Graham Parker

Graham Parker became a councillor for Tavistock South West Ward last year after spending 40 years working in town and country planning on large-scale commercial and leisure projects and residential developments of as many as 1000 houses. He is now really enjoying having the opportunity to apply his experience and expertise to council issues, as well as helping local residents.

Graham moved to Whitchurch four years ago and as a new resident immediately got involved with other residents in opposing the Anderton Lane planning application. His wealth of experience in planning was obvious and he was quickly asked if he would consider becoming a councillor.

Graham grew up in Sheffield and worked as a shot blaster in the local steel industry when he left school. He was also an accomplished viola player and almost considered a career in music but ended up opting to study Town and Country Planning in Liverpool. However the clubs and booming Mersey music scene of the 1960s proved too great a distraction and he decided education wasn't for him at that point and he took a job on the railways as a porter.

In 1970, his daughter Emma was born and  her birth helped him to come to terms with the fact that a career on the railway wasn't what he was looking to get out of life. Consequently, he rejoined the college course, this time applying his full attention to his studies and, in stark contrast to his previous attempt, achieving a Distinction.

He successfully applied for a position with Bristol City Council where he worked for the next 18 years in charge of planning policy and the regeneration of Bristol Historic Harbour.

In 1992 he decided that the time was right for him to branch out on his own and set up an independent planning consultancy, CSJ Planning, based in Bristol. One of the schemes he had the pleasure of working on was the Radisson Blu Hotel in Bristol when he commissioned an artist to make the building 'disappear' by using his grandfather's wartime naval camouflage colour chart. The former Bristol & West tower was re-clad in glass panels of varying shades of blue, with darker glass at the bottom and lighter panels towards the top, so that the tower 'merged' into the sky. He worked on numerous planning developments and town centre regeneration schemes throughout the country and was even involved in early appraisals of the Royal William Yard and in leading the planning team on the first Lidl proposal in Tavistock.

In 2008, he sold his shares in the Bristol consultancy and set up a new Birmingham consultancy, PJ Planning in partnership with his best friend, rock bass player John Jowitt. As time went by, as well as his commercial work, he thoroughly enjoyed working with residents’ groups and local businesses. He also remembers particularly fondly working on an application for a doctor's surgery in Staffordshire which took two and half years to be approved; the doctors were so grateful that, last summer, they asked Graham to formally open the building and installed a plaque with his name - the only downside was that as he was leaving the opening ceremony he overheard someone asking ''Who is Graham Parker?"

Since moving to Devon with his wife Ginnie, Graham enjoys walking with their dog, Gemma - in fact he is a great advocate of walking and public transport, as he has never learnt to drive. He is also still very much involved in the Rotary Movement after 20 years in its service, including a year as President of his Bristol Club in 1998.

He retired from his planning consultancy in 2014 after being diagnosed with Leukemia and for many people this alone would have been enough of a challenge to deal with as he is now undergoing chemotherapy treatment. However he went on to stand for election as a councillor and is determined to represent the people that elected him. He states quite matter-of-factly that  "I’ve got nothing to complain about. There are a lot of people out there, including colleagues on the Council, who are in worse health than me. Life is good "