AMESBURY’S new mayor has vowed to create a “strong and united town council” and to capitalise on tourism opportunities.

Town councillor Alan Hagger has been elected to the role for 2024/25, taking over from Cllr Dr Monica Devendran – the former mayor – becoming his deputy.

Cllr Hagger will is joined by his partner, Cllr Laura Knight, who is mayoress.

It comes after Cllr Tim Edwards, the former deputy mayor, resigned from the council as he prepares to relocate to the US.

Taking on the role, the new mayor laid out his plans for the coming year:

“I am honoured to have been elected as the mayor of Amesbury for 2024/25.

It is an important and exciting time for the town. During the next year we will see the completion of the Wiltshire Towns Fund survey.

Although it begins with people’s ideas and proposals for the town centre, questions do extend to the whole of Amesbury. I would like to use the survey as a basis for developing a plan for the future, with clear priorities for investment and development.

As mayor I will work to establish the following:

• An annual grant round which will seek ideas and bids for the council’s financial support to achieve the ambitions that come from the survey. Amesbury Town Council is not poor. At almost every town council meeting, councillors are asked to vote for an idea from a worthy organisation that has come forward seeking support. Given the ad hoc nature of this, we do not look for priorities, or how much the organisation needs the money. Instead, I would like councillors to agree priorities in advance and to ask for proposals against those priorities.
• The completion of the Men’s Shed/pavilion. During my time I will aim to complete this long-awaited project.
• To develop a plan for Amesbury to benefit from the potential tourism. This is particularly relevant given the proximity of Stonehenge, Woodhenge and Avebury. Amesbury has the infrastructure, with wonderful hotels and restaurants to be able to benefit from tourism. I will look to create a new approach to tourism agreed with the chamber of trade and others.
• Work with voluntary organisations to develop service for young people.

We can achieve these things with a strong and united town council. I will use my time as mayor to achieve a unity of purpose and a consensus among councillors, businesses and other community groups.”