IT IS A GREAT privilege to be Mayor of Bourne for the current year and my message is a simple one: I enjoy trying to help people and to do my best for the town. It is something I am greatly passionate about because it is the place I have lived in and loved since I was born.

In the first place, it is an honour to be elected to the town council and I would encourage anyone who is interested in local affairs to have a go. Today there are many people voicing their opinions, gaining much media space and airtime in whatever they believe, but ask them to join a committee or stand for the council and they are nowhere to be seen. We should always be ready to welcome new thoughts and ideas and persuade such people to become actively involved in our council and community. Elections for that would be an achievement. There are still people in the world who would envy our right to vote and it is so important that everyone uses this privilege for the good of their community.

The year ahead for Bourne will be one of challenge. I do not have a crystal ball and cannot foretell what will take priority but there are many controversial subjects on the agenda. There is widespread concern that we are getting too much housing and I personally would hope that we are coming towards the end of new residential development that threatens the image of the small market town.

The public inquiry into The Croft housing development, due to be held next month, is a case in point and I find it very difficult to understand why such a beautiful house and garden, once a haven of peace and a sanctuary for wildlife, is being allowed to be destroyed. Properties such as this in locations such as ours sell for high prices and with the fast access to London and the north, a buyer would surely soon have been found.

My own preference would be for our health authorities to realise its potential and buy the property as a replacement for our lost hospital, or perhaps even a hospice, and I cannot think of a more suitable use for it than that.

I am also deeply concerned about the tremendous increase in the number of vehicles on our local roads and hope that the south-west relief road, soon to be opened, will remove some of the through traffic from the market place. It is to be hoped that the county council will also commit itself to an eastern by-pass to relieve the town centre of the mounting volume of north-south traffic.

The rebuilding of our new town centre is an attractive prospect and once it comes to fruition, will bring increasing prosperity to the town and make it a safer and more attractive environment for our community.

My hopes for Bourne are for improvements to our infrastructure, facilities, services and help for the elderly and infirm. Councillors are frequently asked why there is no minibus running to and from the outlying estates because our local bus company would be really serving the people if they could deliver such a service.

It is our privilege and our duty to welcome newcomers to our town and to incorporate all into the community. We are renowned for our schools and their high standards and we are acutely aware that Bourne is a pleasant place in which to reside. Long may this continue.

When we look around our town we must feel how fortunate we are, but we should never be complacent. It is the duty of the town council to always look for improvements and to be pro-active in taking the initiative to deliver to the very best of our ability. We strive each day in the hope that we will not fail.

WRITTEN MAY 2005