New council appointments

Decisions have been made about who leads the council at the authority's annual meeting, after no one party took overall control at the recent elections.
Watched by a packed public gallery, Cllrs. Bob Bayford and Clive Hart were both nominated as Leader of the Council. In an exceptionally tight vote, Cllr. Bayford was elected as Leader, receiving a total of 27 votes, as opposed to 26 votes for Cllr. Hart, who is the Leader of the Opposition.
Following his election, Cllr. Martin Wise was appointed as Deputy Leader of the Council.

Cabinet Members and Shadow Cabinet Members were named as:

Finance portfolio - the Cabinet Member is Cllr. Bayford, shadowed by Cllr. Richard Nicholson

Environmental Services portfolio - the Cabinet Member is Cllr. Wise, shadowed by Cllr. Alan Poole

Regeneration and Economic Development portfolio - the Cabinet Member is Cllr. Alasdair Bruce, shadowed by Cllr. Clive Hart

Customer Services - the Cabinet Member is Cllr. Simon Moores, shadowed by Cllr. Michelle Fenner

Community Services - the Cabinet Member is Cllr. Chris Wells, shadowed by Cllr. Iris Johnston

Cllr. Doug Clark was the only member nominated for the role of Chairman and was duly elected to that role. He promised to "try and live up to the standards of the previous Chairman." He described the forthcoming year as "interesting, but difficult" and told members that he was looking forward to it also being "rewarding".

The role of Vice-Chairman went to Cllr. Kay Dark, a former Mayor of Ramsgate.
The evening began with a standing ovation for the outgoing Chairman, Cllr. Margaret Sheldrick, with members going on to thank her for all her work over the last eight years. Cllr. Mike Roberts described it as a "privilege and a pleasure" to have worked with her, thanking her for her "help and support". It was also announced that she will receive a past Chairman's pendant in due course.

Heartfelt tributes were then paid by members to former Chairman of the Council, Cllr. Margaret Mortlock, who recently died.
Chief Executive Richard Samuel, who is leaving the council and was attending his last Council meeting, paid tribute to the three leaders that he had worked with during his time at the council, saying that they had all brought a "passion" to the council. He also praised the staff at the council, saying he couldn't have "done a single thing without them", before describing Thanet as a "great place to work".

The meeting also looked at the work of the council's watchdog body, the Overview and Scrutiny Panel, and what it had achieved over the last year. In total, it made 16 recommendations to Cabinet, of which 13 were carried.