Interview with County Councillor Sarah Reaney

Today, I’d like to invite you to read an interview with our Derbyshire County Councillor, Sarah Reaney. I think thanks to this interview, you’ll get a good sense of who Councillor Sarah Reaney wants to be, her speaking style, plans and personality.

For me, she comes across as direct and honest, without sounding like a rehearsed politician. She was sometimes refreshingly blunt, and you can feel that she is passionately committed to her work – especially regarding young people and apprenticeships. I couldn’t stop her talking about that and was forced to trim it from the interview. (I also trimmed sections about devolution.)

She’s not afraid to admit that she’s still finding her feet after 12 weeks in office. You could say she is a newbie with ambition, knowledge and drive to lead and push forward. I enjoyed the conversation with her, as I always like speaking with someone who is enthusiastic and talks openly in a conversational, stream-of-consciousness way.

Sometimes her answers were scattered in delivery, so I had to edit the text here and there. All in all, she’s a person who left me with the impression that she’s genuine in her desire to help, learn, and do good. Could I have pressed her harder with tougher questions? Perhaps. But after only 12 weeks, we’re still in the political honeymoon period after County elections. I’ll save the sharper questions — on achievements, mistakes, and blunders — for about a year from now. This piece is more of a “welcome — let’s see what’s ahead of us” interview.

Without further ado: here is County Councillor Sarah Reaney.

SHIREBROOK247 (S247 from now on): I don’t like beating around the bush, so let’s hit the ground running — what have you done for the residents of Shirebrook since being elected?
COUNCILLOR SARAH REANEY (CLLR S.REANEY from now on): Wow, where do we start? Obviously, we’ve had loads of roadworks done initially, which I’m pleased to see when I’m out and about in the community. So our pothole woes seem to be getting sorted out.

We’ve got a meeting with the Crime Commissioner next week, which I’m kind of excited about. I’ve been pushing for this for a few weeks, and I’ve finally got some response. She’s actually coming to Shirebrook to talk about our crime issues, which, having spoken to a lot of residents, is high up there on their agenda. I don’t think we have a manned police station – that’s the feedback I’m getting. I’m meeting with one of the parish councillors as well and I’ve invited them along so they can hear things firsthand. Hopefully we can get a bit more patrols out there. There are various grants that small groups can apply for regarding crime as well, which we’ve been distributing within the community.

What other things have I been doing? It all seems like a whirlwind. I’ve been visiting constituents about nuisance neighbours. In my opinion, a council house should come with conditions – you should respect the property and your neighbours. If you don’t tick those boxes, then I don’t think you should get a council house. I was seeing this very lovely lady who’s had 10 months of hell, and we finally got the neighbours evicted, which is great.

We’re starting to look at HMOs as well, trying to bring in legislation where we can require landlords to have a licence to operate an HMO. That’s in its early stages at the moment, and I do feel that’s on people’s agenda as well.

You know, we’ve only been at it for 12 weeks, but I feel we’re achieving a lot. As I mentioned apprenticeships is my big thing. (authors note: before interview Cllr Reaney also talked a lot about that) I want to see young people succeed, so I’ve got an important meeting this week about funding for that.

We’ve got school visits happening as part of their civic education. We’ve invited Park Road School from Shirebrook in October – the deputy head was so excited about it. They’re going to set the agenda for discussion because we’re having a little debate in the cabinet room with microphones and everything. I think the kids will absolutely love that.

So for 12 weeks, that’s kind of where we are. But there’s a lot more going on.

S247: Recently, Shirebrook residents have been hit with a stream of bad news, setbacks, and scandals: an influx of illegal immigrants kept quiet by BDC, controversies over investments in the crematorium and Town Square, the Dragonfly scandal, more HMOs, the “net-zero pellet heating system” scandal, and the attempt to hand over the Village Hall to a newly formed CIC. I could go on and on. Bottom line is this: whether it’s BDC or STC, Shirebrook always seems to get the rough end of the stick. So my question is — do you have any good news for the people of Shirebrook from County Council?
CLLR S.REANEY: You might chastise me over this, but I’m just happy that the bypass that has been talked about for almost 100 years has finally been green-lighted for costings. I see that as a real positive thing because it will attract business to the area.

