WHITEHILL Town Council has elected its new chairman and leader to hold office for the next year.

At Monday’s Whitehill Town Council annual meeting, Colin Leach was voted in as chairman and will serve as Whitehill mayor for the next 12 months.

Outgoing Whitehill mayor David Cooper said that not only was he standing down as chairman but he was also retiring from the council entirely.

As he was preparing to undergo a hip operation this week, he told fellow members he would be “out of capacity for quite a time”.

Another reason is that “very soon” he is going to turn 80, he said.

“I do feel somebody aged 80 is a bit long in the tooth to do a job like this,” he added.

He wished councillors a “very good fortune” in the future, particularly with the regeneration of the town.

Accepting the chains of office, Mr Leach said Mr Cooper had set a “tremendous example”.

“I will try to follow in your footsteps,” he added.

Leslie Webber was voted in as vice chairman and deputy mayor. The council elected Mark Davison as its leader and Sally Pond as its deputy leader.

The role of mayor and chairman is a civic position, with duties including public appearances, representing the council at community events and chairing full council meetings. The position of leader is political and is almost always held by the majority party, in this case the Conservatives.