Message from the town's new Mayor, Cllr Paul Keddie

* New Town Mayor, Paul Keddie.

Paul Keddie was chosen earlier this week by his fellow town councillors as Lllangollen's new Mayor.

Cllr Keddie, who also became one of the area's two county councillors at the May 5 election, has sent this message to the people of the town:

"I am truly honoured and proud to be voted Mayor of Llangollen, thank you to Cllr Haddy and Cllr Rush for proposing and seconding me and to those who voted for me.

As with County Council, my goals are to improve the way we all live our lives by improving the local facilities, transport links, waste and recycling management and moving towards a greener community.

The way we live our lives in the aftermath of the dreadful pandemic is slowly becoming more ‘normal’ and similar to pre-pandemic ways, but some of the changes that were forced upon us in the Covid times can still be used to make things easier and greener for us.  Examples of this are working from home and attending meetings using virtual access methods, both are saving on travel and reducing the toxic waste given out as a result. 

Festivals and events are returning to their former glory, please support these as best you can.  They bring the community together and share our wonderful town and surroundings with people from all over Britain and the world.  A smile to a stranger goes a long way in a town like ours, it is helping to secure our future - keeping our visitors happy so they are more likely to return and will spread the word that the Welsh can be friendly.

I wish you all well and look forward serving you during my term of office."

Cllr Keddie replaces Austin Cheminais. who stood down from the Town Council on May 5, as Town Mayor.      

Councillor Jen Rush (pictured below) has been appointed Deputy Mayor.

She said “I am honoured to have this opportunity to serve the town and look forward to supporting Cllr Keddie in his well-deserved role as Mayor.

"We are fortunate to have two experienced councillors and an accomplished Town Clerk to guide those of us who are new to the role, with the benefit of new councillors to bring fresh ideas and ways of thinking to the table.

"I hope the co-option process makes the Town Council more diverse, so all residents feel supported and represented. I would urge anyone interested to get in touch with the Town Clerk before 10 June.

"I know from volunteering with New Dot Cinema that our community groups and events are a huge part of what makes our town so vibrant. Our wonderful grass-roots support groups like Llangollen Food Share do an invaluable job of making sure no resident of Llangollen has to go without. These groups are going to be more important than ever as we rebuild post-pandemic, let's do our best support them.

"Outside my role as Town Councillor, I am mum to a toddler and own a small digital marketing agency, where I work exclusively with charities and not-for-profits. I am also due to complete a Master’s in Digital Communications this year, so it is a busy time, but as several people have recently said to me ‘If you want something doing, ask a busy woman’!