New Sudbury mayor Jack Owen praises town for community spirit during coronavirus lockdown

The newly-appointed mayor of Sudbury has commended the town for its community spirit during the coronavirus outbreak.

Labour councillor Jack Owen was inaugurated at the annual mayor-making ceremony this week, which was hosted by Sudbury Town Council via an online video conference on Tuesday.

Taking over from the outgoing Robert Spivey, Cllr Owen will be serving his third term in office as town mayor, while Simon Barrett takes up the role of deputy mayor.

Accepting the position, Cllr Owen, who is also a county councillor, said: “It is an honour and a privilege to be invited to represent this great town of Sudbury once again.

“During the coronavirus pandemic, this community has shown once again its outstanding commitment to their neighbours and the community as a whole.

“No one should feel alone during these desperate times and I applaud the excellent efforts made by the town hall staff, the town councillors and so many of our community in going that extra mile to help those amongst us that require help and support at this most difficult time.

“We will defeat this pandemic and, some time in the future, when things return to a level of normality, we will look back and recognise the spirit shown by many of our citizens.”

Urging the community to help revitalise local establishments in the town, Cllr Owen added: “Please use your local shops and businesses. The town centre was struggling before this pandemic, so they’ll need all of our support in the future.”

Having supported the nomination of electing Cllr Barrett to the role of deputy mayor, fellow councillor Oliver Forder said: “Over the years I’ve known Simon, I’ve always found him to be committed to trying to find new ways of taking the town forward; his personality is dynamic, innovative, and assertive in trying to get things done.”

He added that Cllr Barrett had been instrumental in supporting the regeneration project being undertaken by St Peter’s.