S247: So what does that mean – costings?
CLLR S.REANEY: What does it means that it’s gone for costing? It means to work out how much it’s going to cost to get it built. It’s never got to that stage before. This is a really large leap because we’ve been pushing it with the East Midlands Authority, and they’ve been given a lot of money for transport purposes. I know it’s been pushed for decades, but they are now listening. Everywhere you go, people talk about Shirebrook, and I think, wow, you know where Shirebrook is. Bypass, it’s on important people’s agenda. More important than me – the mayor knows about Shirebrook.

S247: So is this bypass going around Glapwell as well?
CLLR S.REANEY: Glapwell, yeah. Because the A617 is, well, you’ve said it yourself, it’s a nightmare. The residents who live there – it’s not fair on them. There’s no way to cross that road. So it’s for the Glapwell residents and Shirebrook as well.

S247: So, do you know any dates?
CLLR S.REANEY: I don’t know any dates at the moment. However, Sylvester, as soon as I do know dates, I’ll let you know.

S247: Your predecessor as County Councillor never attended STC meetings, but she regularly published detailed articles in The Post. You don’t. In the past, the publisher of The Post received thousands of pounds from taxpayers — probably still does — and many residents, myself included, feel the tradition of County Cllr updates in The Post should have been continued. Why isn’t there any information from you in The Post?
CLLR S.REANEY: Quite frankly, I’ve not been approached about it. Someone has mentioned on Facebook that the previous county councillor did write articles in the newspaper, but I haven’t had anybody come and ask me to do it. I would love to do it to reach out to everybody. If I can find out who I need to approach, I think I need to pick up a copy, find out who the contact person is, and say, “Don’t you think it would be fair for me to put my views in there?” (author’s note: day after interview Cllr came back with update- she established contact with The Post; following updates would be probably published on her Facebook page).

S247: Looking ahead to the next two years, what are your top three priorities for Shirebrook and Pleasley — and how will you measure if you’ve delivered on them?
CLLR S.REANEY: First: crime needs looking at. As I mentioned previously, when I’ve been out talking to people in the community, it’s one of their high priorities. This is one of the things we’ll be discussing with the Crime Commissioner – to see whether we can get more police around the market square and get a functioning police station up and running for a start.

My second priority is young people and apprenticeships. One of my big scrutiny committees – that’s the first one I’m running – will be about funding for apprenticeships.

And my third one? Survival. No, I’m only joking! Just to keep pushing to make people aware that Shirebrook is there, making it a talking point among all the higher authorities.

S247: For many residents — and even for people like me who follow politics closely — the County Council’s overall financial situation can feel like a mystery. How would you describe Derbyshire County Council’s current finances, in plain English? Are we in good shape, just getting by, or in real trouble?
CLLR S.REANEY: We’re in real trouble.

S247: Can you put a number on that?
CLLR S.REANEY: Right. Well, the figures are actually online, even though you’d probably need a degree to work them out. But I think Robert (author’s note: Vice-Chair of DCC whom we met on the way to the interview room and chatted with briefly) just mentioned earlier that the debt was something like £450 million, which is a lot of money. It is terrifying. And people want the same services delivered. Even some of the services we’ve got aren’t that great, but we’re trying to work more effectively.

S247: So, for me, it sounds like tax rises are coming.
CLLR S.REANEY: With £450 million debt, I’m not going to say there won’t be, because I don’t believe we can keep where we are. Sorry. That’s the honest answer. I could beat around the bush and say, “Oh no, we’re not,” but I can’t see any other way forward.

