Thank you all very much for bestowing this huge honour upon me. I’d like to start my civic duties by proposing a vote of thanks to our gracious outgoing Mayor Carole Cupper. Throughout her mayoralty she has represented the community in a way that has exemplified the whole ethos of Sandhurst Pride and our collective commitment to Respect, Responsibility and Rights. We have all witnessed her passion for the environment and the Clean Team. When speaking with people she has met there has been a common theme to their comments and that I summarise as “She’s lovely”. On behalf of all your colleagues here and the whole of the Sandhurst community we say thank you for your two “lovely” years in office.

I’d like to welcome all our new councillors and encourage everyone to take a full and active part in doing the very best we can for our residents.

As for me I will commit myself to doing the very best I can to contribute to maintaining and, where necessary, raising the profile of Sandhurst within the wider community. We are a Quality Council and we must ensure we retain that important status. We must work closely with all the different organisations, groups and representatives that make up our community to ensure Sandhurst remains a great place to live, work and play. I have chosen one of our care focused voluntary organisations as my Mayors charity. Keep Mobile, which provides much needed transport for our older and vulnerable residents. They are a vital service giving mobility and independence to a lot of our residents and I know you will all want to join in with future fund raising activities.

We face many changes to how local government will function in the future and we must all be alert to how we can, as a Council and a community, take advantage of those changes to drive forward the high standards of service and facilities our residents have come to expect. We will be called upon to do more with less and we will rise to that challenge.

Can I ask all councillors, old and new to engage fully with member training? If, in the future, we do take on more responsibilities member capacity and understanding will be important. There is a lot more to being an effective local councillor than most people think, it is more than just attending meetings.

I’m looking forward to working with Michael Brossard as my Deputy Mayor, his commitment to our community has always been exemplary and I know we share the same vision for Sandhurst.

The Mayoress and I look forward to getting out and about meeting people and promoting this great community of Sandhurst.