New mayors for St Ives and Ramsey acknowledge that year ahead will be challenging

The work of volunteers during the coronavirus crisis will be highlighted by the new mayor of St Ives during his spell in office.

Cllr Jonathan Pallant said he had been overwhelmed by the way people had rallied round to support the community and wanted to do what he could to help them in return.

“These are strange times,” he said.

“I am impressed having seen a lot of hard work volunteers have done and am very keen to use whatever opportunities I have as mayor to focus attention on the work the volunteers are doing.

In St Ives and Ramsey, town councils have been holding meetings electronically on Zoom, including electing the new mayor,

Cllr Pallant, who has been on St Ives Town Council for four years. Cllr Pallant has said he is keen to promote green issues.

In Ramsey, Cllr Steve Corney has been reappointed mayor and also said the year ahead would be a difficult one, affecting the things which could be achieved.

He said he would be working alongside the mayor of Cambridgeshire and Peterborough over the market town strategy designed to boost towns like Ramsey.

Cllr Corney said: “I would also like to see the opening up of the river, with new moorings.

“Basically, it is a dead end, but boaters like to visit them and it is one of five on the Middle Level.”

Cllr Corney, himself a boater, said; “I want to work with the Middle Level Commissioners, who are responsible for the waterway, and would like to see facilities where boats can pump out and fill their water tanks up.”

He said this would be a more modest scheme than some which had been proposed for the riverside and he would also like to see a the development of a route through to the Great Fen Project wetland restoration scheme which was on the river and close to Ramsey.

Cllr Corney said there were advanced plans to restore the war memorial with surplus slabs being used in the mortuary chapel repair project.

He was also concerned about the viability of the popular Christmas lights ceremony.

At Huntingdon the mayor-making ceremony has been postponed and is now expected to take place in October, with mayor Cllr Steve McAdam remaining in office in the interim.

A similar situation is taking place in Godmanchester where the change of office has been put back to at least the end September with Cllr Dick Taplin remaining as mayor. He said they wanted to support the local community and economy.