S247: You’re Chair of the Resources Scrutiny Committee at DCC. Can you explain, in simple terms, what that committee does — and give one example of its work?
CLLR S.REANEY: Bearing in mind, I’ve only been in this role for 12 weeks. Real scrutiny committees don’t start until September, mainly because most of the council have the summer holidays off – all the officers and things like that.

Going back to what scrutiny does: in layman’s terms, anything that is decided by cabinet before it becomes law has to go through the process of being scrutinised. My role, or the role of a scrutiny committee, is to identify and examine in minute detail any shortcomings within that proposal.

S247: What can go wrong with that proposal, right?
CLLR S.REANEY: That’s right. If we did this, that could happen. So 12 weeks is too short to… Well, we’ve not really had one yet. We’ve had what I call a gathering of the scrutiny, but there was nothing to scrutinise at that point. However, over the last 12 weeks, various things will be coming to the next scrutiny committee. One of them is apprenticeships.

From my understanding, government gave the county council £300,000 to encourage apprenticeships through DCC. That doesn’t look as though it’s happened. My meeting this week, and for scrutiny in September, is to ask the main questions: Where is the money? Why hasn’t it been used? And who’s responsible for that decision?

For example, let’s say the money is there, ready to use, and some company in Shirebrook wants to hire apprentices. That company should contact me. My door is always open. If there’s anything we can do regarding getting young people into apprenticeships, we have a very dire skills shortage in this country – joiners, electricians, builders. You try getting a builder, you’re having to wait six months to have anything done on your own home.

It’s all wonderful, everybody going to university and getting their degree, but not everybody is cut out for that path. It’s that gap I want to fill or try my best to help. That’s a message to young people. I have never seen a poor builder yet. They all seem to be loaded and have loads of money and go on loads of holidays. So if young people are listening to this, reading this, please, please, please consider a trade.

S247: With County budgets under pressure, where do you think cuts are most likely to fall — and how will you fight to protect Shirebrook’s share of services?
CLLR S.REANEY: Too early to speak about it but it’s all about working smarter. That is, you know, in regards, for example, what we spoke about earlier about the pothole thing. You know, if we were to invest in better machineries that are quicker and more efficient, that again is saving time and money. So we’re coming at it from a different angle that technology sometimes, well, definitely does have its place. And if we kind of investigate new technologies, this will then save money in the long run. And that’s what we’re doing, I think, across the board.

S247: What prompted you to run for County Councillor? Was it an impulsive decision, an event that pushed you to act, or part of a long-term plan? In other words — what first got you into politics?
CLLR S.REANEY: I’ve always been interested in politics. I’ve always had an opinion about everything. And the way the country is going at the moment, I just couldn’t sit back anymore and not put myself forward and try to do something about it. The country is in a dire mess. Rather than criticise, I’ve decided to put myself forward and do something about it. That was my main decision.

S247: So when you came into politics, you had zero experience in campaigning and elections?
CLLR S.REANEY: Very little experience on the political front. Anybody who says they’re not into politics, I don’t believe it, because every decision affects all our lives. Whether it’s just putting your bin out on a Tuesday and whether it gets collected or not – everybody is affected by politics and decisions. So right now there are probably a lot of people in this country who think the country is going the wrong way. No one is doing anything about it. I should step up.

S247: What’s your message to people like that?
CLLR S.REANEY: My message is that we need to keep going and striving to get Reform in these positions of power. At the moment, we’ve got a Labour government, a Labour district council, and a Labour town council. County council Reform can only do so much, but when you’re getting pressed from above and below, these people have different agendas to you.

S247: For example, housing illegal immigrants in our area?
CLLR S.REANEY: For example, housing. Yes. There’s only so much a county council can do. You need support from above and below. And if you want to keep the area safe and keep it as it is, then you’re going to still have these problems. All I can urge people to do is vote for change and we will resolve these issues given time. Step up. That’s it. That’s the message.

