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Bridgend Council held its final Annual General Meeting (AGM) earlier this week.
The AGM is the meeting at which senior positions in the council are confirmed. This is the final AGM before next year’s local elections.
At the start of the meeting, a minute’s silence was held for two former mayors of Bridgend County – Cleone Westwood and Rosemary Deere – who have sadly passed away since the last council meeting.
"Extraordinary privilege" to be Mayor
The outgoing Mayor, Cllr. Huw David (Lab, Pyle, Kenfig Hill & Cefn Cribwr), thanked those who donated to his two designated charities – Make a Wish and Ty Hafan. He expressed appreciation for the warm welcome he received from various organisations, schools, charities and community groups he visited during his year in office.
He said serving as Mayor was one of the greatest privileges of his life.
As is tradition, the previous year’s Deputy Mayor, Cllr. Heidi Bennett (Lab, Pen-y-fai) was nominated for Mayor and unanimously approved.
There were three nominations for Deputy Mayor: Cllr. Elaine Winstanley (Lab, Cornelly), Cllr. Alan Wathan (Ind, Coity Higher) and Cllr. Malcolm James (Plaid, Llangynwyd).
Under the council’s rules, as there were more than two candidates, there would be two rounds of voting. Cllr. James was eliminated in the first round. In the second round, Cllr. Winstanley received 26 votes to Cllr. Wathan’s 19.
New member promoted to Cabinet
After being reconfirmed as Council Leader, Cllr. John Spanswick (Lab, Brackla West Central) made only one change to the Cabinet.
Cllr. Colin Davies (Lab, Bryntirion, Laleston & Merthyr Mawr) was appointed Cabinet Member for Regeneration and Housing, replacing Cllr. Neelo Farr (Lab, Porthcawl East Central).
The Council Leader paid tribute to Cllr. Farr for demonstrating selfless public service during her time as a Cabinet Member. He said that while being a Cabinet Member can be rewarding, it’s far from easy and can be tough at times.
