POLITICS isn't something which interests Ray Baxter – unusual, you may think, for someone who has spent 34 years in local government.

"It isn't the politics of the council that I like, I can leave all that, it's making a difference for the people in my ward. That's what I like doing, the small everyday things," explained the 83-year-old Labour councillor.

The everyday task of putting out the rubbish is even something Ray has influenced in his time on the council.

He said: "I went on a trip to Osnabruck in the 1980s and saw out there that they had wheelie bins. Back here we had the old skip system, where the bin men had to put the big bins on their shoulders and empty them into skips and they were always hurting their backs.

"I saw this other system and came and spoke to the officers and said 'we need that'.

"That was the start of getting wheelie bins throughout the city."

Every time Ray steps out of his home in Hanwell Way, he can see the changes that have come about during his time on Derby City Council – the homes he has helped to get refurbished, the community centre he negotiated, the children's home he sought improvements for and the work nearing completion on the library he campaigned for.

That is because his political life – even if that isn't how he would describe it – has been spent working within the ward he calls home, first when it was Friar Gate ward and now as Mackworth.

He has made it his business to get to know the details of various Housing Acts, anti-social behaviour rules and the small print of other legislation to make sure he can properly represent residents in his home village.

"You have to know the legal aspects to get things done," he said.

That is particularly true in the area of planning and Ray's position as a member of the city's planning control committee is something of which he is especially proud.

"You have to know the rules in planning. If you get political on planning then you are in a mess," Ray warned.

He recalls one victory in which the committee's ability to stick to planning grounds brought results.

"When the university wanted to run buses across Sturgess Field, members of the planning committee voted against it and the university went to appeal. But the inspector agreed with us and we won, which is very rare against planning officers. It was because we stuck to the proper planning grounds."

While on that occasion Ray was fighting against officer recommendations, he said he always listened to their professional opinions.

"I wouldn't have been able to do this job properly without the help of the officers. They are brilliant.

"They give you advice, sometimes you don't want to take it, but I always listened to it."

His other mainstay is his wife, Josephine.

"When I was out at work, it was Josie who had to take the calls from people wanting help and she knows which officers to go to and is brilliant."

Ray has been described by Conservative councillor Philip Hickson as a "towering figure" in the area.

As a former magistrate of 22 years, Mayor of Derby from 1989 to 1990, Combustion worker and councillor, it is easy to see why Roy is viewed that way.

Both he and his wife know the requests for help from residents will not stop overnight just because he is standing down as a councillor.

Josephine said: "So many people keep saying they won't know what to do when he retires. Being a councillor has certainly kept his brain active."

And that's why Ray intends to keep helping out in Mackworth.

"I will keep involved.

"I will miss being a councillor but I think now was the right time for me to stand down and let someone else have a go," he said.

This year will also see other councillors stepping aside to let someone else defend their seat for their party.

Two are doing so because they hope to be focusing on national politics as MPs.

Pauline Latham has spent 16 years as a city councillor and represents Oakwood ward as a Conservative.

She is campaigning to become an MP for the new constituency of Mid-Derbyshire.

Lucy Care, who has been a LibDem councillor in Littleover for 14 years, is also standing down as a local councillor in the hope of winning the Derby North seat at this year's general election.

Also announcing their retirement are LibDems Julie Ginns, who represents Alvaston, and Darley ward's John-Paul Keane, who was elected at a by-election in 2008.