AS the civic year ends, Malmesbury’s mayor has passed on his chains and reflected on his year as representative for the town.

Cllr John Gundry officially left the role to town mayor on Tuesday, May 3, and wrote a review of the year as head of the town council:

“This year has been one of solid progress for the town council,” he said.

“The free parking trial in the Station Road Car Park in conjunction with the Town Team has been a great success.

“In the first six months, August to January, more than 8,000 one and two hour free tickets were issued compared with a third of that number of tickets sold in the corresponding months last year.

“The town council has also established a flood warden scheme so that every at-risk property in the town now has a nominated flood warden who provides advice on precautionary measures and who will liaise with the emergency services.

“We were also pleased to see our lobbying of Wiltshire Council paid off in September when its contractors removed silt from a 100-metre section of the River Avon downstream of the Town Bridge, to reduce flooding in the town.

“On a similar note, we created an emergency plan to guide the council's actions, and liaison with the emergency services, in the event of an emergency in the town, such as a flu pandemic or power failure.

“We have undertaken a lot of work to repair the fabric of the town hall and introduced a new scheme of hire fees for town hall rooms.

“It maintains a subsidy to allow a low rate for users from the Malmesbury community but seeks to raise money from commercial hirers.

“Councillors have worked closely this year with the Town Team to deliver the late night shopping in December, the free parking trial, and the wide marketing of the town.

“Over at the hardworking planning committee, the year has seen continual and dutiful review of incoming planning applications, including the Bloor Homes development at Filands.

“Finally, the town council has I hope opened a new door in Malmesbury's international relations by taking the first step towards a friendship agreement with the town of Bad Hersfeld – a spa town of 30,000 people in the centre of Germany.

“Bad Hersfeld's Monastery was established in 769 by St Lullus – who had been educated in the monastery at Malmesbury – and that monastery and St Lullus contributed greatly to the Christianisation of Germany.

“St Lullus is widely revered in Bad Hersfeld and annually for over eleven hundred years there has been a "Lullusfest" festival there in his honour, and a great deal of his lustre has rubbed off on Malmesbury.

“These achievements have required a great deal of hard work which has taken place against the background of the regular work required of a town council, which is in itself significant.

“So in closing I would like sincerely to thank town councillors and town hall staff for making all this possible.”