Peterborough’s Showground will replace Town Hall for city council meeting and Mayor Making ceremony

The East of England Showground in Peterborough will replace the city’s Town Hall for next week’s annual council meeting and Mayor Making ceremony
Peterborough Arena.Peterborough Arena.
Peterborough Arena.

In just over a week, yet another sign of lockdown easing will take place when Peterborough City Council meet for the first time – other than online – in more than fifteen months.

With the Town Hall council chamber unable to accommodate the required social distancing, the council – all sixty councillors – will meet at the wider, open spaces of the East of England showground.

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The occasion on May 26 will be that of the Annual Meeting of the council and the Mayor Making Ceremony.

Incumbent Mayor, Cllr Gul Nawaz was installed as long ago as May 2019, with his grandaughter Amreen as Mayoress.

However, with the onset of the Covid-19 crisis, it has been impossible for the council to properly elect a new Mayor.In June 2020, Mayor Nawaz said he would be happy to stay on until a new Mayor could be chosen, but certainly couldn’t have imagined it would be another year before his term would come to an end.Back then, Mayor Nawaz said: “Even though this has been a most busy Mayoral year (2019/20) for me, and I have attended many functions including formal civic events and the full meetings of the council, I understand that we’re living through unprecedented times.

“Therefore, I’m happy and honoured to remain Mayor of Peterborough until a new Mayor is elected”.

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Mayor Nawaz has not been able to visit as many institutions or events in his second year for obvious reasons, but he has taken his role as Mayor of Peterborough just as he did in his first, supporting and working for as many people in the city as possible under the circumstances.

The Mayor’s charities for 2019/2020 and 2020/21 were: Little Miracles, Carers Trust Peterborough and Friends of Peterborough Hospitals, remaining the same for the duration of his term of office.

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