Cllr Sarah Preece

Dydh da, Hello. My name is Sarah Preece and I am one of the new Cornwall Councillors elected at the beginning of May.

I stood as the Liberal Democrat candidate and am very proud to represent the residents of my division, Lostwithiel and Lanreath. I am also honoured to have been selected for Cabinet with the Portfolio for Tourism, Localism and Planning for Cornwall. I am very excited about the role and extremely grateful to all those who supported me to take up this privileged position.

I stood to become a Cornwall Councillor as a local resident wanting to make a difference. I am passionate about community and have worked hard to contribute in my local area. I was also overwhelmed at times by global challenges I felt unable to affect so decided to focus on my local area where I could apply myself to supporting initiatives that at least made lives better for local people.

I have spent the last 25 years in leadership roles in top UK companies across the cultural, health and education sectors. I have shaped strategy, managed multi-million pound budgets and helped lead the development of two heritage buildings and a new £30m school facility so I believe I have the experience to draw on and the skills to deliver.

It is still early days, but I am starting to shape the priorities for my portfolio in this exciting new administrative alliance between the Liberal Democrats and the Independents. 

I will work with colleagues within the Cabinet to deliver for our residents the issues we as candidates saw affecting our residents during the campaign – issues such as housing, community safety, access to health care, the state of our roads, transport issues and the environment.

In regards to my portfolio I am developing themes around community, connectivity and commerce. For the community I want to help join the dots between our statutory services to help ensure people get the services they need and to enhance the vitality, experience and offering within our communities. I also want to amplify the brilliant work done in our voluntary sector and by our countless volunteers who work to support and enhance the lives of our residents right across Cornwall.

In regard to connection I want to build stronger connections between Cornwall Council and the hundreds of town and parish councils who work so hard at local level on behalf of their communities. I also want to reinforce connections across Cornwall and beyond to promote the fantastic year-round offerings we have across our Duchy.

Finally, commerce, I want to make every penny count and to secure inward investment for Cornwall across my portfolio. I want to shine a light on our heritage and champion our arts, culture and museums to help generate jobs, skills and opportunities for all. I also want to work with colleagues on the economic development of Cornwall for the benefit of our families and young people.

I grew up in the west country and am delighted to have returned and to have settled in Cornwall. I look forward to working hard for residents and for all who live, work, learn and enjoy in this wonderful place called Cornwall. Meur ras, thank you.