IT is a sad fact of modern life that, by and large, we are not very well acquainted with those who live beside us. I fully confess not even to know the names of the people with whom I share a house.

This distinctly 21st century phenomenon, however, is not something that plagues Toby Robson and his neighbours in Eastcott.

The Liberal Democrat’s Toby has lived in the ward for 20 years and he makes the bold claim to know the names of at least 50 per cent of the people who live in his street.

He is a community man by his very nature, and it is this civic spirit that drives him.

“Eastcott is one of those places that has a definite sense of community,” he says.

“It has a village-like feel to it and everyone tends to know their neighbours. It certainly makes the ward and interesting and enjoyable place to live.”

He currently sits on the South Swindon Parish Council and sees a seat on the borough council as a springboard from which to be able to do more for the ward and, indeed, Swindon as a whole.

He is not a political animal but a resident, like all the others, who wishes tries to do what he can to improve the community.

“I am not a politically tribal person. I take bits from everybody’s manifesto, but I’ve always thought the Lib Dems more reasonable and more amenable to listening.”

Before formally joining the Lib Dems, he would often involve himself in local issues, seeking to solve any problems that emerged in the ward. It was this that led him to described himself as “a regular foldy-arm person in the Adver’s pages”.

He thinks it important that a councillor should live in the ward they serve. He explains: “I am always suspicious of parachuted candidates. Being a councillor is, for me, all about the local level and living here and seeing what’s happening in my free time keeps me connected.”

He adds, however: “That’s not to say there aren’t councillors who manage it, of course. But for me personally, I always felt that if I was going to stand then I would stand in my own ward.”

Like his fellow candidates, he named parking as one of the big problems that plague the streets of Eastcott, as well as uncollected bins on bin day and a profusion of litter in certain parts.

He acknowledged that these were not particularly noteworthy things, but, nevertheless, things that do matter to people in their day-to-day lives.

“Finding rubbish strewn across the street when you come home is one of those factors of irritation that can mount up. The environment in which you live is important to people, and it should be.”

A firm backer of the bid for the Museum and Art Gallery, he described the project as a “once-in-a-lifetime opportunity” for Swindon, thinking it will go some way towards rectifying what he called the town’s “branding problem”.

The private investment and economic boost that will likely accompany the museum if the funding bid is successful will, Toby says, will act as a catalyst to change perceptions of the town and encourage more people to come here.

Looking ahead, he hoped the “infrastructure challenges” that come with the town’s ambitious house building plans will be solved, suggesting it might be time to revisit city status.