New county council chairman welcomes ‘honour’ of taking up role

He has represented Cuckfield and Lucastes at County Hall since 2007 and has also been one of Cuckfield’s district councillors for the past eight years.

Asked what the focus of his chairmanship would be, he said: “What I really want to take the opportunity to do is promote the positive aspects of living and working in West Sussex as the public facing bit of the county council and try and support businesses and helping people bounce back from the after effects of the pandemic, which hopefully we are coming to the end of.”

As well as representing the county council at civic functions and events, another part of the role is to chair full council meetings and he hoped to be able to do that ‘efficiently and fairly and make sure everybody has a chance to be heard’.

As his paternal grandfather was a coal miner in Lancashire, he felt his election as chairman of the county council last month ‘showed anyone can succeed if they try hard enough’.

He added: “I’m very, very pleased to be appointed. It’s a very significant honour.”

Alongside Pete’s work in local politics he devotes a lot of his time to charity work.

He is chairman of Building Heroes, which helps armed service leavers and veterans into employment in the building trades.

The national charity was set up in 2014 at the old Court Meadow School site in Cuckfield and has now grown to the point where it has moved to purpose-built offices in Crawley and has 13 centres nationally.

Music and sport are two of Pete’s other main passions.

He is part of a band called The Pete Bradbury Sound, which plays blues, rock and soul covers.

He is also a keen cricketer and former chairman of Staplefield Cricket Club where he has played since 1985 and is a great believer in promoting sports for all ages particularly for the young and wants to see improved sports and leisure facilities for the use by all members of the community.

Pete has been on the governing bodies of several schools including Bolnore Village, where he was one of the founders, and St Mark’s, Staplefield. As chairman of standards at Warden Park, he oversaw a substantial increase in pass rates and is the founder and former chairman of Mid Sussex Science Week, which inspires primary children in the STEM subjects - science, technology, engineering and mathematics.

He is a former trustee of the Sussex Learning Trust and is former chairman of Ansty & Staplefield Parish Council.

For more information on Building Heroes visit www.buildingheroes.org.uk

Meanwhile the Pete Bradbury Sound is playing outdoors at The Farmers pub in Scaynes Hill on Saturday (June 12) at 4pm. Entry is free, but booking is advised. Call 01444 831899.