S247: When I was preparing questions for this interview, I found a statement where you said that your three guiding principles are accessibility, transparency, and proactivity — what do they mean in practice, and which one have you focused on most so far?
CLLR S.REANEY: All three, I’ll have you know. Any time any person has come forward to me and said, “Sarah, can you find out what’s going on with this or that?” I’ve done it immediately. I’ve gone out, found that information, and fed it back in a clear and concise manner. That’s how I’ve conducted myself from the beginning because I know those three principles are important to the public.

S247: What’s the proudest moment so far since you’ve been elected — the moment you felt you’d made a real difference?
CLLR S.REANEY: It’s only been 12 weeks, so maybe we should come back to this question next year, but there are a few things I could mention. One of the first things somebody asked me here at county council was, “Would I like to be on the board of Creswell Crags?” Now, I love heritage. I think we live in one of the best parts of the country in Derbyshire. But to be involved with Creswell Crags – we’ve got something that’s on the verge of UNESCO World Heritage status actually on our doorstep. I was just humbled to be asked to be on their board, to give them ideas about making it sustainable, making it work, and making it earn money for the good of the people around it.

S247: Let’s zoom in on Shirebrook and Pleasley — what’s top of your to-do list right now?
CLLR S.REANEY: Oh, I’m not going to mention the roads again because we’ve discussed that. However, speaking to people again, it’s a lot to do with crime. Those are their concerns. And potholes.

S247: You have to choose one.
CLLR S.REANEY: It’s going to have to be the potholes. Because that’s what I get most of my queries about – “Can you do something about this road or that road?” Cars are coming up too fast. I can report that I was one of the complaining people and the road I complained about was fixed. So there you go. We are making progress there.

S247: Shirebrook Town Council at the moment is dysfunctional. In one of your posts, you said you’ve been to more interrupted meetings than concluded ones. Even today, as we’re making this interview, you planned to be at an STC meeting — but it was cancelled. Your constituency also includes neighbouring Pleasley — is the situation there similar?
CLLR S.REANEY: Pleasley, I must say, is how a meeting should be run. Everybody is polite, everybody lets everybody speak and have their moment. They have a wonderful clerk there who takes the minutes (editor note: in light of “always 6 months delay in publishing minutes cherished and exercises by STC Town Clerk, I checked minutes of Pleasley Parish Council while I was editing this text: last one published was… look at screen- I know its not professional to interrupt interview of prominent politician with screenshots made to just make a point but:

[continued answer, imagine there is no interruption]. I even get invited and have an agenda sent to me prior to the parish meeting. (editor note: next question is improvised by me; I was just surprised that none of the “officials” of STC thought to invite the COUNTY COUNCILLOR to the STC meeting.)

S247: So are you telling that Shirebrook Town Council and Town Clerk doesn’t invite you to meetings?
CLLR S.REANEY: No, they don’t. They don’t invite me. I think I’ve had one (“summon” to STC meeting). When I first started, they sent me through an agenda. I’ve had one in all my time being there, right at the beginning. I’ve not had anything since. I don’t get invited. I don’t get an email. I just have to rely on the public telling me where they are so I can actually turn up. And then I rely on the public to tell me when it’s been cancelled as well.

S247: Recently, BDC has also been tackling numerous scandals, and from my point of view, it looks like they are more focused on their own fires and publicity shots on social media than worrying about the people who elected them. How would you describe your working relationship with Bolsover District Council — and has it helped or hindered delivering for Shirebrook?
CLLR S.REANEY: Well, my experience of this is rather complicated. Through my constituents, if they have a problem, they tend to go to the district council first – whether it’s repairs on their council house or issues with graffiti or antisocial behaviour. Sometimes that information coming from the constituent seems to get ignored. That then prompts the constituent to contact the county councillor, which is myself, and I’ve got no problem at all helping anybody.

But I will then email the correct person about the issue and it does get sorted out. Now, it shouldn’t be my job to go to the district council and ask them to sort it out. They should be listening to the constituent. If someone comes forward with a problem, they should communicate and address it within a set timeframe.

