Bridgnorth mayor outlines hopes for upcoming year in office
The new mayor of Bridgnorth has outlined her plans for the forthcoming year and reiterated her ongoing support for town traders as they recover from the coronavirus pandemic.
Councillor Sarah Barlow was officially elected to take over from Councillor Kirstie Hurst-Knight during the annual town meeting at Castle Hall last Tuesday.
Having pledged her support to Macmillan Cancer Support and newly-founded Seaful – a nationwide mental health charity working with Chelmarsh Sailing Club – Councillor Barlow said she would "do anything she could" to help businesses recover from the last 15 months.
"Supporting local businesses as much as I can will no doubt be a priority for me this year," Councillor Barlow said.
"Whether that be taking part in fundraising campaigns, attending events in the robes and chain or simply visiting as much as possible – I'll do anything I can to support our traders."
As well as her two main chosen charities, Councillor Barlow said she intends to fundraise for smaller, local charities including the Bridgnorth Bathing Project.
Based in the day care centre at the back of Innage Lane Car Park, the bathing project is a charity that has been providing baths for elderly people who are unable to bath themselves for more than 27 years.
It has been closed throughout the pandemic but the organisation hopes to pick up where it left off.
Mental health
Councillor Barlow, who has worked at Oldbury Wells School for the last 18 years, said another of her main focuses would be mental health.
She said: "I know first hand that within the school environment, we've seen a large increase among both young people and staff needing mental health support – so that is a big issue for me that I would like to focus on."
Councillor Barlow added: "I'm also hoping to lead a strong but loving council. It's fine for us to have different opinions but there's a way of doing things where we can still be pleasant to each other.
"Just because we disagree, that doesn't mean we can't move forward and find a solution in a kind way.
"I like to think I'm a very approachable person so if anybody has any issues around the town I hope they feel like they can come to me."
Councillor Barlow was speaking after it was agreed at the annual town meeting to form a working group looking at social media abuse.
It comes after the former mayor, Councillor Kirstie Hurst-Knight, faced an "onslaught" of faceless, online abuse which she said only "heightened" in the lead up to the local elections earlier this month.
