‘What a year to be mayor!’ was the reaction of Cllr Linda Johnson after she was re-elected as mayor of Beverley for a second term.
Cllr Johnson is the first mayor to be re-elected to the post for a second consecutive term in the town for over twenty years.
She received cross-party support at the Annual Council Meeting and Mayor Making ceremony on 9th May, with Liberal Democrat Cllr Denis Healy making the nomination, which was seconded by Cllr Chloe Hopkins of the Labour Party.
Cllr Johnson said it was an honour to be re-elected as mayor and said it will be a year to look forward to.
“What a year to be mayor!” exclaimed Cllr Johnson who will be supported in her role by her consort and husband Graham.
“The highlight will undoubtedly be the big celebration in the first week of June to mark the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee.
“It is such an incredible achievement to be monarch for 70 years and the celebrations will help to lift everyone’s spirits.
“We are lucky that Beverley Town Council has the money to be able to stage such an amazing celebration and that is because many of the events over the last two years have been unable to take place due to COVID, meaning we had the money for the Jubilee weekend.
“It will be a very full weekend which will start on the Thursday evening (2nd June) when we hope to be lighting a beacon at 9.45pm in line with the lighting of beacons across the country.
“This will be the start of the festivities with a busy day of activities on Friday (3rd June) from North Bar through to Flemingate.
“In Saturday Market we will have a main stage with bands and choirs playing; in Wednesday Market we will have street artists and music and dance from the musicals, and in Flemingate there will be tribute bands performing, from Buddy Holly to Lady Gaga.
“In addition, we will be hosting a civic reception; we will have big screens displaying all the events in Saturday Market; there will be church services; Toll Gavel Church will host ‘Beverley Betrayal’, a World War II play about a German spy in Beverley, and we will also be planting a tree in honour of Her Majesty, amongst many other events.
“It is such a busy and exciting weekend and after coming through COVID (hopefully), this is a weekend to celebrate 70 years of one monarch and whether you are a monarchist or not you have to recognise the achievements the Queen has made and her contributions in keeping us together as a United Kingdom during so many challenges.”
Cllr Johnson said having a second term as mayor gives her the opportunity to build on the work she began last year.
She said: “Last year I wanted to help organisations to join up so they are not working in silos, I want to continue that and help people understand there are other groups of people around the town who they can work with and help each other and the sum of what they do together will be greater than as individuals.
“I would also like to see the development of a cultural quarter in Wednesday Market.
“The project in Saturday Market with outdoor seating has worked really well and I believe if we can reduce car parking in Wednesday Market, at least during the day, we can create a cultural area, especially as it is next door to the East Riding Theatre, the Memorial Hall and County Hall and the town council offices.
“I think there are many possibilities going forwards.
“Later in the year, we are very hopeful that we can bring the food festival back in some way.
“It was a very difficult decision not to hold the food festival over the last two years, but it was the right decision because it would have been too much of a risk because of COVID.”
Being re-elected as mayor is a huge honour for Cllr Johnson who said civic life is important to promote the town.
“Being mayor is a huge honour and I would like to thank my fellow councillors for their support,” continued Cllr Johnson.
“I am the 418th mayor of Beverley and the first mayoralty was endowed by Queen Elizabeth I in 1573 and so it is important that we continue to take part in civic life and encourage tourism and relationship building with other towns and villages in the area.
“As mayor I am also chair of the council and I hope the other councillors see me as a safe pair of hands and I am a stickler for detail and will ensure the standards of the council are upheld to the highest degree.
“We want to ensure that more people in Beverley can benefit from what the town council can do and so we have invested in CCTV to make Beverley a safer place; we have carried out more planting, not just in the town centre but also on the estates where people live, and we have provided more litter bins.
“We hope to make the lives of Beverley residents more interesting and pleasant.”
Last year, Cllr Johnson raised £1,000 which was divided between her charities Scope, HER Breast Friends and SSAFA.
During this year of office, she will be raising funds for Guide Dogs and supporting the work of the centre in Beverley, and for the Open Doors Project, helping to support displaced people receive the support they need.
The Annual Council Meeting and Mayor Making also saw Cllr Tom Astell elected as Deputy Mayor.
