ELEVEN new members were welcomed to 17-strong Haslemere Town Council last Thursday for the first meeting and mayor-making since the local elections.

Formerly consisting of 17 Tories and one Independent, the new-look town council now has seven Tories, seven Liberal Democrats, two Independents and two Greens.

Previous town mayors William King, Sahran Abeysundara, Libby Piper, Malcolm Carter, Jim Edwards and current deputy mayor Pat Blades were among those who failed to win back their seats, but several returned as members of the public to wish their successors well.

First on the agenda was who should be town mayor and mayoress for 2019 to 2020, and councillors unanimously supported the nominations by outgoing mayoress Melanie Odell for new Lib Dem Critchmere ward members John Robini and his wife Jacquie Keen, a former town mayor herself.

Ms Odell said: “John is a dedicated member of the community and served in the police force for 43 years.

“He became the crime prevention and design officer managing the local mobile CCTV system and set up all the Waverley neighbourhood watch groups.

“Even while working John found time to serve as chairman of Witley Parish Council and was also on the executive at Waverley Borough Council.

“He was involved with the Old Fire Station youth project and more recently A Place to Be. He is currently the president of Haslemere Rotary.”

Newly elected mayor Mr Robini said: “I am truly honoured to be asked and am looking forward to working with my fellow councillors and partners, staff and the community.

“It will be a challenging year with government and local authority cuts and I want to protect those most at risk. I am a firm believer in honesty and transparency in meetings.”

Ms Keen nominated re-elected Tory town councillor Simon Dear as deputy mayor, and Mr Robini presented outgoing Tory mayor and mayoress David Round and his wife Melanie Odell, who also remain on the town council, with gifts.

It was a momentous day for Mr Round, who not only stepped down as mayor, but had completed a gruelling 56-mile charity walk along the Greensand Way from the Kent border to Haslemere just a few hours earlier. Mr Round was applauded by town councillors for his impressive ‘feat’, which raised around £3,000 in aid of Haslemere Museum’s Project Horizon.