Councillor Ken James has been re-elected as leader of Torridge District Council for the fourth year in a row.

In a Council AGM held on May 22 in light of this month's election results, 16 new councillors were joined by 20 returning district councillors to elect a leader and deputy leader of the council.

The chair and vice chairs to the council's different committees were also appointed.

In addition to the return of Cllr James, Councillor Claire Hodson was re-elected as Deputy Leader, Councillor Doug Bushby was re-elected as chair of the council with Councillor Peter Christie sworn in as vice chair.

The Council also confirmed the full list of chair and vice-chair positions.

Re-elected Leader of Torridge District Council – Councillor Ken James said: “I would like to thank my fellow Councillors for once again supporting my election as leader as we continue to work through the issues affecting many of our residents caused by the ongoing cost of living crisis. I look forward to getting to know some of the new councillors a little better but I appreciate the united approach everyone has already shown in supporting both myself, and my deputy Claire, for the position of leader and deputy leader. I hope that we will be able to emerge from the current series of crises affecting day to day life for many, and look forward to delivering some of the bigger projects already in the pipeline such as the Appledore Clean Maritime Innovation Centre, which received nearly £16m in backing from the government. We’ll also continue to look for other opportunities to grow our economy, and improve job and training prospects across the district.”

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