Dorothy leaves council chair after 11 years at East Preston

Len Barnett was elected as the new chairman at a meeting of the council on Monday night and Mike Clayden as vice-chairman.

Doorothy, 67, who lives in North Lane in the village, said she has greatly enjoyed her time as chairman but feels it time to let someone else take the hot seat.

She will continue to serve as a parish councillor, a post she has held since first elected in May, 1969.

That was at a time when she was a leading player in East Preston's stoolball team, for which she played for many years.

She became vice-chairman of the council in 1991 and its chairman in 1995.

Dorothy, who can trace her family back four generations in East Preston, was born and bred in the village and has lived there all her life.

She said she joined the council in the first place because of her family's long heritage in East Preston, a village of which she feels very much a part.

"My great-grandparents were farmers and brick makers here.

My grandfather had a dairy farm here with his brothers and my parents lived here too," she said.

"Without wanting to sound possessive about it, I feel it's my village in some ways. I have lived here all my life and I hoped that on the council I would be able to do some good for it and the people who live here."

Over the years, Dorothy has seen many changes in East Preston, some for the better and some not so.

"I have seen a lot of development in the village, in people's gardens and on other land, but it's still a lovely place.

"It's pretty, with lots of old buildings and a lot of history attached to it and is even named in the Domesday Book.

"Many of the new buildings add to its character and charm and it has many clubs and organisations that are very active."

Dorothy's links to East Preston even extend as far as her marriage. She and her husband Jim met while pupils at the village school and this year the couple celebrate their 45th wedding anniversary.

Their son, Nigel, also lives in the village and Mrs Lee said that with one grandchild already and another on the way, giving up being chairman will give her more time to spend with them.

She said: "I will still be on the council, though, so I will be able to contribute to anything that is happening to the council and to the village as a whole.

"Over the years I have enjoyed great support from my fellow councillors and I have been grateful for that.

"My one disappointment is that we have not been able to get proper premises for the council to meet in and have a clerk's office, which has been my dream for some years.

"It would be nice also to have a heritage centre, somewhere to display artefacts from the village and the surrounding area."