My feeling is that the people of Shirebrook have completely lost faith in the council – I can understand that – and also in the district council, because they are so busy playing politics that they don’t care.

S247: So, with BDC and STC busy with extinguishing the political and scandal fires, how did you handle residents’ issues?
CLLR S.REANEY: What I must say is that everything that has landed at my door, I’ve dealt with it. I’ve been in touch with the district council civil servants about numerous issues and the situations has then been resolved. All it took was effort. However, it seems a very long-winded way of getting an issues sorted. But if me being a county councillor helps get that person what they need or gets something sorted out, then bring it on. I’m happy to do that. My message to residents is that’s what I’m here for if you need me. Can you make sure people know that? And maybe give my contact details so they can reach me directly? (email here with editor note of all contact details at the bottom of article)

S247: Some people say Shirebrook gets overlooked at the County level- mainly because the previous County Cllr did nothing. A good example of this ongoing and everlasting “overlooking” is the double-T crossing near the cemetery: residents wanted a roundabout, yet suddenly — without any consultation or notice — we were surprised by a building site setting up crossing lights. Why was a decision like that made without any consideration for residents’ needs? Was it made by the previous administration or the current one?
CLLR S.REANEY: We’ve only been in for 12 weeks. The length of time it takes anything to get started, it’s going to be way before our 12 weeks of being here. So that was probably something that was in the pipeline prior to that.

S247: If I can send a message to county councillors: just don’t overlook us. Try to discuss with the residents what’s going on. The plans. Everybody talks about a roundabout there (near the cemetery) because there’s plenty of space to build it, and a roundabout would provide smoother traffic.
CLLR S.REANEY: Obviously, from the current administration, we could always put those feelings forward and see whether it would be too late to have a roundabout put in. Probably they have to finish first. Then, if there are problems with traffic, residents will complain. It might be something worth monitoring over the next six months to see what the feeling is, and maybe ask people who live around that area. I could conduct a bit of door-to-door canvassing and see how things are in six months’ time.

S247: We’ll get back to that in some time, but meanwhile, we will have two large new residential areas up and running in Shirebrook, yet the town hasn’t gained a new school, GP, dentist, or roads. Are there any plans for new infrastructure in Shirebrook? Because at the moment, it looks like we’re only getting new homes.
CLLR S.REANEY: It’s only really large projects that we’re asked to comment on. However, we have very little power. It’s usually the district council (BDC) that pushes things to be done. Now, all my comments that I’ve put forward recently for any development, even a small one… There’s one recently not far from Glapwell Junction. Somebody’s put in planning for, I think, 40 or 50 houses that they couldn’t sell.

Well, just going back a little bit – 50 were built previously that couldn’t be sold. So they reduced the price, reduced the price. Nothing. They ended up getting offloaded onto the district council for council housing.

S247: That’s interesting...
CLLR S.REANEY: Very interesting. And so now, there’s another planning application. Somebody else must have bought some land next to where those 50 houses were built and put in planning for another 40. Now, are we going to have the same situation again, where you can’t sell the houses and they end up being sold to the district council for council housing?

What people don’t seem to understand, and my comments always mention this, is that 40 houses means around 80 cars. Because most houses have one car, they might have two or three. That also includes deliveries from Amazon and such, which adds to the congestion. Plus, have these people got children? Do they need doctors? School places? The infrastructure is not there to accommodate more housing. My comments have always been: until the infrastructure is there, I don’t approve. But this is pointless because the plans were approved by BDC (editor note: Labour-led). At the end of the day, I’m only asked for comments. The decision to actually grant permission is out of my control. I can only put my opinion forward. After devolution though, this is where more of the power will come to the county regarding decision making for planning.

