THE new leader of Kennet District Council Chris Humphries says his business interests will allow to devote to his time to council work.

As leader, Coun Humphries, 58, will be at the offices in Devizes four days a week besides attending meetings.

He is also a member of Wiltshire County Council which requires him to attend regular meetings in Trowbridge.

As a county councillor he also tries to get to all 18 parishes in his ward to attend their local council meetings so that he keeps in touch with his electors.

In his own village, Aldbourne, he has been a member of the parish council since 1970 and chairman for 18 years.

He said he became a councillor because he always wanted to do something for the community."

Coun Humphries, married with a 19-year-old son, has spent all his life in Aldbourne where his late father was a farmer and butcher. His business investments mean that he no longer has to work for a living although in his younger day he worked both on the family farm and in the butchers shop.

He has been a parish councillor for 33 years, a district councillor since 1991 and county councillor since 1997.

He said he always looked up to his predecessor Coun Jerry Willmott and admired the way he conducted affairs.

"Coun Willmott has been a very good leader but we have different styles. I will follow his example of treating Kennet as a district entity and not being parochial. We are elected to serve the district."

Coun Humphries said he disliked people suggesting that Kennet was an officer led authority.

"Kennet is always being accused of being an officer led council which could not be further from the truth.

"I don't know what happened in the days before we had political groupings and a leader. Today it is the councillors who set the agendas."

Coun Humphries said improvements he would like to see included much better public transport in all parts of the district.

He said: "That would allow people from the villages to get into the centres of sporting excellence at the leisure centres in Marlborough, Devizes and Tidworth."

He said Tidworth was always referred to as a garrison town when there was also a healthy and busy civilian community. "I would very much like to see a civilian identity established for Tidworth which would help is attract new commerce and new traders."