New leadership for district council
A unanimous show of hands saw new members of
the leadership team voted in at the May annual meeting of Malvern
Hills District Council. Cllr David Hughes is the council’s new
leader with Cllr Paul Swinburn as Deputy. The new Chairman is
Cllr Paul Tuthill with Cllr Roger Sutton voted in as his
deputy.
Cllr David Hughes, who has been a
member of the council since 2007 and has held the Deputy Leader
seat since 2010, said:
“It is a privilege to be elected leader of
this council and to be given the opportunity to build on the good
work started by my predecessor, Cllr Phil Grove. I would like to
thank the previous Executive Committee, especially Cllr. Barbara
Williams for her hard work and dedication shown in the post of
Economic Development Portfolio Holder.
There are some exciting opportunities in local
government on the horizon, some of which are being introduced
through the Localism Act, which will have significant ramifications
for us as a council and the way we operate with our partners.
This will inevitably have an effect on the way
in which we organise ourselves to deliver the services and support
to our residents, and we are already engaging with town &
parish councils and other partners to maximise the opportunities
and benefits this will offer our residents.
It is my intention that under my leadership,
we will work hard to deliver fairness, equal opportunities and
improved prosperity and wellbeing for everybody in the district,
and continue to try and keep Council Tax as low as possible. “
With his passion in promoting local business,
outgoing leader Cllr Phil Grove will continue to work as a senior
member on the Executive Committee when he was voted in as the new
Portfolio Holder for Economic Development. Another new member
of the Executive is Cllr Tony Penn who now holds the portfolio for
Planning and Housing although Cllr Hughes retains responsibility
for the South Worcestershire Development Plan.Three senior members
are retaining their portfolios as follows: Cllr Paul
Swinburn,responsible for Policy Development, HR and Customer
Services, Cllr Bronwen Behan for Environmental Control and Cllr
Paul Cumming for Finance Performance Management and
Resources.
At the meeting there was also a presentation
to Cllr Roger Hall Jones in celebration of the fact that he has
been serving as a councillor in our local authority for an amazing
40 years.He became a councillor in 1972, elected to what was then
known as Malvern Urban Council.
There was also a standing ovation for MHDC’s
Head of Legal and Governance, Nigel Snape, who is due to leave the
council in June as part of the cost savings made when two senior
management posts were axed last year.
Following his fund raising activities through
the year, outgoing Chairman Cllr Mike Soley presented a cheque for
£1,500 to Cllr David Harrison who received it on behalf of West
Midlands Air Ambulance.
Photos: from L to R
Conservative
members of the Executive
Committee
Vice Chairman Cllr Roger Sutton
Cllrs Phil Grove, Paul Swinburn, Tony
Penn,
with Chairman Cllr Paul Tuthill
Paul
Cumming, Bronwen Behan & David
Hughes
Chairman Cllr Paul
Tuthill with
outgoing
Cllr Roger Hall Jones with
Chairman Cllr
Mike Soley & Cllr David Harrison
Chairman
Cllr Mike Soley