I am delighted to have the opportunity to write a regular piece in ‘The Local Answer’ about the role of the Mayor of Cheltenham which I hope readers will find informative.

The office of the mayor is essentially a ceremonial one – chairing Council meetings, yes, but promoting the town, welcoming visitors, meeting local residents, local businesses and most importantly of all local community groups and volunteers. I want to learn more about my town, to listen and to learn and where appropriate to feed back.

Cavendish House visit

One of my most interesting events so far was a fabulous visit to the new look Cavendish House to open the Puredrive Energy stand – a company focused on helping people reduce their energy bills and carbon footprint. While there I visited a number of other stands to meet the many stallholders who were really excited with the opportunity to dip their toes into the retail environment for the first time. There is a wide range of products and services on offer and a great feeling of community as can be seen from the photo – it is certainly worth a visit.

Well done to the Borough Council, owner Canada Life and others who have helped create this vibrant, positive environment – a refreshing idea of utilising the space for the benefit of local people, and some from further away, to market and sell their products and services rather than leaving the building empty and boarded up. This is a fantastic initiative and perhaps a model that other owners of empty retail space should explore.

Another of my roles as Mayor is to raise funds for charities – I have chosen Aim Up which supports adults with disabilities, complex needs and mental health conditions, CCP which helps to prevent the causes and reduce the effects of homelessness, family breakdown and exclusion, Cheltenham Welcomes Refugees which does just that, welcoming and supporting refugees and asylum seekers as they arrive in our town, and finally the Friends of Sandford Parks which works with the Council to look after the parks and raises funds to improve them.

That’s all I’ve got space for this month, but I am looking forward to keeping The Local Answer readers up to date throughout my year in office. There will be much to talk about, including what promises to be a joyous and magnificent Summer Charity Ball at the iconic Pump Room on Saturday 20th July – please support the event if you can.