At the annual meeting of Bridgwater Town Council on Thursday 19 November, Councillor Leigh Redman was elected as Mayor of Bridgwater.
The meeting was held on Zoom. This is Councillor Redman’s second term as Mayor. He takes over from Cllr Tony Heywood, now the town’s second longest consecutively serving Mayor, his terms being extended to 18 months due to the Covid lockdown towards the end of his Mayoralty. Cllr Liz Leavy was elected as Deputy Mayor and by convention will take over as Mayor upon completion of the current Mayor’s term of office.
Opening the meeting Leigh Redman said “Thank you for granting me with the privilege of being Bridgwater’s Mayor again. I want to take a moment to thank Cllr Heywood, Tony thank you for your efforts in these unprecedented times, this pandemic has been horrible for everyone in Bridgwater.
I know Cllr Heywood was keen to do so much more. He planned a memory walk for Dementia charities, I have given my undertaking to ensure we complete this as soon as it is safe to do so.
Cllr Heywood, I want to thank you on behalf of the town council for your time as our Mayor, you may not have been able to do everything you had wanted, but in those events you have been able to do, you have made an impact. Tony you have been an amazing Chair of the Council and Bridgwater Town Mayor, thank you”.
During Cllr Redman’s first period as Mayor, he has chosen not to have a named charity, with any donations/money raised will go to support local COVID-19 groups.
The Council hopes to hold a more formal Mayor making event next year, this will be a chance to celebrate Cllr Heywood’s term.
Cllr Redman’s also said at the meeting he will try to be seen supporting our town and the business in it. His first event is already in the calendar, to judge the Christmas windows in our town shops which is always an enjoyable event.
Cllr Redman added “Lets look forward to a better future, we have already seen how the community of Bridgwater has stepped up, the amazing work our volunteers have done and continue to do is wonderful.
Bridgwater Town Council has done its part, the walk-through test centre is working well at the town hall and helping reduce the need to travel for testing, now is a time for unity, I am so proud of Bridgwater and the people in every part of our community, please volunteer if you can”.
Please stay safe and follow the safety guidance, so that we can all play a part in ending Corona virus.
