NEW town mayor Cllr Jan Goffey has said she hopes ‘to have a busy and productive mayoral year, continuing to work for the benefit of our town and all its residents’ after being officially elected into the post last week.

Cllr Goffey received the chain of office at a civic mayor choosing ceremony in the town hall last Wednesday. Cllr Dr Michael Ireland will be Cllr Goffey’s deputy for the year ahead.

In her acceptance speech, Cllr Goffey discussed her excitement at the potential return of a daily passenger rail service between Okehampton and Exeter, and thought Okehamp-ton‘s neighbourhood plan indicated what steps the town is taking for a bright future.

She also thanked her predecessor Cllr Vachon for his two years of service as mayor and paid tribute to community groups like the Okement Rivers Improvement Group for their hard work in the community.

She said: ‘Being mayor is a role I never thought to play, a seat I never thought to sit in, but carpe diem, and you never know to what life will lead you. It lead me to this ancient and important role in one of the town’s oldest and most prestigious buildings.

‘This building may date back only to 1685. A somewhat momentous year. Charles II died and his brother, the Roman Catholic James Stuart, became King James II who dissolved Parliament which led to the Monmouth Rebellion, and the Glorious Revolution and we ended up with a Dutch King, William of Orange.

‘But what of this year? I think it too is going to be pretty momentous. A tenuous descendent of William of Orange celebrates her 90th birthday. We will help Her Majesty’s celebrate with our Picnic in the Park to which all residents of the town and hamlets are invited.

‘Talking of the hamlets, we are in the midst of our neighbourhood plan working closely with Okehampton Hamlets Parish Council. We face the challenges of more houses in the hamlets, a fight to get more primary school places and a new building.

‘New business premises are in the pipeline releasing possibly more house building land within the town. It is more and more imperative that we and the hamlets work together to move the town and the surrounding area into a stronger position for sensible creative development with matching infrastructure and a more cohesive tax base to fund initiatives.

‘The results of the residents’ questionnaire have highlighted the perennial problems, the traffic, the dilapidated buildings in the centre of town and the lack of parking.

‘We know it is useless wringing our hands and complaining. County has some of the money but we have to find other means of funding. We need fresh ideas, we need residents to help us think outside the box, what ideas can you come up with to solve these problems. If you have a bright idea, bring it to us, please.’

Outgoing mayor Cllr Vachon presented his mayoral awards for the year to Helen Cann, for being ‘a larger than life character who helps many in the community, supports many community groups and has the ability to convince our businesses to provide prizes for raffles. At carnival time, you’ll see her dressed up as the Queen of Hearts, a chicken or another colourful character.’

He also presented an award to 2443 ATC’s Sgt Dave Wilkinson on behalf of Flt Lt Andy Oliver for his efforts to improve the experience for cadets in the squadron. Cadet numbers have gone up by almost a third since he took over as commanding officer.

Cllr Vachon also made a donation of £1,160 to the Forget-Me-Not Cafe, his mayoral charity for his last year in office.