Atherstone councillor elected new borough council mayor

Atherstone councillor Ray Jarvis has been elected as North Warwickshire Borough Council's new mayor.

Cllr Jarvis (Con, Atherstone North), a retired automotive engineer, took the reins at a full council meeting this week.

He was proposed by Cllr Tony Clews (Con, Atherstone South and Mancetter), who was elected as deputy mayor. They will be in office until May 2022.

Following his election Cllr Jarvis, who has also been mayor of Atherstone, said "Being mayor of North Warwickshire is a great honour that you fellow councillors have bestowed on me and I will endeavour to discharge that honour and responsibility to the best of my ability.

"This year, having a mayor's charity may be difficult but I will give it a go. The groups that I would like to support all come under the youth banner. They are the Phantom Knights who are currently the British champion marching band covering music and dance and the Atherstone Sports Club junior sections which cover rugby, football, cricket and hockey.

"While they are both based in Atherstone their membership extends throughout the borough and totals several hundred members."

Cllr Jarvis succeeds Cllr Brian Moss (Con, Kingsbury) who told councillors that his most memorable moment as mayor was hosting the visit by the Nicaragua ambassador to the borough.

Cllr Moss had his mayoral year extended due to the coronavirus pandemic as council business was curtailed due to the first lockdown.