20 Oct 2023
Vivacious, dynamic, stylish, passionate, dedicated, committed… Just a few of the words which have described community legend Annie Brewster over the past 16 years.
Annie, who lives in Wheathampstead, steps down as a councillor this week, having served at all three tiers of local politics as a parish, district and county councillor.
During her tenure she was the 469th Mayor of St Albans, portfolio holder for heritage, culture and sport leading on the new St Albans Museum + Gallery, three leisure centres and the Eric Morecambe Centre, deputy executive member for public health during the Covid pandemic and chairman of Herts county council until May this year. Annie is also a local Justice of the Peace and an Honorary Alderman of St Albans City and District.
She says she’ll miss being a councillor: “As one who loves helping people and organisations, there is the most enormous pleasure from getting difficult things done. I believe the lower levels of government are both the most challenging and the most important.
“I have worked with some incredible people doing their very best for our wonderful residents and it has been a complete honour to serve my community for nearly 16 years.”
But she certainly won’t have any qualms about leaving behind the political wranglings that come with the role: “It saddens me when politics gets in the way of doing the right thing. I have always tried to work cross-party and to give advice and support to anyone who needs it. I think, as a criticism, I was once described as a ‘community leader who happens to wear a blue badge’ rather than a ‘political activist who has to get involved in local matters’!”
“The public elect us to serve them and this is a tremendous privilege. Political parties have their place, absolutely required for checks and balances of all decisions, but when ‘Punch and Judy’ tactics take over, we insult the electorate’s intelligence.
“For the majority of my time at district council we had a healthy mix of council members which led to great quality debate and delivery. More recently one party has such a large majority one might question how effective a council can be? Add to this the financial squeeze on all local government, it is becoming harder and harder to deliver and the public appear to be coming less and less tolerant.”
A former athlete, Annie won silver in the 1,500m at the UK Championships when she was just 17 and at 35 she came third in the world in the 5K racewalk.
Her whirlwind tenure as mayor between 2013-14 changed perceptions of the role both locally and further afield and injected an adrenalin-charged shot into the arm of the establishment. From testing out the district’s new beach volleyball courts, plunging into St Albans lido or joining in a cross-country charity relay, there was nothing she wouldn’t do, prompting calls for her to become an ambassador for the city when she eventually stepped down.
She said she has a wealth of fantastic memories from her time as councillor, including successfully implementing a number of major initiatives.
“In terms of projects, at parish level it will be securing a 3G artificial football pitch that is free for our village residents to play on, at district it’s the Town Hall and Courthouse transformation into the new Museum + Gallery, particularly the Assembly Room chandeliers, fabricated in Florence by two brothers in three weeks from a sketch I made.
“At county council it’s probably securing free bus travel for all Wheathampstead children to Katherine Warington School as the Lower Luton Road is so dangerous to walk along. Being chairman of the county council has been a tremendous way to learn so much about Hertfordshire but being Mayor of St Albans tops every other experience.”
So despite these particular success stories, are there still many more items on her to-do list?
“Always! There is never an end to the list. Gladly, it looks like we have now secured funding for improved safety measures on the St Albans Road in Sandridge and the A5183 between Redbourn and St Albans where we have seen far too many tragic fatalities.
“My biggest current concern is the proposed new second terminal at Luton Airport and the impact it will have on our part of Hertfordshire. Few appreciate this is not a normal planning application, there will be no further public consultation.
“Inspectors are currently reviewing the submitted Development Consent Order (DCO). They will send their recommendation to Michael Gove next spring and then he decides if it is happening. The Secretary of State will have to weigh up if Luton Airport is the right location in the south-east for such a seismic expansion, remembering they only had nine million passengers a year in 2011 and now they are asking for 32 million. It is insane!”
“Gatwick and Heathrow will also be asking for increased capacity, but Luton has got their ask in well ahead of them. The ‘elephant in the room’ is Luton has no east-west public transport whatsoever despite 40 per cent of passengers coming from the east.
“Public transport links have always been a major priority for the Government.
“Our rat-run rural Hertfordshire roads already suffer with airport traffic as satnavs, naturally, recommend the shortest and fastest routes which, here, do not point to using motorways.
“The other disastrous hurdle, compared to other airports, is that planes unfairly have to fly at very low altitudes over much of our county as Heathrow planes get priority to fly above them.
“This means many homes are blighted by excessive engine noise which will become even more relentless if the expansion is granted.
“Residents who think this will not impact them would be wise to realise when airspace changes come into force in the near future, new routes will be implemented that will be decided from outside Hertfordshire.
“I seriously hope the inspectors and the Secretary of State will recommend the sensible way forward for Luton is to pride itself on being an excellent regional airport and to abandon its aspirations for this over ambitious growth as it is simply in the wrong place.”
As she prepares for a new future as the next High Sheriff of Hertfordshire, are there any things she would change from her time as councillor?
“Nothing. It is such a pleasure to serve one’s community. It has been tough, but each challenge is a lesson. It only goes to ignite the passion to achieve greater things for both our residents and visitors. I would like to thank everyone for the relentless support they have given me and to share my gratitude for the wonderful lasting friendships forged.”
Annie added: “We have the most wonderfully rich tapestry of ‘can-doers’ who share a love of our magnificent city and district.
“It has been the greatest pleasure to work with people from business, schools, charities, faiths, councils, media, sport, the arts et al. I could not possibly pick out individuals here, but I am sure they all know who they are and I thank them and look forward to working further with them in my new role.”
