Rik Cook

I am an Australian immigrant and came to the UK in 1962. I was educated at Parkside in Surrey, Elizabeth College in Guernsey, and Merrist Wood College near Guildford.

My career has included work in architecture, interior and exterior design, and golf greenkeeping. As a design partner, I was involved in a bid for the Fairmile Hotel in Cobham, with the group also going on to purchase pubs.

In 1990, I acquired the lease of the Market House Inn, followed in 1998 by the lease of Mendip Council’s Tor Sports and Leisure Centre, which I held until 2011.

I was elected to represent St John’s Ward in 2022. My particular concerns include council spending, censorship, the preservation and maintenance of public open spaces, community assets and ecology. Planning remains my principal area of interest and expertise.