Swindon Advertiser Person of the Year

9:37am Thursday 28th December 2006

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SINCE he took over as leader of Swindon Council in May, Roderick Bluh has made it clear that he has high hopes for the town.

A new town centre, putting Swindon on the shopping map and getting the borough's heritage questions sorted out are all part of his vision for the future.

He has already begun to put it into action, with the demolition of several buildings around the town centre.

This will make way for turning the Granville Street car park and surrounding area into a shopping centre, which dovetails with the New Swindon Company's plans to regenerate the Regent Street, Princes Street, Fleming Way and surrounding areas.

Speaking to the Advertiser shortly after he was elected, Coun Bluh (Con, Dorcan) said: "We need to refocus on the community. It's about what Swindon will look like in 20 years.

"I think people feel the council doesn't have much to do with them and I want to change that. There's a lot of apathy about politics.

"I want people to feel they can contribute. We need to change our community. Words come cheap. It's actions that count."

It is Coun Bluh who initiated bringing the stones that formed the old Baptist Tabernacle back to Swindon from a field in the middle of Northamptonshire.

When the announcement was made he said: "I want it back because I think it would add to the site of the town centre.

"It's a very symbolic part of Swindon's heritage. This is a one-off, a second chance.

"We always said we had to be sensible about it, but if we can make it possible, we will."

Coun Bluh is also the driving force behind the campaign to restore the canal to the town centre.

He believes that restoring the waterway, which once ran along Canal Street, could bring more visitors to the area and inject thousands into the economy.

"They are still there, just filled in," Coun Bluh said of the canal routes.

"There is no doubt in my mind the restoration of a canal through Swindon could be a major boost.

"It adds much-needed water to the town centre. It would act as a catalyst for regeneration along the route.

"It would go a very long way to reversing the negative views of Swindon held by many.

The other nominees...

• LAURIE Pycroft shot into the public eye earlier this year when he decided to stand-up against animal rights activists.

The 16-year-old Swindon teenager formed Pro-Test - an organisation supporting animal testing for scientific research that has since had the backing of top medical scientists and even the Prime Minister.

He organised pro-vivisection protests at the site of a planned animal testing lab in Oxford and was not put off even when he became the subject of death threats from animal rights activists.

• HAYDON Wick resident Ann Marie Rogers hit the headlines in February when she took Swindon Primary Care Trust to the High Court.

The grandmother of two, who has breast cancer, argued that she deserved to be given Herceptin on the NHS. It costs £20,000 a year.

She said the PCT's denial of the treatment left her facing a "death sentence".

People across the country looked on as Mrs Rogers told the court why she should be given the drug, which many people believe has a dramatic effect against the early stages of the disease.

• Billie Piper has gone from a teen pop sensation to a respected actress and her stock shows no signs of falling.

In spite of her meteoric rise, and it is hard to remember she is still only 24, she has not forgotten her roots in Swindon.

When some of her fans felt neglected earlier this year following a book signing at the Orbital Shopping Park, in North Swindon, the Doctor Who star vowed to make it up to them. And she did with a return visit earlier this month.

• A HEALTHY woman who chose to have a double mastectomy said that she was proud to have been nominated as an Adver Person of the Year.

Former Miss Thamesdown winner Sarah-Jane Howe, 33, of Ashton Keynes, went under the knife after deciding to take the drastic step to reduce her chances of getting breast cancer.

Both Sarah-Jane's mother and aunt died from the disease, and doctors predicted that she had a 90 per cent chance of contracting it too. Since the operation to remove and reconstruct both her breasts at the Great Western Hospital in November, her chances have improved to 10 per cent.

• FAREPAK mum Vicky Turner, who fought to get a fair deal for the hamper company's victims, said she "did it for the whole country".

Former agent Vicky, 33, of Frobisher Drive, has been nominated in the Adver's Person of the Year after speaking out about the shamed hamper company's collapse.

Vicky lost £840 of her own money and £4,000 saved by her customers when the firm collapsed in October.

Since then she has become the face of local victims, appearing on TV and visiting Westminster in search of answers to what happened to money.

howtovote

Voting could not be easier. Just dial the number next to the person you want to vote for.

Calls cost 25p. Voting lines open today at 8am and close on Tuesday, January 2 at 1pm.

Votes can also be cast online at www.swindonadvertiser.co.ukwww.swindonadvertiser.co.uk

• Laurie Pycroft - 0901 221 0321
• Billie Piper - 0901 221 0322
• Roderick Bluh - 0901 221 0323
• Ann Marie Rogers - 0901 221 0324
• Sarah-Fane Howe - 0901 221 0325
• Vicky Turner - 0901 221 0326 The service is provided by Newsquest Media Group. Normal Newsquest rules apply. Full details are available at www.swindonadvertiser.co.uk