It has been a great honour to be Mayor of Pickering for the past 2 years. I have been able to meet many Pickering folk who are doing great work in the Community.

          You only have to read the Beacon to realise that the Town is thriving with Voluntary Organisations and Groups to join. I doubt that anyone could ever be bored living here, as there is always another call on our time to support one worthy cause or another. I have represented the Town at  Civic functions in other towns  and various establishments such as Fylingdales and the Railway, and have led a delegation to the Town of Corbie in the Somme.

          It has always been enjoyable, even when a little time consuming, I have my family to thank for being so understanding, that I might suddenly go missing for a photocall or have to miss a family gathering as Mayoral duties came first.

          We have had some battles to fight on planning matters and it has been painful to lose. When we are guardians of such an old settlement as Pickering and it’s not always easy to take any change. We all know that we need more housing and affordable housing here for young people so that they don't leave. It’s also hard to see where some of the current designs fit in.  People move here because it is peaceful and quaint - so surely we need to preserve some of the peace and quaintness!

          But we don't want to create a dormant community of oldies, current plans going through suggest there is a growth in the market for over 55’s. Let’s not leave the young people behind.

          I thank my fellow Councillors who have worked alongside me and have  always been there to volunteer for the many activities that the Town Council get involved in.

          I have been pleased to work on the group who have established the "Pride in Pickering" project which means that we get much more focus on how we can all work together to make Pickering a tidy, safe and pleasant town to live and work in. It takes a big team to achieve big things and I hope many of you out there will help.

          To those I have met, who have made me so welcome at their meetings and functions I say a very big Thank You. I have some wonderful memories of my time in office and I hope over the two years I have managed to make some small step in putting Pickering on the map. Thank you.

Cllr Julie Hepworth, (Former Mayor of Pickering.)