AYCLIFFE TODAY PEOPLE | 13
@AYCLIFFETODAY
Tom Twissell at West Park
Lake in the town.
BUSINESS BRIEFS
GESTAMP TALLENT
EXCLUSIVE!
COUNCILLOR TOM HOPING
TO MAKE HIS MARK
Tom Twissell is Newton Aycliffe’s youngest town councillor and
has big plans for the Youth Centre and getting more young people
interested and involved in politics.
The 19-year-old, who attended
Woodham Academy, says his interest
in politics began in 2010 with the
General Election with his friend, and
fellow councillor, Daniel Summers.
After winning a seat on Great
Aycliffe Town Council (GATC) with 432
votes for the West Park ward, Tom
works closely with the Youth Centre
and Newton Aycliffe and Shildon
Alive (NASA) to make the town a
better place with plenty of community
involvement.
“My favourite part about being a
councillor is definitely being able to go
and help out at the Youth Centre,” Tom
told Aycliffe Today.
“It will be rewarding to see what my
changes will make to the place.
“Being the youngest councillor in
the town is definitely hard work, but
hopefully it will increase the interest
in politics to the younger generation.”
Because of his age, Tom is hoping
that youngsters will see him as more
relatable when it comes to politics
and the town, as he understands best
what the younger generations would
like to see in Newton Aycliffe.
“He is a very brave young man
who stood out from his peers and
decided to do something positive for
himself, his family, his friends and the
community,” Jimmy Atkinson, Town
Councillor told Aycliffe Today.
“His views are valued and important.
It was an achievement just to go
through the election process as
a teenager but Tom accepted the
challenge and hopefully, will inspire
and encourage other youngster to do
the same.
“For any youngsters interested, I
would encourage them to start on
the Youth Council. Apart from giving
them a grounding in politics it gives
them a platform to feed ideas to the
full Council.”
Fun In The Park is one of the
activities organised by the GATC that
Tom, one of 30 Town Councillors, has
helped out with and they have been
a massive success with residents all
over the town.
Friends Of West Park is another
activity he is looking to be involved
with. They have plans to clean up the
Boating Lake making it for recreational
use again rather than environmental.
Eventually, FOWP would like to see the
lake with boats on it instead of just a
wildlife lake.
With two and a half years left as
a councillor, Tom i ́չ