Hello and welcome to my first Mayor’s blog.

Firstly I wish to thank my predecessor, Cllr Mark Connolly, for his years of leadership of Tidworth Town Council and, in particular, for the last two and a half years during which time I have acted as his Deputy. An experience from which I learned a great deal and thoroughly enjoyed.

It is both an honour and pleasure to serve as Mayor. Over the next year I look forward to meeting with many of the residents and organisations in and around the Tidworth and Perham area that come together to make it such a great community in which to live.

A little about myself and my time as a Tidworth Town Councillor. I have been married for 17 years and have two children, ages 21 years and 9 years. . I really enjoy being part of the community here. I trained as a Learning Disability Nurse in 2007, leaving in 2015. I have been volunteering at a local radio station, Castledown FM, for 2 years, where I have a show on Thursday mornings, which is great fun. I hope you will listen in and get in touch.

Also as a parent, for the last 4 years I have enjoyed serving as Chair of Governors at Zouch Academy School. I joined the council in 2014, initially serving as a member of the Community Engagement Committee before taking on the role of Chair of that committee. After I became Deputy Mayor I continued to attend these meetings, and supported the council’s more major events, such as those at Christmas, Easter and The Festival, as well as some of the less glamorous (but nevertheless important) like the litter picking.

This year sees the continuation of roadworks in the local area, as Wiltshire County Council looks to improve traffic flow. This includes the roundabout at the bottom of St Andrews Road and Ordnance Road, the introduction of a filter lane at The Ram Junction and the removal of the right hand turn lane at the bottom of Station Road. Hopefully by the end of June we will see the link road between the A338 and A3026 Ludgershall Road. This is especially important as we welcome new residents to our community, many as a result of Army rebasing. I wish to extend a warm welcome to all those arriving in Tidworth.

Tidworth Town Council always welcomes resident’s constructive views and opinions and I can be contacted on mayor@tidworthtowncouncil.gov.uk I look forward to hearing from you.

Mayor Brian Pratt