Cllr Dale Heenan
Elected - Thursday 10th June 2004
Re-Elected - Thursday 1st May 2008
10 Swan Close, Swindon SN3 4QB
Home - 01793 613189
Mobile - 07792755227
dale@covinghamandnytheintouch.com
Cllr Dale Heenan was elected with a 493 majority in June 2004, and re-elected in May 2008, with a 776 majority.
"Being re-elected is a tremendous priviledge, and the support from local residents has been overwhelming. I am very pleased to be the local Councillor for Coleview, Covingham and Nythe. Living in the ward makes a big difference because I see the problems which need sorting every day, and I'm always happy to invite residents in for a coffee or chat outside the shops".
Politics
I have had an interest in politics for the last 10 years and was introduced to Campaigning by Cllr Nick Martin and Cllr Justin Tomlinson. I started out simply helping to deliver a few leaflet drops, but after a while this snowballed when I started to talk to residents on the doors.
I was the Conservatives 30th Councillor in Swindon and my election in 2004 turned Swindon turned blue for the first time in a generation. Since then the Conservatives have overall control of Swindon Borough Council.
One of my very first votes as a Borough Councillor was to approve the removal of the Speed Humps in Covingham Drive. In case you are wondering it was close! 4 Conservatives voted for the changes vs 3 Labour who voted against!! This Scrutiny Committee meeting is an easy example of the differences between the parties. Without this vote being won, the Speed Humps could still be in place today!
During my first year as a Councillor, I was Swindon Borough Council's eGovernment Champion because of my considerable expierence within the IT Industry. It was this expierence that helped me to identify savings, £40,000 of which directly led to the funding of the Graffiti Removal Van. A service provided free to local residents!
I also took an interest in every committee and stood in for other Councillors whenever I could, this was to ensure I had a good understanding of how the Council worked and to find an area I had an interest in. It always to find jobs you like doing!
In my second year, I joined the Planning Commitee and was promoted to Chairman of the Footpaths & Rights of Way Committee.
In my 3rd year, I remained as Chairman of the Footpaths & Rights of Way Committee and acted as ViceChairman of the Community, Housing and Social Care Committee. 2006 was a controversial period, and I had to act as the Chairman following the resignation of the Labour Chairman and the subsequent sabaticial for 4 months by the Councillor who took over!
From my work on this Committee and my work on the Housing Advisory Forum, I was nominated by the Tenants of the Housing Advisory Forum to act as their Vice Chairman. Following the resignation halfway through the year of the Tenant who was Chairman (because of other Committments), I also stood in as Chairman for the remainder of the year.
The work programme for the Community, Housing and Social Care Committee was centred around 4 'themed evenings'. The topics discussed included AntiSocial Behaviour, Community & Youth Grants, Adult Learning and Affordable Housing. The AntiSocial Behaviour night enabled me to grill an Assistant Inspector for nearly 3 hours on the issues affected Covingham and Nythe residents, and the Swindon area.
Over the Christmas and New Year period, I personally researched and put together the Community Grassroots policy. A real opportunity for local community and volunteer groups to receive grants of up to £1000 and enable Councillors to proactive get out in the Community and talk with them. The Grassroot Grant scheme is held up as a stunning success, and all of the political parties continue to support it!
2006 was a busy year and I was also a member of the Licensing Committee. This Committee has been firm but fair with Pubs who have received complaints. We eventually revoked the License for Mbargo in the Town Centre, the first time it happened in Swindon!
In December 2006, Dale was nominated by the Council to act as one of the 4 Non-Executive Directors of Thamesdown Transport - the local bus company.
In May 2007, at the start of my fourth year as a Councillor, he was promoted to the prestigous position of Chairman of the Planning Committee. One of the most senior roles a Councillor can have responsibility for outside of the Cabinet.
I have tried to have a visible effect in the Covingham & Nythe area, and this is demonstrated by the amount of Road and Footpath maintenance that has taken place in the last 4 years. Monthly walks around the entire ward, photos of areas that need attention are taken and following up with Council Officers. This has led to a 2 fold increase in the amount of work carried out and while not yet perfect, it is a big step forward from the years of neglect under the Labour administration.
Since being elected in May 2004, Dale has had one of the best attendance records of any Councillor in Swindon.
School Governor
I joined Dorcan Technology College as a School Governor in 2006, and in 2009 stepped back from an active interest and became an Associate School Governor.
Outside of Politics
Politics is not a full time job for me, I work as a Project Manager during the day. Though with the hours I do in the evening - either being at the Council or talking to residents, it can easily take up every free moment I have!! I'm writing this at 12:15am because it's the only time I have available....
I believe being a Councillor is about putting something back into the Community, so I have done a lot of funding raising for Charities. In 2004 and 2005, I ran in the 4 mile MultiTerrain run on the day of the Swindon Half Marathon, in 2006 and 2007 I ran in the main Half Marathon ! A 13.1 mile course starting from Nationwide, and going past CoateWater, up the hills near Badbury and goes as far as King Edwards Place before the return trip.
In the summer of 2007, I switched from Running to Swimming. Starting with a 1.5mile swim in the English Channel for the British Heart Foundation.
Dale also designs and updates this website through the Content Management System he developed. This CMS is one of the largest political website editing tools in the Country (outside of the Central Parties HQ's) with over 250 active users and 160 connected websites.