20th Dec 2008 -  Peter Hill has retired from the Town Council after 25 years service 

At the Town Council meeting on Monday 15th December, Councillors presented Peter Hill with an antique claret decanter to mark his retirement from the Council after 25 years service as a Councillor. He was elected to the Council in May 1983 and served as Town Mayor three times, in 1987/88, 1995/96 and again in 2004/5.

Peter said: 'I have enjoyed serving Wivenhoe during these 25 years. I can look around Wivenhoe and know that I have been involved in so much. Sometimes it has been very frustrating, but with a combination of patience and tenacity it is possible to get things done. Nothing happens overnight, not in local government when it is all a question of budget and priorities, and never enough money to do everything we all want. There have been fun things like producing 50,000 carrier bags printed with the the slogan Wivenhoefirst and the many other things we did to support local traders in 1995, as well as leading the team to acquire Broad Lane Sports Ground for the community, and being Chairman for ten years of the Charity which we founded to run it. Other matters like taking the lead on the Cook's Shipyard scheme when development was first proposed, were much more complex and stretched over a period of years.  I have seen Wivenhoe expand enormously over these 25 years, with a near 50% increase in population. Fortunately we still retain a wonderful community spirit and a substantial number of active societies.

I feel proud and honoured to have had the opportunity to be involved in so many committees and initiatives during this time. Indeed it goes back to 1977 when I was asked to become Chairman of the Wivenhoe Scout & Guide Association. Despite my  attempts to step down over the years, I remain Chairman and continue to get a lot of satisfaction from supporting the team of Leaders and helpers who run things for around 150 of Wivenhoe's young people.  

I continue to serve as Chairman of the board of trustees of the almshouse charity, Wivenhoe Housing Trust, providing 13 homes for Wivenhoe people in their later lives, and also of the Jonathan Feedham Charity managed by the trustees to help people in Wivenhoe in financial difficulty.    

So I don't intend to retire from everything, it is just that my work now takes me overseas a great deal and I don't have enough time to be involved in so much, despite the enormous amount of help and support of my wife Bonnie.'