NEW Mayor of Trowbridge Roger Andrews said his predecessor will be a hard act to follow, after Trowbridge Town Council elected him at its annual meeting on Tuesday.

Cllr Andrews served as a town council in Bradford on Avon for 12 years, including a mayor for two years from 1995 to 1997, before moving to Trowbridge in 2006 and becoming a councillor in 2013.

He takes over from Glyn Bridges, who served his third term of office as mayor for 2014/15 and handed over a cheque for just short of £5,000 to his chosen charity Dorothy House Hospice Care at the meeting.

The new mayor, who lives with his wife Aurore in Sussex Walk, Hilperton, thanked Cllr Bridges for his service to the town after being elected and confirmed he has also chosen Dorothy House as his charity for the year.

“Fellow councillors, I thank you for electing me as your new council chairman and Mayor of Trowbridge,” Cllr Andrews said at the meeting.

“I must also give a very big thank you to Cllr Bridges for his outstanding term of office. He will be a very hard act to follow and it has been a privilege to work with his as deputy.”

The new mayor, who originally lived in Trowbridge in 1979, before moving to Bradford on Avon in 1988, said he has seen the town grow into the “lively, dynamic town that we see today”.

Cllr Andrews said: “20 years on, almost to the minute when I became Mayor of Bradford, I have the even greater honour of accepting the office of Mayor of Trowbridge, the County Town of Wiltshire.

“It is also a sort of double honour, as there can’t be many people who can say that they have been mayor of two different towns.”

He also highlighted the impact that the St Stephen’s Place development has had on the town and welcomed the demolition of the old Peter Black site, which is set to undergo a £7m redevelopment.

Cllr Andrews added: “I have chosen Dorothy House as my charity during my term of office to carry on the good work that Cllr Bridges has done in raising funds for this wonderful organisation. I look forward to working with the outstanding team during the coming year.

“I also wish to thank our Town Council staff for all their help and support during the short time that I have been a Trowbridge Town Councillor and deputy mayor. A more, dedicated and knowledgeable team would be difficult to find.”