TOWN WITH TREMENDOUS POTENTIAL

Coun Ben Nobbs' acceptance speech as Town Mayor included an offer to businesses in the town, plans to raise funds for the Air Ambulance and new play equipment for children in our town, and a thank-you to former MP Ian Cawsey. Here's the full text..

Town Councillors, ladies and gentleman, I thank you for the honour of being elected to serve as the Town Mayor of Brigg, and my first duty must be to thank the outgoing Town Mayor, Councillor James Truepenny, and his Consort, Councillor Edward Arnott.
The last twelve months have been an interesting year for me, and his help and advice has been very welcome. I know – as I have attended events as his deputy – that he and his consort have been well received throughout the area and they have significantly raised the profile of Brigg.
Could I also thank Ian Cawsey – the outgoing MP. In all my dealings with him – over many years - he has been an excellent constituency MP - taking up issues and problems on behalf of residents, businesses and this council - whenever he was asked.
Readers of the Brigg Community Newsletter have also written in to me to say how much they enjoyed listening to Ian and James playing in the bandstand on the last Saturday before Christmas.
I welcome Andrew Percy, our new MP, and hope that he will continue the excellent working relationship which this council has always enjoyed with its local MP, for the benefit of Brigg.
I will be supported in my Mayoral Year by Mrs. Barbara Morris as the Lady Mayoress, and I would like to place on record my thanks to her for the support she has already given me throughout the past year, as Deputy Mayoress. My Chaplain will be Revd. Enid Knowles who, unfortunately, is unable to be with us this evening as she is in Oberamaghau. I will, of course, be hosting the traditional Civic Functions in Brigg, throughout my Mayoral Year.
Let me echo the comments of Councillor Truepenny at the Town meeting of two months ago. I know and appreciate it has been a struggle for many of the shops to keep going over the last couple of years, but Brigg is surviving the worst of the current economic downturn. For whatever the reason, probably the dedication or persistence of its many independent business owners, let us hope that it continues to do so.
If the Town Council can help any business in any way over the next twelve months please feel free to contact me.
I believe Brigg has tremendous potential as a place for people from all around the area to visit: It is an historic Market Town, for centuries the only crossing point of the River Ancholme, and with a wide range of architecture and shops: It is still the only town in the whole area with a river flowing thru' it where one can sit quietly and admire the ducks and swans.
The river itself is well used by members of the Ancholme Rowing Club, Glanford Boat Club, Scunthorpe and District Canoe Club, the local Fishing Clubs, Lincsquad and many independent boat and kayak owners. In addition, we now have a regular boat service from Brandy Wharf stopping at the town and we need to make the whole of the riverside as inviting for visitors as possible.
If we can increase the number of visitors to the town, many will wander thru' the shopping streets — to the benefit of the shops and the other businesses.
Your council, in collaboration with the North Lincolnshire Council, the Environment Agency and many volunteers and volunteer groups from Brigg, is working towards improving the whole town with the "Brigg Big Clean Up". Can I add, however, that it is for everyone in the whole community to maintain the level of tidiness of Brigg which we have now achieved all year long.
The "Brigg Big Clean Up" should not just be a "one off' but a starter towards continuing development. We need to keep a focus on the County Bridge, the Millennium Green, the river and riverside, children's play facilities and the other visitors' attractions and events in the Town, and I am looking to working with my fellow Town Councillors and all other local representatives on all of these projects.
The award winning Brigg Farmers' Market reaches its 10th Anniversary in July this year — celebrations are currently being planned! For the Town Mayor's Appeal I am hoping to arrange a number of fundraising events; I hope we will get the support of the people of Brigg for them and I would welcome the support of anyone else who is prepared to organise fundraising events for the two charities I have selected.
One of these is the "Lincolnshire and Nottinghamshire Air Ambulance". This important facility is based at RAF Waddington, performs over 1000 missions every year and can reach any where in the county within 20 minutes. Half its missions are to Road Traffic Accidents and the average journey time from an incident to hospital is just 8 minutes — travelling at 150 miles an hour as the crow flies, avoiding the traffic jams frequently caused by the traffic accidents and with the ability to land anywhere. YET it receives no funding from the Government or from the National Lottery.
My second aim is to raise funds to assist with the purchase of a piece of Play Equipment for one of the Brigg Playgrounds. The Woodbine Avenue Children's Playground has recently been totally refurbished by North Lines Council from the "Playbuilder fund" and, as you can see from the photos on the display at the back of the room, it now offers an excellent range of safe play equipment.
I, therefore, intend that my funds will benefit one of the other two children's playgrounds — either the "Donkey" Park on Almond Grove, or the Davy Memorial Field next to the railway crossing — after consultation with local young people.
And finally. I am very pleased to welcome the members of my family and so many of my friends.