A Typical Day for Tony Dorey

Juggling my roles as Chairman on Worth Parish Council and Managing Director of a specialist national cleaning company can be difficult at times, but I have always enjoyed being busy so wearing two separate hats on any given day is fine with me.

My weekdays tend to be spent in the office while at other times I am involved with Council business. The majority of Council meetings take place on a Monday evening, so I will usually be researching relevant issues and familiarising myself with the agenda and content for each meeting.

There will inevitably be matters to discuss with our Chief Officer and the rest of the office team as well, and perhaps conversations with contractors and the like. The remit of the Chairman covers a wide range of issues in both Copthorne and Crawley Down, and in some cases outside of the villages, too.

In between finishing my day in the office and attending meetings, I go home to have dinner with my wife before heading to Council business.

In a normal year, we will hold eleven Finance & General Planning meetings, plus eleven for Planning & Highways, both of whose committees I am a member of. As Chairman, I will also chair the six Full Council Meetings that we hold annually. Every two weeks, I will, in addition, attend the Copthorne Working Party meetings. Add in all the ad hoc meetings, presentations, consultations and get-togethers and it’s easy to see why the role can be so demanding.

I have absolutely no complaints, though; I thoroughly enjoy my time attending and chairing Council meetings. I would not volunteer if I didn’t. It can be a thankless task at times, but it’s very rewarding as well. On a good night, I can be home before 9pm. Where there may be fuller agendas or more in-depth discussions, I will usually be home around 9:30pm.