Twice Mayor of Saffron Walden, and a Town and District Councillor, Dr Richard Freeman is well respected locally and has lots of experience. In the private sector his professional background is running complex projects for manufacturing and high-tech businesses. He has lived in Saffron Walden for more than 20 years.
“Saffron Walden is a good place to live; but it needs skilful management if it is not to become just a pretty dormitory town for the well-heeled and the wealthy.” Richard Freeman
Richard joined R4U from the Liberal Democrats in 2014 to become a founding councillor.
- Uttlesford District Saffron Walden Castle Ward (Councillor)
- Saffron Walden Town Council - Castle & Little Walden Ward (Councillor)
Richard Freeman has lived in Saffron Walden for over 20 years. For most of that time, he has represented residents as a Castle Ward councillor. He has twice served as Town Mayor. In 2014 he joined R4U from the Liberal Democrats, becoming a founder councillor to better serve local residents.
Much of his professional life has been spent in the manufacturing industries, particularly pharmaceuticals and also foodstuffs. Latterly, he has worked for large international consultancies, providing technical and project management expertise to multinationals and governments.
Much of Richard’s time as a councillor has been devoted to making developers deliver on their Section 106 obligations. These are legal requirements, often in the form of infrastructure payments made to the council that are designed to mitigate the impact of new housing. Frequently, developers under-deliver on these. As a direct result of Richard’s efforts, the town will soon receive two excellent new playing fields off Little Walden Road completed to Sport England standard, Likewise, after much hard work, the new development of Tudor Park now has a RoSPA-approved children’s playground
Richard says that he believes that “local government has a duty to ensure the supply of homes for ordinary people – not just mansions for the fortunate rich! The limited supply of so-called ‘affordable’ homes linked to housing developments is not enough. We need new social housing as well; homes that people can rent at prices they can afford. “
He has a particular interest in architecture, and has modernized several listed buildings. This interest was amply expressed when he was involved in managing the repair and refurbishment of Saffron Walden’s listed Town Hall. Left in a sorry state by previous Conservative administrations, he helped plan and monitor its repair and restoration. Richard was also able to assist with the design and installation of a very efficient and modern heating system for the building, making this iconic building usable all year, and much cheaper to heat.