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New Mayor and Deputy Mayor elected at Reigate & Banstead Borough Council annual council meeting

A new Mayor and Deputy Mayor for the borough of Reigate & Banstead were elected at last night’s (26 May) annual council meeting at Reigate Town Hall.

The new Mayor of the borough, Cllr Frank Kelly, thanked councillors for his election to the position, alongside Deputy Mayor Cllr Rosemary Absalom.

Following his election, Cllr Kelly said: "We look forward to the magnificent celebrations of 70 years in the reign of our Queen and of the continued rebuilding of communities after much uncertainty, and for many, great sadness. Therefore, my theme for the year is ‘Be the Difference’.

“We all know in this chamber as councillors, along with residents in our communities, that we strive to help make the difference. We can help to be the difference, be it something small, or something large, everything counts, and they all add up in the end.

“To that end I would encourage councillors and residents to chart this for the year, be it send a message, a tweet, a picture, send them all so at the end of the year we can look back and see the difference we have all achieved.”

For his mayoral year, Cllr Kelly is supporting two charities: SASH, which raises funds to support Surrey and Sussex NHS Trust, and The Include Project, which helps teach people better ways of including and involving people with understanding or speaking difficulties. The Include Choir also exists to help create a positive environment using varied forms of communication, singing and music.

Cllr Kelly has served as Councillor for Merstham from 2011 to 2019 and following boundary changes in 2019 he has served as borough Councillor for Hooley, Merstham and Netherne. In 2021 He was elected as Surrey County Councillor for Merstham & Banstead South, positions he is privileged to continue to hold. Within the council, he chairs the Licensing committee having served for several years as deputy, and he sits on the Standards and Planning committees.

Throughout their term in office, the Mayor and Deputy Mayor will represent the borough of Reigate & Banstead at hundreds of functions, including formal receptions, official openings and visits to local community groups. Keep up-to-date with the Mayor’s activities on Facebook and Twitter. To invite the Mayor to a local event, fill out a form online.