A New Mayor for Hebden Royd

On Wednesday 14th May, the Annual Meeting of Hebden Royd Town Council was held at the Hope Baptist Church in Hebden Bridge.   The meeting saw Mayor Elect, Cllr Jonathan Timbers take the chain for the Mayoral year of 2014-15, his wife Aeisha will join him as consort.

The Deputy Mayor will be Cllr Anthony Hodgins whose consort will be his wife Hazel.

Cllr Timbers takes over the role from Cllr Karl Boggis. The retiring Mayor presented Cllr Timbers with the chain before taking time to reflect on his busy year, which included rising over £2000 for the Children's Ward at Calderdale Royal Hospital.

On the evening, awards were also presented. The first of these awards was the 2014 Service to the Community Award. This was presented by the new Mayor to Mr. Andrew Bibby for commitment to the area and his effort in a number of initiatives such as the Hebden Bridge Community Association, who have developed the extension to the Town Hall, and his continued work for the Hebden Bridge Partnership. On collecting his award Mr. Bibby gave thanks and stressed the importance of working together to improve our community.

In the junior section, the 2014 Service to the Community Award was presented to two young people who have shown dedication and community spirit in developing the Fair for Youth, Roisin Sheridan and Alex Kostyakov. Without the efforts of these young people the Fair for Youth would have almost certainly ceased to exist and with it the benefits that it brings to the young people in our area.

Cllr Timbers announced that he will be supporting two charities in his Mayoral year;

These are St Augustine's Centre in Halifax which offers vital support for refugees and asylum seekers in our area. The centre offers a home away from home for those who are most in need and is run entirely on donations and Combat Stress which is the UK's leading Veterans' mental health charity. Mental health problems affect ex-Service men and women of all ages returning from combat zones. Currently the charity is providing support and counselling supporting over 5,400 Veterans aged from 19 to 101. It is a vital lifeline for these men and women, and their families.

The evening drew to a close with a performance by pianist Dave Nelson who played Liszt: Petrarch Sonnet no.2 (from Années de Pèlerinage, Italie) and The Long Haul (Piano Cycle piece 4) written by Dave Nelson as part of the celebrations for the Tour De France.

Photos from Hebden Royd