COUNTY councillor Doug Drake is to stand down at the next elections. Cllr Drake has represented Royston on Herts County Council for the past 12 years. Royston Conservative Party met on Tuesday evening and decided that Cllr Fiona Hill should be prospective

COUNTY councillor Doug Drake is to stand down at the next elections.

Cllr Drake has represented Royston on Herts County Council for the past 12 years.

Royston Conservative Party met on Tuesday evening and decided that Cllr Fiona Hill should be prospective candidate for county council elections in 2009.

Cllr Hill is currently a member of North Herts District Council and is chairman of the Royston area committee. She has been, too, a councillor on Royston Town Council.

She said Cllr Drake would be "a hard act to follow".

"His hard work and commitment to Royston has always come through in his role as a county councillor," she said.

"He has always been looking for the best deal for Royston."

One example, said Cllr Hill, was his determination to see the development of a rail crossing linking the Burns Road development and the rest of Royston.

Work on a £3.5 million subway is expected to begin at Christmas.

Cllr Hill said that she was "delighted" to be selected as the prospective candidate.

"If elected I will work hard to ensure the best deal for Royston," she said.

Cllr Drake was elected to the county council in 1997 and held the Royston division in elections in 2001 and 2005.

He had previously been a councillor on North Herts District Council and a member of Royston Town Council.

Cllr Drake said: "It would be so easy to carry on, but I do believe there comes a time when others should take the helm.

"I know too many people who think they are indispensable," he said.