Changes at the council: another Lord Mayor from Whitstable

The new Lord Mayor of Canterbury is again from the Whitstable area. Councillor Ian Thomas, who represents Chestfield and Swalecliffe for the Conservatives, was installed in the post at a ceremony at the Guildhall in Canterbury, along with his wife Suzanne who is the new Lady Mayoress.

Cllr Thomas succeeds Pat Todd, who has carried out Mayoral duties for the past year with his wife Barbara.

Coincidentally, Cllr Todd also represents Chestfield and Swalecliffe along with Cllrs Thomas and Jennifer Samper. All three were re-elected on May 5th to serve on Canterbury City Council for a further four years. The new Sheriff of Canterbury is Hazel McCabe who represents Blean.

• The first meeting of the new council following the election has now been held, and committee posts allocated. Many council members also hold positions on the boards of outside bodies in Whitstable including Age Concern, the Horsebridge Arts and Community Centre, and Whitstable Improvement Trust.
• For you to find out all about your local councillors, their particular fields of responsibility, and how to contact them, the relevant council website pages have already been updated.
• Four new faces were elected among Whitstable councillors this time. For a complete rundown of your local representatives by ward, see our earlier story. The political 'colour' remains the same in Whitstable - all Conservative except for Harbour Ward held by Labour.