S247: What’s your opinion on Fraser moving out of Shirebrook? Do you have any information about that which you could share with residents?
CLLR S.REANEY: One of our Reform members who comes to the meetings is very positive about Sports Direct in the area. They are expanding from what he tells me, which means more jobs. At the end of the day, they are a big employer in the region.

From what I’ve been told, there’s no imminent chance of them moving away. That’s what one of my constituents who works there told me. However, there is an alternative opinion that they may. What we need to do is plan for that eventuality if they do actually leave Shirebrook.

The committee (author’s note: which committee wasn’t specified during the interview) should know about their plans earlier. They are too big to surprise us. The last thing we want is to be caught on the back foot and lose Sports Direct because it is such a big employer for the area.

S247: What’s something residents might be surprised to learn about the County Council’s work?
CLLR S.REANEY: I didn’t think I’d be as busy as I am. That’s the honest truth – you think county council work is easy, but it isn’t. I don’t know what people know about my situation, but I actually have a part-time job as well. I work three days for an independent financial advisor. But the rest of my days and my evenings are filled with being a county councillor – meetings, phone calls, emails. You just never, ever stop.

I’ve not had a holiday in two years because I’ve been busy campaigning for my husband when he stood to be an MP, and then obviously our campaign trail for the recent county council election. I just feel like a little hamster in a wheel, whizzing round, but enjoying it. I wouldn’t have it any other way. I do feel as though we’re starting to make a difference. So I suppose you could say I’m surprised that I’m enjoying the tiredness.

S247: What’s the best piece of advice you’ve had since taking office — and who gave it to you?
CLLR S.REANEY: The best advice somebody gave to me was, “Be true to yourself.”

S247: And who gave it to you?
CLLR S.REANEY: My mother.

S247: Are you being true to yourself so far?
CLLR S.REANEY: Yes, I am. The thing is, I just want to remain being me. I don’t want to be part of anybody else’s agenda. I just want to be me and do the best that I can by just being me.

S247: Who in politics — local or national — do you admire most, and why?
CLLR S.REANEY: Lee Anderson. I just wish Lee Anderson were our MP. Any problems that I’ve got that I can’t deal with as a county councillor – do I email Natalie Fleet? No, I do not. I am not wasting my time. I’ve tried and it gets me nowhere. So I always go to Lee Anderson. I always get a fantastic reply. He’s just the most professional person. I just wish Lee was our MP.

S247: Some residents have told me they’ve been blocked from commenting on your Facebook posts, even when they say their questions were polite but critical. Can you explain your approach to moderating or blocking on social media, and how you decide where that line is?
CLLR S.REANEY: That’s not true. I only block people who use derogatory language. Somebody did mention in the beginning that when I first started doing my posts, I used the phrase “good evening Reformers.” Actually, somebody did say, “You know, not everybody’s a Reformer in Shirebrook.” So I changed the language to “good evening Reformers and good people of Shirebrook and Pleasley.”

(Author’s note: Facebook’s automated moderation system sometimes removes or blocks posts and comments without the page owner’s knowledge or consent. This has happened multiple times to various local pages, including S247 – I literally couldn’t post answers to questions on my own page for some time, and someone removed my users’ posts without my consent or even notification! Some Facebook admin apparently decided I was too conservative in my convictions and blocked me from my own blog fanpage. During our post-interview conversation, Councillor Reaney mentioned that if anyone has problems communicating via Facebook, the safest option is to email her directly so that no automated system can censor or remove the message. In other words: you want to speak with Cllr Sarah Reaney and Facebook doesn’t work: try through email.)

S247: I’m trying to interview any politician from the Labour Party, and every one of them has refused to sit down with me. What am I doing wrong? What advice could you give me to help convince Labour Party politicians to stop dodging interviews (author’s note: all asked councillors of STC refused, MP refused, Chair of STC refused, Chair of BDC refused- is there anyone else to ask who didn’t refuse?)
CLLR S.REANEY: Sylvester, I’m sorry, but I don’t think there’s any advice I can give you. I’ve always found you very approachable. Your questions are always on point, poignant, and relevant as well. So I would encourage anybody – whether it be the Labour Party, the Conservative Party, the Green Party – to come forward and be interviewed. At the end of the day, people need to get to know you.

