings: about a referendum, engagement and trust”
He thinks the Chair’s questioning the motives of villagers who criticise CPC is misjudged. “CPC needs to assess the causes of the lack of trust, and deal with each of them,” he says.
He describes issues over conflict of interest as “a running sore”, and says that it has not helped to build trust. Interests “have been declared inconsistently,” he says, and notes it would be better if Councillors removed themselves from the housing list, or “remove themselves from the conversation.”
What else is important?
Neil says that a lot of Village residents think that infrastructure is the top priority - more important than the housing development. “We have 450 homes, and here are 25 more [being planned]. We have sewage problems and electricity and water outages. These affect people’s everyday lives”
He says that there needs to be development and infrastructure improvement. He adds, though - “Infrastructure is hard and it’s long-term.”
Chilbolton Community Land Trust
Neil is a Trustee of Chilbolton Community Land Trust, so he has intimate knowledge of the challenges facing it. “We haven’t come to a conclusion of the ‘How’. What we do know is that the skills needed don’t all exist within CCLT.”
Asked what the main issues are, he says “There are different routes to funding. We need to be partnering with a delivery company for building and operating the houses. But the biggest variable is clarity on the site and the cost of the land.”
He summarises it by saying “It is very much a work in progress.”
Contribution
If he were elected as Parish Councillor, he would prefer to stick with the work he is doing on CDC. With that, CCLT, and busy personal life, he says he needs to manage his workload carefully.
Away from the Parish Council, he was involved with pressing for the introduction of high-speed broadband. He helped organise Chilfest, and played at it with his band “Faccombe ‘All”. He also served as a governor at Wherwell Primary School, which his three children attended.
Life in Chilbolton
He and his family have lived in Chilbolton for 25 years. One of the things that attracted them to the Village was the chance to live “up a dirt track with land around it.” Their house, when they arrived, was a “doer-upper, that needed a complete transformation.”
Candidly, on the location they chose, he says “We wanted to be able to light a bonfire, without the neighbours complaining.”
They have two dogs, Vizslas called Isla and Luca, who are regularly walked round the Observatory.
Neil was a keen sportsman: he played rugby for Richmond, Basingstoke and Hampshire. Both his sons also played, and he coached them.
He loves music, and plays guitar and piano. He plays four or five times a year with his band and he has a home studio.
The Election
As we come to the end of the interview, we ask how he would sum up his candidacy: “My intent is to do the right thing by the Village,” he says, “representing the views of villagers to the Parish Council. I want to turn CPC from council-led to community-led.”