A NEW councillor who has lifelong links with the Tavistock area has been recruited into a vacant town council ward.

Cllr Philip Peers, 37, stood for the south west ward against two other candidates and was chosen by the current councillors after putting his case to a council meeting. This selection process, in the absence of a by-election being called, is called co-option.

Cllr Peers, lives in Whitchurch with his wife Rebecca (a childhood sweetheart) and has two children Noah, four, and Flora, six, who both go to Whitchurch schools.

He was inspired to become a councillor when he found out there were not enough allotments to meet demand during lockdown when more people became interested in gardening as a way of getting outside and providing fresh food and exercise.

He said: ‘This was a council issue and that’s when I came to an awareness of the procedures that are involved.’

The new member, a keen coarse fisherman who fishes in a lake near Tavistock and runs 10km road races, also says his local knowledge, a lifetime of living in the area and skills and experiences will potentially make him a good councillor.

‘I have lived in the Tavistock area all my life and worked away for only a short time in London and studied at the University of the West of England, in Bristol,’ he said.

‘I was brought up in Lamerton and pushed trolleys at a local supermarket and cleaned toilets as a teenager to earn some money to socialise and towards buying my first car. It’s all good life experience.’

Cllr Peers is a deputy legal manager for the NHS at Derriford Hospital in Plymouth.

He said: ‘I have knowledge and skills in the fields of health care law, health and safety, insurance and law and governance, which I think will all be useful for the council and for any local people who might need my support.’

He added: ‘Should any member of the public who wishes to raise any concerns or have suggestions for new initiatives or improvements related to any of the services that the council provides, I would be happy to consider this and take forward as appropriate.’

He can be contacted by email at [email protected]