The Saffron Walden Mayor is elected by councillors each May at a special public meeting of the Town Council. The meeting is a traditional affair, with councillors bedecked in their full robes. Councillors then process through the town, usually to St Mary’s Church where the new mayor and council receive a blessing.
The 2016 election of the new mayor took place in the Town Hall on Saturday 14th May. The public meeting was presided over by outgoing Mayor Heather Asker. R4U’s Cllr Sarfraz Anjum was elected as the new mayor, with Cllr Richard Freeman as his deputy.
Also in attendance was Great Dunmow Mayor Cllr Milan Milovanovic.
Outgoing Mayor Heather Asker chaired the public meeting until new Mayor Sarfraz Anjum was elected
Processing through the Market Square: L-R Cllrs Shah, Coote, Fairhurst, Gadd, Grimshaw, Asker, A Anjum
On Market Hill, R-L Cllrs Coote, Shah, Gimshaw, Fairhurst, Goddard
Councillors on Market Hill, R-L outgoing Mayor Heather Asker, new Deputy Mayor Richard Freeman, Town Clerk Lisa Courtney, new Mayor Sarfraz Anjum
Councillors, the new Mayor, Town Clerk and Mace Bearer walk through the town to St Mary’s Church
New Mayor Sarfraz Anjum and his wife, Mayoress Lubana Anjum, get a blessing in St Mary’s Church
Formal photographs are taken outside the church. Back-row (L-R) Cllr Aisha Anjum, Cllr Heather Asker, Cllr Sara Grimshaw, Cllr Paul Gadd, Cllr Arthur Coote, Cllr Dilip Shah, Cllr Paul G Fairhurst, Cllr Sharon Morris, Cllr Sam Goddard, Deputy Mayoress Jan Freeman, Deputy Mayor Cllr Richard Freeman. Front row (L-R): Mace Bearer Mark Gilbert, Mayor Sarfraz Anjum, Mayoress Lubana Anjum, Town Clerk Lisa Courtney.