(Author’s note: As someone who has conducted numerous interviews, I believe that if you’re afraid to sit down for an interview, it means you’re hiding something. That suggests you’re most likely a bad person. No good person is afraid to speak with another human being, regardless of their convictions and morals. Democracy dies when people stop talking to each other- especially those who have different opinions. Sadly, it looks like Labour Party decided to cancel me, ghost me, ignore me. I tried. I tried hard. I failed. Life goes on, and regardless of past failures- I’ll try again.)

S247: OK — let’s leave the morally collapsing Labour Party behind and let us look into the future. Let’s talk a little about devolution. What is your general feeling about this devolution?
CLLR S.REANEY: I think we would benefit as a community because you’re taking a layer out of decision making. You know, there’s too many layers at the moment.

S247: Can you explain, in simple words, what real impact it will have on the residents of Shirebrook?
CLLR S.REANEY: Generally speaking, there shouldn’t be any real impact on the normal person on the street. There shouldn’t be. You should still get your libraries. You should still get your bus services. You should still get your bin emptied. The only difference, really, is that you’re taking a layer out of decision making. Which, for our area, would benefit from devolution – unlike other colleagues that I speak to here at County Council. What did my teacher used to say to me? “Room for improvement.” So yeah, devolution opens the way to improve. That’s what I think will happen in Bolsover District.

S247: Do you know whether the constituency boundaries for Shirebrook will change under the new unitary structure, and how many councillors the area might have in the future?
CLLR S.REANEY: We (County Council councillors) don’t know anything about changes to Shirebrook-Pleasley boundaries. At the moment I have no information about that.

S247: Public consultation on that devolution ended three days ago. According to the schedule I found on derby.gov.uk: 28 November 2025 — final proposals due to go to Government; Spring 2026 — Government feedback expected, possibly including statutory consultation; 2027 — elections to any new “shadow” authorities could take place; by 2028 — most new unitary councils are expected to be in place. My question is about “shadow” authorities: I’ve heard a rumour that members of the new “shadow” authority might be appointed by the Government rather than elected. Have you heard anything about that — and can you confirm whether residents will get a vote on who represents them during that shadow year?
CLLR S.REANEY: I will keep my post as the county councillor for two years. There will be a new election and the newly elected councillors will shadow the current ones while the transition is happening, and then the newly elected councillors take over.

S247: One last question. I’ve got readers in Pleasley too. One of them even asked me to create a website like S247 for Pleasley. Sadly I don’t have time for it, but I would like to give you an opportunity to address residents of Pleasley too. What would you like to say to them about your work for the village — and what they can expect from you in the months ahead?
CLLR S.REANEY: Well, to be honest with you, I do get a lot of interaction with Pleasley. A lot more than Shirebrook actually, which I was surprised about. I get a lot of people asking for funding with the MCLS funding (author’s note: spelling based on audio recording and uncertain – should have asked follow-up question). The majority of those requests have actually come from Pleasley people asking. Also I have a lot to do with the food hub out there. I’ve been there a couple of times in my 12 weeks.

Pleasley Pit – that’s great. If you’ve not been to Pleasley Pit, it really needs putting on the map. It’s an absolutely fantastic educational place for kids to go. That is a really good thing that Pleasley has to offer. It puts them on the map.

S247: But you like Shirebrook more than Pleasley, right?
CLLR S.REANEY: Oh, bless you. It’s like asking your mother which is your favourite child. You can’t do that.

END

Author’s note: I decided to end with an innocent joke. We talked more, and I could make another 10 pages of text, but I think this interview is long enough already and introduces Sarah Reaney quite well. Our councillor promised to meet with me in about a year’s time, when she will have much more to talk about actions rather than plans.