Mrs Dawn Jessett has been elected by the Council to fill the vacancy following the resignation of Peter Mills.

Chairman Phil Cowen welcomed Dawn, who immediately signed her Declaration of Acceptance of Office, and got down to work, joining the meeting. Phil said that it was nice to be back to full numbers again.

Sadly, though, this was a very short-lived situation, because at the end of the meeting first Mrs Rachael Garrod and then Mrs Sue Tanner announced that they were resigning.

Rachael said that she needed to cut down her commitments as her family grew, and Sue said it was for health reasons.

Mrs Garrod has been a member since May 2011, but Mrs Tanner has served for a good deal longer, and has for a period been Chairman of the Council. The Chairman thanked both for their service to the Council, and said they would be sorely missed.

The Clerk will set the process for filling these casual vacancies in motion, and in due course notices will be posted inviting the electorate to request an election. If insufficient requests are received, the Council will again be given power to co-opt, so if you think you might be interested in becoming a councillor, do speak to an existing member or to the Clerk, Julian Gibson (01953 499980).