At a meeting of Whitworth Town Council on Thursday 28 May, Councillor Lynda Barnes was elected by Town Council members as Mayor of Whitworth. 

The meeting was attended by family and friends of Councillor Barnes, and visiting dignitaries.

Councillor Barnes will not have a single named Consort or Mayoress this year; instead her husband David, daughter Vickie or granddaughter Charlotte will accompany her to engagements.  The Mayor will attend functions and events within Whitworth and outside of the town’s boundary, and will chair Full Council meetings of the Town Council.  Fundraising for the Mayor of Whitworth’s Charity Fund will also begin in earnest.  Councillor Barnes made a speech during the meeting, describing the role as an honour and thanking her family for their support.  The Mayor confirmed that they were very much looking forward to the year ahead and would be raising funds for Whitworth causes throughout the year.  The Mayor offered thanks to her fellow councillors and to the Town Clerk, and to Rev Lyn Woodall for agreeing to act as Mayoral Chaplain. 

Councillor Barnes and her husband David came to Whitworth 40 years ago and have since immersed themselves in Whitworth life.  They set up and ran the Suncentre on Market Street for a number of years and their two children, Vickie and Andy, attended Whitworth schools (as do their grandchildren). Councillor Barnes has served as a Town Councillor since 2011 and was also elected as a Rossendale Borough Councillor in May’s elections; husband David served as a Town Councillor until recently.

Also at the meeting, Councillor Madeline De Souza was elected as Deputy Mayor; her role will be to deputise for the Mayor before taking on the chains herself in 2016, and Councillor De Souza will also chair the Council’s General Purposes Committee meetings.  The outgoing Mayor, Councillor Jim Mellor, gave a short speech in which he thanked all in Whitworth for their support, and announced that he and Mrs Mellor had raised £3,500 through the Mayoral fund, and issued donations to representatives of Whitworth Vale and Healey Band, Springhill Hospice, St Bartholomew’s Church Tower Fund, Whitworth’s Cancer Research Committee and St Anselm’s Church.

Pictured are Councillor Lynda Barnes, Mayor of Whitworth, with (left to right) granddaughter Charlotte Baldwin, husband David Barnes and daughter Vickie Baldwin.