Hailsham Town Mayor and Chairman elected at Annual Meeting

The Annual Meeting also elected Councillor Anne Marie Ricketts to continue in her role as Deputy Town Mayor and Vice-Chairman, as well as various representatives for local community organisations.

At the meeting, Cllr Stephen Potts announced that he is stepping down from the Council with immediate effect, due to relocating to Wales to be closer to his family. Cllr Potts apologised to members present and stated that he thoroughly enjoyed his role as town councillor for Hailsham West Ward and wished the Council every success in the future.

Parents of pupils attending Burfield and Phoenix Academies raised their concerns at the meeting over the Step Academy Trust’s consultation on a proposal to amalgamate both schools. It was agreed that the Town Council will write to the Trust to request an extension to the consultation period deadline.

On accepting the chain of office, Councillor Holbrook, representing Hailsham Central Ward, said that his long-term vision is for a town that is community-driven and stated that it will be another busy year ahead for the Town Council.

"As Town Mayor and Chairman, I look forward to continuing my contribution to the Council's future achievements, including continuing to work hard for our residents to make further significant improvements to our services, finding more efficient ways to carry out our activities and make front-line operations as efficient as possible."

"As we all know, due to the cost-of-living crisis, a number of key changes have affected the Town Council, and we have all had to work hard - and under greater constraint than usual. These changes include a significant increase in the cost of utilities across most of our sites which we maintain for residents, in addition to an increase in other running costs across the board."

"Throughout the course of the next year, myself, my fellow town councillors and council staff will continue to work meticulously to ensure that we provide value for money for residents and make further improvements to our services."

Cllr Holbrook added: "In terms of my role as Town Mayor, I feel honoured to represent the people of Hailsham and hope to meet members of the local community at future civic engagements, whilst helping to raise the profile of local charities, community groups and voluntary organisations - all of which work selflessly to help others and make individuals lives just that much better and brighter."

"A lot can be achieved in our town and, as mayor, I will endeavour to work with different groups of people to overcome the challenges we face now and in the future, especially moving forward and seeing us through the cost-of-living crisis. Hailsham is a special place, and I will work hard to ensure that it remains so."

"In closing, I would like residents to know that the Town Council is here for you. If you have any issues about the town you should get in touch with us. While we can’t promise to be able to have a solution to every problem, we will always do our best to attempt to get some sort of positive outcome."