Mayor of North Wiltshire

The Mayor of Trowbridge for the Civic Year 2016-2017 is Councillor Linda Self .The Mayor is elected by the Council at the Annual Council meeting in May for a period of office of one year. The Mayor is always a serving councillor and acts as Chair of the Council. Councillor Nicola Blackmore is Deputy Mayor, and Councillor Bob Brice continues as Leader of the Council. The Leader of the Council is also Chair of the Policy & Resources Committee, which deals with many of the council's major decisions including Strategy, Policy, Finance and Personnel. The Council Leader in a Town or Parish Council does not have any executive powers - decisions can only be delegated by the council to committees or to officers. The Leader works closely with the Town Clerk and other officers through regular meetings to ensure that issues are being dealt with in a timely way and can be resolved outside the normal committee meeting cycle, where such matters have been delegated to officers.

Councillor Linda Self, who has represented Adcroft Ward for three years, admits that despite her limited experience of politics, she is confident that she knows the town inside-out, having been a resident for nearly 40 years. “I am very proud of the fact that I have been elected as Mayor, because I can now represent Trowbridge going forward, and I promise to do what I can to make it a better place for the future.

    “I attended many events during my year as Deputy Mayor, and in this new role am looking forward to doing likewise, meeting as many different people as possible and getting the name of Trowbridge ‘out there’".

    Councillor Self intends to give her support two local charities in her mayoral year; Breakthrough Trowbridge and Alzheimer’s Support. She adds “For my charities, I chose two local causes to share monies raised. Breakthrough Trowbridge is a charity which helps the homeless. They help not only those who are already on the streets, but also those who are faced with the prospect of being homeless. As Breakthrough Trowbridge are temporarily based at the local Salvation Army citadel, they need as much help they can get because let us face it, in this day and age, homelessness shouldn’t exist.”

    “Alzheimer’s Support also do a lot of great work in the community and I have been lucky enough to be able to visit their Mill Street Club and the work they are doing there is absolutely fantastic.”

    Councillor Self took over the mayoral role from Councillor Roger Andrews who presented her with the Mayoral chain at the annual Town Council meeting. At the same time, a cheque for more than £4,500 was presented to Councillor Andrews’ chosen charity during his tenure, Dorothy House Hospice Care.

    Councillor Nicola Blackmore, who represents Grove Ward, is Deputy Mayor of Trowbridge for the mayoral year 2016-2017.