Glyn Dobson says he is prepared for ‘difficult’ time ahead

Ottery’s mayor says he will be ‘honoured’ to serve his 10th consecutive year in the role after being re-elected this week.

Councillor Glyn Dobson faced competition from Cllr Roger Giles, but won a town council vote by a narrow margin on Monday.

His deputy, Cllr Ian Holmes, was also re-elected in a closely-fought victory against Cllr Geoff Pratt. Each gained five votes from members present, with the mayor casting the final vote in favour of Cllr Holmes.

Cllr Giles – who recently argued the role should have a fixed tenure – was nominated by Cllr Pratt.

Cllr Jessica Bailey seconded the proposal and praised Cllr Giles’ ‘outstanding’ commitment.

Cllr Dobson said: “I would be honoured to accept the position of mayor for one more year. I appreciate it will be a difficult year and that West Hill will change if it gets independence. I hope we can work a bit more closely with West Hill.”

After being put forward for deputy mayor, Cllr Pratt said: “I think it’s time to consider whether the position of a deputy mayor should be held by a member of a rural ward.

“The council is more than just the town of Ottery and this should be recognised by a councillor who represents a rural ward, in my case Tipton.”