SKIPTON'S new mayor has stepped into his great grandfather's shoes, exactly 80 years after his ancestor was voted to the civic role.

Councillor Rick Judge was narrowly elected mayor by his fellow councillors at last week's annual meeting of the town council.

He took just one more vote than outgoing mayor, Cllr Karen McIntyre, who had been nominated to take up the position for a third year running.

Three had been put forward to be mayor for 2022/23 after last year's deputy mayor Darren Shaw, who was due to take up the post this year, lost his seat on the council at the May council elections.

Cllr Claire Nash, a Green Party member, one of those put forward, received no votes. She was absent from the town hall council chamber for the vote, following the annual town meeting. Her absence meant she was unable to vote and she returned a few minutes later, after it had taken place.

Cllr McIntyre, a member of the Independent Respecting and Protecting Our Skipton group, received six votes and Cllr Judge, an Independent, seven.

After formally accepting the role as mayor, Cllr Judge said: "The last few years have been quite challenging for the council, I want to make it my duty now to unite everybody and hopefully work together and make this a council to be proud of."

His great-grandfather, William Judge, was mayor/chairman of the council from 1942 to 1943. A picture of him hangs in the council chamber, wearing the same chains of office still worn by Skipton mayors today.

Cllr McIntyre told the annual town meeting how she had first became mayor during lockdown in 2020 on a meeting held on Zoom. It had been a 'very scary time' she said, adding how proud she had been of Skipton Market and how it had adapted during the coronavirus pandemic.

She said she was happy to have forged relationships with organisations such as Skipton Rotary, Soroptimists, Craven District Council and North Yorkshire County Council and had been equally at ease behind the scenes, 'in the kitchen, washing up'.

She also looked forward to seeing a return of popular town events, Skipton Gala on Saturday, June 11 and Sheep Day on Sunday, June 26.

Voting for deputy mayor was a two horse race between Cllr Nash and Independent member Cllr Sheila Bentley after Cllr Peter Madeley (Labour), who had been nominated, pulled out. Cllr Bentley was elected after taking seven votes, to Cllr Nash's six.

Voted chairs of committees were: Finance and Policy, Cllr Claire Nash; Audit and Complaints, Cllr Brian McDaid; Public Services, Cllr Karen McIntyre; Planning, Cllr David Noland; Events and Tourism, Cllr Winston Feather; Markets, Cllr Peter Madeley.