Archived Copy of Milford Haven Town Council Website

Councillors, Ladies and Gentlemen. First, I should like to congratulate Councillor Friend on a very successful year as Mayor of Milford Haven. He has undertaken many duties and attended a large number of engagements – I only hope I can match his dedication and commitment to the role of Mayor. I should also like to thank Councillor Sinnett for proposing me and Councillor Warlow for seconding me as Mayor. Your words were very kind and much appreciated. I am also delighted that I will be working with and supported by Councillor Southwell as Deputy Mayor. I wish her good luck and hope she enjoys the next 12 months as much as I have enjoyed mine in the role. My final thanks go to Moyra Galliford and Meriel Waid. Without their invaluable support this Council would not function as well as it does. I look forward to working with you both more closely over the coming year. It is an immense honour to be the Mayor and first citizen of Milford Haven. I intend to do my very best to represent the town in a positive manner and support as many of the hardworking individuals and organisations in the town that I can. Today also marks the 30th anniversary of my paternal grandfather’s passing. In recalling that time, I could not have imagined as a 13 year old school boy being here tonight or the fact that people still recall today with fond regard ‘Top Woodham’s Fish & Chip Café’ – my only disappointment being that I never got to try the chips myself as he retired a month after I was born! It was the above business that brought my grandfather to Milford and my brother’s illness in 2007 and the compassion and support shown by so many local people to us as a family at that time that made up my mind to return home. I, as my grandfather before me, have never regretted the decision to make Milford our home. I am also incredibly proud of all my family and hope that they will be able to play a full and active role during my coming Mayoral year. As a town, there are many challenges for us to overcome, not just in the next 12 months but in the coming years too. However, I believe there are many reasons for us to be optimistic about the future of Milford Haven and while the global economic crisis continues to be a reality for us all, we should not let this cloud future opportunities or allow others to use this as a block on investing in the future of our town. During my time as Mayor, I intend to do all I can to promote Milford Haven and highlight the benefits that there can be from different individuals and organisations working together collaboratively and for the greater good of the community. In fact, this has already started and I am delighted with the positive comments that have been made at some of the recent meetings I have attended. With the right attitude there is a real possibility of there being a change for the better in our town. On Saturday, I walked the length of Charles Street. There are over 60 different businesses trading in this street. Yes, there are also a dozen or so vacant shops but this is not something unique to our town. Saturday was a dry, sunny day and while I noticed during my walk that some shop fronts would benefit from a makeover and the street being ‘tidied up’, what struck me most of all was how few ‘shoppers’ were actually there. It made me think that what we all need to do, myself included, is to make more of a conscious effort to support the businesses we have in the town and to come up with ideas on how we can encourage more people to visit our shops. Through raising foot fall, other businesses should be attracted to open and more choice will be made available to the consumer. As Mayor, I intend to discuss this with as many businesses in the town as I can with the aim of identifying how best this can be taken forward. There is no quick fix but if we all share in the responsibility of improving our town and supporting the businesses that we have the opportunity is there for long term success. During the next 12 months I also intend to support and become involved with the Milford Haven Youth Council. At the end of March this year, I had the pleasure of attending a special Question Time event hosted by the Youth Council. I was greatly impressed by the enthusiasm shown by some of the young people present for both local and national issues and I see this forum as a real way of engaging with the young people of the town who all too often receive a collective bad press as a result of the ill-considered wrongdoing of the few. I hope that this Council will support this engagement recognising as I do the importance for the future of our town in including the views of our young people in the decisions that we make today. As well as encouraging young people to become involved in the community, I also recognise the need for all individuals to feel engaged. Therefore, I intend to provide everyone with the opportunity of asking me, as Mayor, any question or points that they wish to ask or make in a public meeting prior to our Full Council meetings. There is no requirement for any Councillor to attend these sessions, although I would encourage you all to do so. My intention is simple: to make it possible for all members of the public to have an opportunity to raise any issues and concerns that they have directly with the Mayor. I also hope to encourage greater community engagement by inviting a representative from one of the churches within the town to lead prayers before each Full Council meeting. I also intend to invite different churches to participate in town services and will personally endeavour to attend a service at every church or place of worship in the town during my year of office. As Mayor, it is also my intention to be as involved as I can be with the many different Milford based community groups and take every opportunity to wear the mayoral chain to as many different places and locations as possible within the town. During the year, I also hope to be able to visit our twin towns of Romilly-sur-Seine in France and Uman in the Ukraine. If this occurs, I will personally finance these trips. I have also given considerable consideration to the potential beneficiaries of my Mayor’s Charity Fund. I have decided to do something a little different this year by hosting an event on Christmas Day for people who would otherwise be on their own. I am calling the event ‘Christmas Together’ with the aim that anyone, for whatever reason, who will be on their own on Christmas Day 2012 will have the opportunity to spend it in the company of others. I will be assembling a small team of volunteers to assist with this project and hope that you will all feel able to support it in some way. Following the passing a few years ago of a close family friend I also intend to support research into pancreatic cancer. This is a particularly unpleasant disease, not easily diagnosed and difficult to treat. At present less that 3% of sufferers survive more than five years following diagnosis. Anything that can be done to help fight this disease is a step in the right direction. I also intend to support the Nova St Non Mental Health Unit at Withybush Hospital and the Milford based charity Pembrokeshire Action to Combat Hardship (PATCH). I have become involved with both these organisations in recent years and believe they both provide an important and invaluable role in our community and are worthy of all our support. None of us know when we or a loved one may need to use either of the above services. Colin and I are very much looking forward to the next 12 months and becoming even more involved within the local community. We both hope that in some small way we will be able to make a positive difference in the town. Thank you.