New chairman and leader for Arun District Council
Councillors voted at the annual council meeting last evening and a new chair and vice chair were appointed.
Outgoing Chair, Cllr Alison Cooper started the meeting and gave thanks to all those who supported her during the civic year. She paid tribute to the many people and organisations that she has had the pleasure of connecting with. Cllr Cooper announced that she will be donating £1250, raised throughout the year, to her chosen charity, AJs Legacy.
The vote was then taken to appoint Cllr Dr James Walsh as Chair of the Council for the forthcoming year, and the ceremonial presentation of the chains of office took place.
Cllr Walsh has been an active and influential member of Arun District Council for 49 Years, with a term as Chair of the Council for the civic year 2003-2004 and as Leader of the Council in 2019-2021. James also served as leader of the Liberal Democrat group for many years.
As well as being an elected member of the district council, James is also a Littlehampton Town Councillor and spent 40 years working in the local community as a GP and also supporting St John Ambulance. He also spent 20 years in the Royal Naval Reserve, finishing as director, Royal Naval Medical Reserve Services, for which he was made a Knight of the Most Venerable Order of Saint John by the late Queen in 2012
Cllr Walsh said:
“I am delighted and honoured to have been voted as chair of Arun District Council for a second time. It is a privilege to be an ambassador of the council and I am looking forward to the year ahead and the opportunities that it will bring to highlight our district, the people and the good work they do.
“As part of this role I will chair full council meetings and I pledge to do so in a fair, calm and ordered manner, encouraging all parties to work together for the residents of the Arun.”
Cllr Walsh announced that his chosen charities will be Mind - West Sussex and Littlehampton Sea Cadet Corp.
Following this appointment, Cllr Freddie Tandy was then voted as Vice Chair of the council and received his badge of office.
Cllr Tandy said:
“ Being elected as vice chair of the council is a great privilege and I am looking forward to working alongside, and learning from, Cllr Dr Walsh. As a district councillor, town councillor, and having just finished a year as Littlehampton Town Mayor, I believe my knowledge and experience will benefit the work that James and I will do to represent the district.”
At the same meeting it was confirmed that Cllr Martin Lury will be Leader of the Council, with Cllr Roger Nash as Deputy Leader.
Cllr Lury, Leader of the Council started his speech paying tribute to his predecessor, Cllr Matt Stanley for his sterling work and calm demeanour, before going on to deliver his speech:
“I wish to recognise the contributions of Karl [Roberts] and Philippa [Dart], who have excelled in their roles as acting Chief Executives, helping to move the council forward.
“Let me concentrate on two issues that I consider to be of great importance, tone and culture. I want us all to show due respect to fellow councillors and officers. I genuinely believe that we come into office with best intentions of improving the district we represent, albeit with different views on how we achieve this shared goal and moving Arun forward. I use this term advisedly as this administration is composed of what I would term, Arun Progressives.
“I think we are painfully aware of the underfunding of local government and the savings we have had to identify, and this council year will be no different. Hopefully we will be able to explore ways to increase our income and our new chief executive’s experience in regeneration projects should be advantageous.”
Cllr Shaun Gunner will remain leader of the Conservative Group (opposition), with Cllr Jacky Pendleton remaining in post as deputy leader.
The meeting can be viewed on the council website: Annotator Player (mediasite.com)
The full list of Group Leaders and deputies are:
Cllr Lury – Leader of the Council and Leader of the Lib Dems
Cllr Nash – Deputy Leader of the Council and Deputy Leader for Labour
Cllr Stanley – Deputy Leader of Lib Dems
Cllr Northeast – Leader of the Labour Group
Cllr Gunner – Leader of the Opposition and Leader of the Cons
Cllr Pendleton – Deputy Leader of the Cons
Cllr Wallsgrove – Greens - Leader
Cllr McAuliffe – Greens – Deputy Leader
Cllr Huntley – Independents – Leader
Cllr Brooks – Deputy Leader – Independents
Cllr Goodheart – Leader – Arun Independent Group
Cllr Harty – Deputy - Arun Independent Group