A councillor who has served his local community for more than two decades has been appointed as the new Chairman of West Lindsey District Council.
Cllr Stephen Bunney graciously accepted the chains of office from the outgoing Chairman Cllr Angela Lawrence, who he thanked for her work in the role over the last civic year and described her as an ‘excellent ambassador for the council’.
The former teacher was nominated and voted in as Chairman, at the Council’s Annual General Meeting (AGM), which was held on Monday May 22.
Leader of the Council, Cllr Trevor Young nominated Cllr Bunney for the role describing him as a ‘dedicated member of the council’ and someone who has ‘demonstrated great leadership skills’.
He said:
“I am honoured to be Chairman and I’m very much looking forward to the year ahead. I’m grateful for the opportunities the role will give me and I’m looking forward to serving the whole of the West Lindsey community as Chairman.”
The Chairman of West Lindsey District Council is an ambassador for the district and attends many events throughout the district, county and in the East Midlands areas.
Cllr Bunney is very well known in the Market Rasen ward area of West Lindsey, where he has stood as a district councillor since 2019. He has also been a town councillor since 2000 and is the current Mayor of Market Rasen.
He added:
“The role means I can now look forward to being able to visit the whole of the district, rather than focussing on my own ward as I do as a councillor. It will enable me to be able to get out to places that I just don’t get the opportunity to visit.”
Cllr Bunney has worked in education throughout his life, taking on a teacher role at a Wiltshire comprehensive after graduating from university. He taught within the Quaker education system, focussing on working with pupils with special educational needs and worked as a deputy head before retiring.
Cllr Bunney is passionate about the environment and has been an active member of the Council on its Environment, Sustainability and Climate Change working group and he says he is keen to support a local environmental charity, during his civic year.
He said:
“I want to support an environmental charity because I think we need to ensure that what we leave for future generations is better than what we have now.”
Cllr Bunney said he is grateful for the support of friends and family and is looking forward to his first engagement as Chairman.
He will be supported in his role by Cllr Matthew Boles, who was appointed Vice Chairman at the same meeting, replacing outgoing Vice Chairman, Cllr Roger Patterson.
Cllr Boles has served as a district councillor for eight years and was also the former Gainsborough Town Mayor and has also served on Gainsborough Town Council as Leader.
He is delighted to be Vice chairman of the Council and is looking forward to assisting Cllr Bunney who he described as one of the ‘nicest councillors you will meet’.
Cllr Boles said:
“I’m very much looking forward to supporting him and meeting people throughout the district, supporting as many groups and organisations as I can.”
If you would like to invite the chairman to your event you can do so by completing an online form:
You can find out more about West Lindsey District Council, councillors, policies and strategies here Council and Democracy
What does the Chairman do?
The Chairman of the Council is the civic and ceremonial head of the council who:
- presides over meetings of the council
- upholds and promotes the purposes of the council’s constitution and interprets the constitution when necessary.
- promotes the efficient despatch of business giving due regard to the requirements of the council’s procedures, acknowledging the rights of councillors and the interests of the community.
- promotes the interests of the people of West Lindsey including their economic development requirements, through the processing of matters, in accordance with the principles and practise of modern democratic procedures.
- promotes public involvement in the council’s activities.
- attends such civic, ceremonial and community functions as they determine appropriate