Philip Vogel elected Mayor of Ashburton at the Town Council’s 2022 AGM
The AGM usually takes place annually and is when a new Chair is elected and Councillors take up posts on committees and with community organisations. The Chair of the Town Council is known as the Mayor.
Goals for the Year
Schedules have been disrupted due to the pandemic which meant that the outgoing Mayor, Jenny Giles, had been in post for 18 months following 18 months as Deputy Mayor. Philip Vogel takes over from Jenny as Chair of the Council and Mayor of Ashburton and Elaine Baker was appointed Deputy Mayor. As is customary, Philip made a short acceptance speech outlining his goals for his time in office:
more social and affordable rental and shared ownership housing for those with a local connection
Thank you fellow councillors for the honour of electing me as Mayor of Ashburton. I will do my best to uphold the high standards, and respect for this high Office, in the tradition of my predecessors.
I would like to thank Cllr. Giles, for her confidence in choosing me as her Deputy, and mentoring me through the last 18 months. In my term of office I have five key goals I would like to focus on, and invite my fellow councillors and our partners in the town to join me,
fulfilling.
And in no particular order:-
1. To assist and continue making Ashburton a welcoming, resilient, sustainable, cultural, and prosperous Town, that considers the health and wellbeing of its residents, businesses, visitors and acts as a ‘Safe Haven’ for guests fleeing from persecution, war, and who wish to settle in our community.
2. To assist in making Ashburton’s target of being carbon neutral by 2025 by:
i. Encouraging businesses to be sustainable and think about CO2 reduction.
ii. The installation of EV charging points for electric forms of transport.
iii. Partnering Dartmoor National Park in promoting the Town as a green transport hub (especially the cycle network).
i.v The feasibility of making part of the town a 20MPH zone.
3. To assist proactively pursuing the transfer of Cleder Place to Ashburton.
4. To assist in the negotiation with the PCC for additional burial ground for Ashburton.
And finally and probably the most dear to my heart:
5. To proactively advocate for more social and affordable rental and shared ownership housing for those with a local connection to this ‘Parish of Provision’ Ashburton.
Agendas and Minutes
Agendas and minutes for this and other meetings can be found on the Ashburton web site: https://www.ashburton.org/town-council
Attending Meetings
THE PUBLIC AND PRESS ARE CORDIALLY INVITED TO BE PRESENT
Members of the public are welcome to attend Town Council meetings. You will have the opportunity to express your views or make statements on matters on the agenda. If the matter you wish to raise is not on the agenda, the Town