The new mayor of Trowbridge says the town is a “wonderful place” which has the potential to be even better than it is now.

Speaking at a special reception in Parade House on Thursday, held in honour of outgoing mayor Cllr Denise Bates, incoming mayor Cllr Graham Hill said: “Trowbridge has come in for a lot of stick which is not valid.

“Trowbridge is a wonderful place which has got the potential to be an even better place. Things are moving. The worst thing is that things do not move fast enough.

“Things are going on in the background and when they come to fruition people say why didn’t you do that 10 years ago but it has taken us 15 years to get there.”

The reception at the historic Grade I listed Georgian mansion was hosted by its new owners Simon and Carey Tesler, of Southwick Court.

Parade House was built in 1730 for a Trowbridge clothier but later became the headquarters for Ushers Brewery and was used by Wiltshire Police until it closed.

Mr Tesler and his wife have recently bought it to prevent it from being converted into a house for multiple occupancy.

Parade House had been listed for sale by public auction with a price tag of £395,000 and with planning consent for conversion into 11 bedrooms.

Cllr Hill said Mr Tesler and his wife were people, like town councillors past, present and future, who “get stuck in” and do things.

He succeeds Cllr Bates, the Trowbridge mayor for 2021-22. His deputy mayor is Cllr Stephen Cooper.

His mayoral charities for his year will be the Trowbridge Foodbank and Wiltshire Air Ambulance.

Outgoing mayor Cllr Bates described Parade House as a “jewel in the crown” of the town’s architectural heritage and said several councillors were rather anxious after being told that it was up for sale.

“Over a number of decades, our county town has been subject to some appalling travesties carried out by planning authorities.

“The threat of finding one of our finest buildings going a similar route would be nothing short of a catastrophic loss,” she said.

“Carey and Simon have been afforded a rare privilege to pen new pages in both the history of Parade House and our county town, and in doing this we wish them every success and happiness.”