MAYORS SPEECH

MAYOR’S ACCEPTANCE SPEECH ON 1ST MAY

It is a great honour to be elected Mayor and indeed the first Disabled Mayor of the town and I hope to be a strong voice for disabled people within Sandhurst. I hope my year does leave a significant mark.

It gives me great pleasure to see so many friends here tonight both old & new and some of them ganged up on me in this room virtually two years ago and insisted that I go to Frimley Park Hospital where I was diagnosed with Viral Meningitis. Since that day it has been a journey of discovery which I’m still on.

It is fantastic to have representatives of my two charities here which are CRY (Cardiac Risk in the Young) and I have supported CRY for many years. My other charity is the Bradley Unit at Woking Hospital which looked after me for 6 months in late 2023 and a friend of mine who last year lost the use of his legs and managed to get him walking again. The money raised will go to buying the ‘little extras’ which the NHS does not provide for the 20 patients at the Integrated Unit.

It is my wish to have the three parties and an independent who are represented on the Council to unite and work together for the people of Sandhurst and two very good examples of this are Councillor Dr Forster who led the investigation and work on the outdoor gym which will be installed in the summer on the Park and it has an excellent disabled section which I will good use of when it is up &running. Together with Councillors Mrs Hazel Hill and Chris Ives who have piloted the Green Fair which was held last year and it was so successful it will be held again later this year.

Sandhurst is a great place to live after nearly 40 years in the town I can echo this sentiment.

Councillor Paul Widdowson
Mayor of Sandhurst