THE new-look Trowbridge Town Council met for the first time last night as a new mayor and council leader were elected for the year ahead.

Conservative councillor Deborah Halik was elected to serve as the mayor, taking over from Linda Self, with Independent Cllr Dennis Drewett appointed as deputy mayor, while Conservative Cllr Peter Fuller will take over from Liberal Democrat Cllr Bob Brice as the leader of the council.

Now that she is mayor, Cllr Halik wants to focus on boosting the profile of her chosen charity and regenerating the town centre.

The 50-year-old, of Dursley Road, said: “I was absolutely thrilled and honoured to be elected as mayor and receive backing from the full council.

“The mayors who have gone before me have done an incredible job so I’ve good big shoes to fill, but I’m looking forward to the challenge.

“Trowbridge has such potential and we will do our best to do it justice, focussing on bringing life back into the town centre.

“I want to put party politics to one side so we can all work together."

Cllr Halik, who is married to fellow Trowbridge councillor David Halik, has chosen a charity she would like to support and is awaiting confirmation from them.

Cllr Fuller takes over as leader of the council after serving on it for 28 years.

He said: “We intend to go ahead with the programme the previous council put in place but will closely monitor it as we have worries that the council has a history of overspending.

“What I like about the new council is the influx of younger members, which goes against the perception that councils are purely made up of old fuddy-duddies."