Nottinghamshire County councillor Stuart Wallace, of Farndon, on facing an unusual year in office
A Newark county councillor admits it is a strange year to be becoming chairman of the authority.
As chairman, Stuart Wallace would usually be the public face of the county council, attending functions, representing it at events, opening new facilities, chairing full council meetings in a chamber full of members, and conducting royal or governmental visits to Nottinghamshire.
Coronavirus has curtailed virtually all of that for the time being, but Mr Wallace is still looking forward to his year in post.
“I am both delighted and proud to be the chairman of Nottinghamshire County Council,” said Mr Wallace, who lives in Farndon with his wife, Lynda.
“It is an odd time to be chairman with a lot of what the role normally involves curtailed by this dreadful virus.
“However, it is a good time to in that I am able to recognise all of the work being done by the authority and the very many community-minded volunteers and charities within the county.
“I’m looking forward to meeting people and dealing with them, but if I don’t get to meet a royal, I will be sad.
“My predecessor was invited to schools and playgroups, which can’t happen right now, but from September might hopefully be possible.”
For now, Mr Wallace chairs council meetings virtually, something he says takes some getting used to.
Mr Wallace said that with a background in social care, he was particularly looking forward to the opening of the new Orchard School and the new adult day care centre that, largely bankrolled by the county council, share a plot on London Road, Balderton, and should be completed this year.
“Both will be superb assets to not just this area but the county council area as a whole,” he said.
“The quality and provision of the Orchard School, for instance, will be what the staff and young people want, need and deserve.”
Mr Wallace was first elected to Nottinghamshire County Council in 2009.
As well as serving his Newark constituents he has for the past ten years helped shape the authority’s social care provision in his role of vice-chairman and chairman of the adult social care and public health committees.
Mr Wallace has always been involved in his community, having been a member of the Rotary Clubs of Ripley, Harrogate, Canary Wharf and Newark.
He is a trustee of the Magnus Education Fund and a board member of the Newark Municipal Charity, the Lilley and Stone Trust and Newark Voluntary Service.
His chosen charity for the year is Mysight Notts.
There are currently 31,000 people in Nottinghamshire who have difficulty with their sight, expected to rise to 37,000 over the next year.