Walton and West - John Boult

John has lived in the Ashgate area for 45 years. Married to Pamela, they have three children and five grandchildren.  He is a Retired Chartered Surveyor who worked in North Derbyshire and South Yorkshire surveying and valuing residential properties.                                                                                                      A Territorial Army officer for 36 years John was the Officer Commanding the TA Squadron in Chesterfield during the 1980s.  More recently, he was the local Area Commander for the Derbyshire Army Cadet Force for 8 years.

John completed 5 London Marathons from 1997 and 2003 and raised money for various charities.

 

As a councillor candidate John has contested several local elections from 2007 onwards until he was successfully elected as the Councillor for Walton & West in the County Council Election of 2017.

Appointed Vice Chairman of the Improvement & Scrutiny Committee - Resources John is also a member and regular attender of seven other committees in North Derbyshire.

 

Achievements

1.  John actively campaigned against Chesterfield Borough becoming a full member of Sheffield City Region.  When the Conservative Group took control of DCC Barry Lewis, the Leader, announced that the Council would fund a local referendum in order to settle the matter. Chesterfield Borough Council then withdrew its application and, as a consequence, the business rates raised on the Markham Vale Development were no longer to be diverted to Sheffield but retained within the County’s financial budget.

2.  During the Summer of 2019 there was an extreme weather event when unusually heavy rainfall fell on Walton and Walton Road in particular.  A veritable cascade of rainwater descended down the road and washed ‘like a tidal wave’ into Bobbin Mill Lane, threatening the properties there. At the request of one of the residents John visited and noticed that the surface water drainage system in the lane was inadequate to cope with heavy rainfall and he reported this matter to DCC officials. Within a short time three additional drainage gullys were installed in the lane by the DCC.

3.  As Vice Chairman of DCC Improvement & Scrutiny Committee John has been involved in the development of the County’s Climate and Carbon Reduction Manifesto and also policies addressing mental health issues within the County.

4.  As the only Conservative County Councillor for Chesterfield John was appointed a Partner Governor of Chesterfield Royal Hospital where he has established a good record of attendance at Governors’ meetings and, pre-pandemic, he carried out ward visits at the hospital.