New leadership announced at North Devon Council

A new leadership has been announced at North Devon Council as members met for the first time since district elections earlier this month.

At an annual council meeting on Thursday, 16 May, Councillor Ian Roome was elected as the new Leader of the Council. Councillor David Worden was elected as Deputy Leader after serving as leader since 2019.

Both will stay in the posts until the next annual council meeting, which will be held on 27 March 2024.

The council also elected its Chair and Vice-Chair at Thursday's meeting. Councillor Julie Hunt was re-elected as Chair for a third term while Councillor Helen Walker was elected as Vice-Chair.

Councillor Roome says: "I am delighted to be elected as the new leader of North Devon Council and am relishing the opportunity to be able to build on the work of our previous administration. We will continue to work hard to protect the environment, bring economic growth and achieve financial security as a council, and we will also endeavour to address housing needs in the area and work with our partners to reduce crime and antisocial behaviour.

"While I'm under no illusion as to the challenges we face with cost of living pressures and a lack of funding from central Government, I am looking forward to us working together for the benefit of the whole community."

Councillor Hunt says: "I am honoured to be re-elected to the position of Chair and be able to continue to represent North Devon. I am looking forward to all of our councillors - whether they are long-standing or new members - working together for the good of our district and our communities."

The council's Strategy and Resources Committee will meet for the first time on Monday, 5 June.

Information about all North Devon district councillors can be found on our website at northdevon.gov.uk/councillors.