The Mayor

Cllr Ian Leake, Mayor and his wife Enid Leake, Mayoress At the annual meeting of Bracknell Forest Council on Wednesday, May 12, Cllr Ian Leake, ward councillor for Binfield with Warfield, became the new Bracknell Forest Mayor.

Cllr Leake was elected during the mayor-making part of the meeting and will now take over as first citizen of Bracknell Forest.

In his acceptance speech, Cllr Leake recollected the responsibility he felt when he was first elected to public office in Staffordshire many years ago. He said he was well aware of 'treading in the footsteps' of many successful Mayors of Bracknell Forest.

When promising to uphold the high standards and expectations of the office, he said he and his wife Enid were very much looking forward, with enthusiasm, to an exciting time serving the borough during the next 12 months.

He also said they were both looking forward to meeting many more residents, charity workers, business leaders, schoolchildren and representatives of other local authorities.

Cllr Leake, announced that Prostate UK would be his charity for the year. This charity does remarkable work in funding research for new treatments and training for medical practitioners working with patients who have prostate conditions.

Cllr Leake chose the charity because 50 percent of men are affected by the condition in some way during their life time and Prostate UK had undertaken to raise awareness in Bracknell Forest and run a master class seminar for local GPs to improve diagnosis and treatment.

Cllr Leake, who was Deputy Mayor in 2009/10, thanked his wife and family for the supported they had given during his years as a councillor. He said: "No one could do the job of a councillor without the support and encouragement of their family."

During the mayor making ceremony, Cllr Leake also welcomed his new Deputy Mayor, Cllr Chris Turrell, ward councillor for Harmans Water, and said he was pleased to be working closely with him.

Cllr Turrell added: "I'm honoured to take up the role of deputy mayor and am looking forward to supporting Cllr Leake during his mayoral year."