Brentwood councillor plans retirement and neurodivergent retreat after late diagnosis
Original report:
An autism and ADHD diagnosis at 55 prompted Essex councillor Will Russell to rethink his political career. BBC reporting in November 2026 described his planned retirement and ambition to establish a woodland retreat for neurodivergent people and their families.
Will Russell said his diagnosis of autism and ADHD at 55 had prompted him to leave local politics. According to the BBC’s November 2026 report, he stepped down as Conservative group leader on Brentwood Borough Council in October and planned to retire as a councillor in May. He said political frustrations and the strain of masking his traits had taken a toll.
Russell sought a diagnosis after recognising childhood similarities with his eight-year-old son, Joshua, who had been diagnosed with autism. He hoped to establish a retreat with yurts on woodland offered to him in Doddinghurst, near Brentwood. The proposal was awaiting planning permission; Russell said it had county council support.
Russell’s experience sits alongside a wider question of unrecognised autism in later life. A 2023 study of care records cited by the BBC suggested that between 250,000 and 600,000 people over 50 in England might be autistic without a diagnosis. That estimate concerns autism, rather than combined autism and ADHD.
Source
BBC News — 9 November 2026
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