BY now the excitement of Christmas will be wearing off, at least a little. The New Year has been welcomed in and of course we have all made our New Year resolutions. For me the easy one is to go on a diet. Too many buffets are taking their toll. However I am also resolving to attend as many charity events as possible in the remainder of my term in office. I have been fortunate to meet many volunteers and community groups, but also to experience the pleasure and joy that result from their giving. It is these people that are the glue of our society. I cannot believe that I am over half way through my mayoral year. I feel very proud to represent Alcester, the town in which I was born and raised. The town council is always working hard for the community, and especially now to develop our civic facilities. Whilst new housing developments are not always popular some are inevitable, and it is our aim to get as much contribution as possible from developers towards the town’s amenities. We are very proud to have the Jubilee Centre fully open and it is being very well used. Our next goal is to reopen the Greig Hall. With the expected increase in our population over the next few years we really need both of these facilities.

We have seen a number of excellent events in the town this year including food fairs, Saint Nicholas night and of course the annual street market. Alcester is very well suited to hosting these events and it creates a real buzz about the place, attracting many thousands of people. Of course one reason the town is so popular is the diversity of the many specialist shops in the fully populated high street. This is in marked contrast to the normal chain stores dominant in many other towns.

So what for the coming year? I am looking forward to the traditional events in the town and even encouraging more. We are working to retain Globe House and now more than ever need our Neighbourhood Plan in place to allow us to control our own destiny in the way our town evolves. Your views are always welcomed. We are fortunate to live in such a lovely town. Let’s keep it that way.

I wish all the residents and businesses of our town a happy and prosperous New Year.

Mark Cargill, mayor of Alcester, January 2014