Lymington and Pennington Town Council members re-elected Jack Davies as town mayor

COUNCILLORS in Lymington have re-elected their colleague Jack Davies to serve as the town’s mayor for a second term.

At the town council’s annual meeting, Lymington ward member Cllr Alan Penson said he and his Tory party colleagues would not contest Cllr Davies’ re-election.

Following his re-election, Cllr Davies said: “Thank you very much to my fellow councillors for electing me as your mayor once again.

“It has been the greatest honour of my life to serve as mayor of Lymington and Pennington. I look forward to another productive year.”

He continued: “We have made steady progress this year. The long-delayed Neighbourhood Plan is about to be submitted to NFDC. I am confident that, by this time next year, we will have taken it to a referendum of the people of Lymington and Pennington who will decide whether or not to support it.”

Cllr Davies said the council has improved outdoor areas of the town, including installing new benches at Deneside allotments in Pennington and Lymington Meadows in Buckland thanks to donations from the Ramblers Association.

Cllr Davies said his chosen charity for the year is the locally-based Olivia Inspires, which helps youngsters aged 11 to 18 whose families are facing financial hardship to achieve their potential.

Proposing Pennington ward member Colm McCarthy to be Lymington’s deputy mayor, Cllr Richard Gray described him as “incredibly respected and hard-working”. Cllr McCarthy was elected to the role unopposed.

The chairs of various standing committees were also decided during the council’s annual meeting.

Cllr Richard Gray will chair the policy and resources committee, deputy mayor Colm McCarthy will chair the amenities committee and Cllr Jerry King will chair the planning committee.

The Buckland Farm Access Fund sub-committee will be chaired by the mayor, as will the neighbourhood plan steering sub-committee.