It is an enormous privilege and a great honour to have been elected as Mayor of this historic town. It seemed strange that the first physical meeting the Council had undertaken for 15 months was an adapted Mayor making ceremony, with no opportunity for all those present to socialise afterwards. After 15 months of meetings via Zoom and Teams it was good to meet with colleagues and the public. Hopefully the ongoing vaccination programme will enable our community to return to normality or something very similar, in the next few months. Whilst we wait for that day to arrive I must encourage everyone to be careful and continue to follow all the social distancing guidelines, masking and cleaning measures.

I want to pay tribute to my predecessor, John Martin. Having been his deputy for three years I can vouch for the time and efforts he has dedicated to the service of our community. I know that John will continue to focus his attention on our community. Thank you John, for all of your efforts on our behalf.

The past 16 months have presented enormous challenges. Individuals having to isolate for health reasons, people losing loved ones and then being unable to effectively honour a lost friend or family member. Our young people, particularly teenagers, have experienced educational upheaval, interrupting or delaying their aspirations. We have to support them through these challenging times. They are our future.

I intend to continue our partnership approach with Helston Community Interest Company
(CIC) and the Helston Climate Action Group (HCAG). There are many projects already underway which will benefit the town. I am saddened that the Helston in Bloom team, after many years of wonderful service, have ceased. The likely effect would have been no hanging baskets around the town.  I have funded replacement hanging baskets from the Mayors’ Charity fund. They have been planted by the Kehelland Charity on our behalf. They look wonderful and will be in place before the end of June.

Hopefully we will all have a good summer and be able to take the opportunity to enjoy our wonderful town and surroundings.