Len Gates has lived and worked in the Andover area since 1988. He was elected borough councillor for Andover Alamein ward in May 2003 and re-elected in May 2007 and remained councillor for the area until May 2011.

During his first term in office he campaigned on a number of local issues including

•  he opposed the increase in housing numbers allocated to the East Anton MDA arguing that the original 1700 was more than enough and the remainder should be allocated to other parts of the borough.
• he spoke out against the premature closure of Shepherd Spring Schools and supported the action groups campaigning to keep them open.
• he supported the establishment of Enham Alamein parish council and the production of parish plans for both Enham Alamein and Smannell.
• he campaigned regularly for a town council for urban Andover and opposed the sell off of Andover’s lower Guildhall.

From June 2007 until May 2011 he was leader of the Liberal Democrat group on Test Valley Borough Council. As the senior councillor in Alamein ward between 2007 and 2011 he continued to lead on local issues and defend the interests of  Alamein ward residents. Among the campaigns he worked on were

• Opposing the conversion of houses on King Arthur’s Way into flats and calling for improved parking in the area.
• Actively supporting residents associations and residents meetings (including the Roman Way forum) across the ward, and holding local surgeries in Enham, on King Arthur’s Way and on Roman Way.
• Supporting Smannell parish council in its campaign to oppose the rerouting of Smannell Road through Augusta Park.
• Backing Enham parish council to save the memorial and trees and get  preservation orders on other trees in the village.
• Backing residents calls for traffic calming in Enham, in Smannell, on King Arthurs Way, Viking Way, Icknield Way and Lilywhite Crescent
• Working closely with both county and borough officers to improve footpaths, repair potholes, cut back trees and clear litter from all the local estates. Getting a new bus shelter on Cricketers Way and additional dog waste bins on Roman Way, Icknield Way and King Arthur’s Way.
• Dealing with the menace of unlicensed mini motor bikes across the ward, working with the police to deal with problem areas north of King Arthur’s Way, on Viking Way and Dark Lane, in Enham and in Little London.
• Supporting campaigns for better bus services (including Sundays) in Alamein ward and across Andover.

As leader of the opposition group on Test Valley he played a major role in presenting an alternative to the current conservative administration by

• Backing new industrial development like the Andover Airfield site to bring new jobs to Andover, opposing the closure of the local Co-op and finding an alternative operator to keep the shop open, and supporting Twinings workers in their campaign to stop jobs being exported to Poland
• Leading the campaign for an Andover town council, again opposing the folly of letting out the lower Guildhall and speaking out against the demolition of Andover’s bandstand
• Opposing fluoridation of local water supplies and backing calls for improved services at Andover’s hospital
• Preparing realistic alternative budgets for TVBC concentrating on reducing the unnecessary heavy costs of councillors and council meetings and opposing pay increases for councillors.
• He was a member of Test Valley’s Northern Area Planning  and Planning Control Committees. As member of the Planning Control Committee he sat on the council’s local plans panel which determines planning strategy for the borough.
• Len was also member of the borough’s Overview and Scrutiny Committee where he was for a number of years lead member for Finance, chairing the council’s audit and finance panels. He has also been a member of the council’s Licensing Committee.

Len has served as a governor of Anton school, and as a trustee of the Andover Charities. He is currently a trustee of the Alamein Community Association and Andover Trees United.