Letter from the Mayor of Tring, Spring 2020

Dear Tring Residents,

I was thrilled to become Mayor in May last year following the election of the new Town Council. Tring Living is a great way to let you know what the Council is involved with and what I have been doing in my civic role as Mayor.

The role of Mayor is a non-political position and is elected by fellow councillors at the Annual Meeting of the Council in May each year. During the mayoral year, in addition to chairing the Council meetings, the Mayor attends many functions throughout the town. These include representing the council at civic functions, receiving dignitaries, attending formal dinners and church services, opening events, talking to clubs and societies and visiting schools.

We have several new members on the Council and we were all excited to explore what can be done going forward. The most significant thing was deciding that tackling climate change was our priority. Following discussions with Tring in Transition the Council agreed to sign the Mayor’s covenant, an international agreement that we will work fast to meet 13 deadlines such as reducing the council’s carbon emissions and helping others to do the same.

A Climate Change working party has been established with many other groups in the town, and together we held a Climate Change Event in October. It was a huge success, with talks from groups such as The Carbon Trust, displays from local schools, and businesses showing what they were doing to be more ‘green’.

We are looking at other initiatives for the coming year. The Council has a large area of allotments and would encourage people to take on an allotment – there isn’t a waiting list!

London Northwestern Rail is currently working to improve disabled access at the station. I am pleased to say that the Town Council and local Parishes have been working with LNR on a local station plan, which we hope will bring a range of improvements to the train experience.

I was thrilled to re-open Tring Swimming Pool after almost a year of closure, and we’ve had a great year of events, including the Tring Carnival and the Tring Christmas festival, both of which I was delighted to attend.

Looking forward, we have lots of things going on. On 8 May are the VE Day 75th anniversary celebrations, which are being organised by Tring Together, see more here.

Finally, Community Action Dacorum are desperately trying to find somewhere to set up a Repair Shed – somewhere big enough to work in, with vehicle access, power and storage. If you know of anywhere suitable please do let us know!

And please get in touch to let us know of anything going on in the town, or if you’d like the Mayor to attend an event (admin@tring.gov.uk). I love to hear from you!

Best wishes
Councillor Roxanne Ransley, Mayor of Tring.