At the annual meeting of the Council (Mayor Making), Cllr Gwyneth Lewis was elected Mayor of Abingdon-on-Thames for the civic year 2023-24.

Cllr Gabby Barody was elected as the Deputy Mayor.

The Abingdon Traditional Morris Dancers danced before the ceremony.

The outgoing Mayor, Andy Foulsham, and Deputy Mayor, Councillor Gabby Barody, presented biodiversity awards to schools and community groups.

There were also Mayor’s awards to:
* ATOM Science Festival

* John Killick for promoting biodiversity in Abingdon and Oxfordshire
* Hilary Beale for Coordinating and managing Abingdon Food Bank and services to Girlguiding in Abingdon
* Paul Shipman for Services to Scouting in Abingdon

The new Mayor is Councillor Gwyneth Lewis, elected for the first time just ten days ago. So the new council has chosen someone different than Gabby Barody, nominated by the outgoing council.

Gwyneth Lewis has a Wikipedia page if you want to know more about her role as a doctor and in promoting women’s health worldwide. She was born in Abingdon and went to Dunmore School and was in the first intake at St Nicolas Primary School. More recently, she set up a local residents group in Thames Street and campaigned about the Upper Reaches. Her charities will focus on domestic abuse and refuge. Her chaplain is Deacon Selina Nisbett.

Deputy Mayor Councillor Gabby Barody is staying as Deputy Mayor for another year.

There is also a new Town Clerk. Nigel Warner retired last year. He was succeeded by somebody who fairly quickly resigned and the new interim Town Clerk is Paula Lopez, who previously worked at Wallingford Town Council.

Another change was that Abingdon Concert Band played instead of Abingdon Town Band.

The local election count took place today at the White Horse Leisure and Tennis Centre.

Four years ago, the count occurred in the centre gym. The centre’s larger indoor tennis area was used successfully at the County Council election two years ago and again today.

At one end was the count for the South Oxfordshire District Council and parish councils in South Oxfordshire.

At the other end was the count for the Vale of Horse District Council and parishes.

After the count, the number of councillors on Abingdon-on-Thames Town Council remains unchanged, with 18 Lib-Dems and 1 Green.

The Conservative Party lost all 6 of their councillors on the district council, and the Lib-Dems and Green Party gained 3 each. There are now 34 Lib-Dems and 4 Greens.

Congratulations to all the winning candidates, and commiserations to those that lost.

These elections decide Abingdon-on-Thames Town Council and the Vale of White Horse District Council. Four years ago, the Lib-Dems won 18 town council seats, and the Greens 1. On the Vale, it was Liberal Democrats – 31, Conservative – 6, Green – 1.

They’ll be counting the votes on Friday, 5 May 2023. You can follow the results via Twitter – @valevotes.

The Abbey Cinema, in the Guildhall, has the King’s Coronation on the large screen for anyone who books.

There will also be voting at the Guildhall tomorrow for town and district local councillors.

One issue on the eve of local elections is the future of the Abbey Cinema. There are emails between the Abbey Cinema and the Chair of the Town Council’s Community Committee, about the lease negotiations, which, if not completed by June, could see the cinema closing.

Both sides want the cinema to stay open but are waiting for the other to respond.

The Chair of the Town Council’s Community Committee said, ‘My understanding is that having agreed to the Heads of Terms informally, the Town Council has been waiting for the Abbey Cinema team to sign them.‘

The Cinema’s property consultant has replied, ‘The Heads of Terms are not agreed.  On the 17^th February 2023 I responded to the Council’s consultant to various points raised by the Town Council on the draft Heads of Terms. I have yet to receive a response to that email. ‘

P.S. ‘A Head of Terms’ refers to an agreement on the key issues of a negotiation.