Councillors in Torridge met in Bideford on Monday 18 May for the Council’s Annual General Meeting. The main focus of the meeting was to elect the Leader and Deputy Leader of the Council and Chair and Vice Chair. The agenda also covered Chair and Vice Chair appointments to the Council’s key decision-making committees.
One of the key outcomes from the night was the decision to re-elect Councillor Ken James as Leader for the seventh year running but defer the decision to elect a Deputy Leader until the next full council on Monday 22 June. Councillor James proposed the idea of electing two deputy leaders in response to the increasing pressure and workload the Council faces as it works through the impending changes as a result of Local Government Reorganisation.
Councillor Doug Bushby was also re-elected as chair of the Council with Councillor Doug Smith sworn in as vice-chair.
The full list of Chair and Vice Chair positions decided were as follows:
Chair of the Council – Councillor Doug Bushby
Vice Chair of the Council – Councillor Doug Smith
Chair Community and Resources Committee – Councillor Teresa Tinsley
Vice Chair Community and Resources Committee – Councillor Bob Hicks
Chair Plans Committee – Councillor Rosemary Lock
Vice Chair Plans Committee – Councillor Chris Leather
Chair Audit and Governance Committee – Councillor Philip Hackett
Vice Chair Audit and Governance Committee – Councillor Jude Gubb
Chair Internal Overview and Scrutiny Committee – Councillor Claire Hodson
Vice Chair Internal Overview and Scrutiny Committee – Councillor Steven Harding
Chair External Overview and Scrutiny Committee – Councillor Hugh Thomas
Vice Chair External Overview and Scrutiny Committee – Councillor Doug Smith
Chair Licensing Committee – Councillor Chris Bright
Vice Chair Licensing Committee – Councillor Simon Inch
Chair Standards Committee – Councillor Louis Bach
Vice Chair Standards Committee – Councillor Ken James
Councillor Ken James, re-elected Leader of Torridge District Council, said: “I would like to thank my fellow Councillors for once again supporting my election as leader. I think we all agree that we have a difficult year ahead as we negotiate and navigate our way through the process of Local Government Reorganisation, whilst continuing to work through the day-to-day the issues that affect our residents.
“Over the next twelve months we will also continue with our pledge to look for opportunities to grow our economy and improve jobs and training prospects for local people. This is something that I feel very passionate about and as many of the regeneration projects resulting from the Community Regeneration Partnership Scheme come to fruition, we have much to look forward to.”
Councillor Doug Bushby, re-elected Chair of Torridge District Council, said: “I would like to express my appreciation to my fellow Councillors for their vote of confidence in me and for my re-election as chair of Torridge District Council – it’s truly a great honour. I look forward to working with my fellow councillors and officers over the next twelve months to see through some of the exciting projects that we are working on across the district, including the Appledore Maritime Innovation Centre and the Hatchmoor Business Park in Great Torrington.”
