Busy year ahead for mayor as he’s sworn in again!
CAERNARFON’S new mayor is excited by the new developments being carried out in the town.
Cllr Ioan Thomas was installed as Mayor of the Royal Town of Caernarfon in a colourful ceremony at the Institute building.
Dignitaries, including the town’s former AM’s Lord Wigley and Alun Ffred Jones and the Recorder of Caernarfon, His Honour Judge Rhys Rowlands, and mayors and mayoresses from towns across North Wales, attended the ceremony.
Mr Thomas was elected to repre- sent the Menai ward in 1991 and this will be his fourth term as mayor of the town.
The deputy mayor is Cllr Eiriona Rees Hughes.
Addressing the invited guests as mayor he said: “Preparatory work is being carried out to extend Galeri and create a new cinema. An application has been made for funding to allow the waterfront to be developed and the new station for the Welsh Highland Railway is moving forward
“There is considerable investment being made in the town at present and we must be positive about them, while accepting there are still problems in the town that need to be addressed as well.”
Referring back to his last term as mayor in 2011, Mr Thomas said he hoped developments mooted then would soon be carried out.
“These include the bypass and the re-development of Porth Mawr,” he said.
During the next 12 months, the mayor will be expected to attend a large number of events and ceremonies in Caernarfon and beyond.
One of the first will be the annual North Wales Armed Forces Day event, which is in Caernarfon this year.
Mr Thomas said the day-long event, on June 17, will include a wide range of activities, including a military parade and service on the Maes, military aircraft and equipment displays, entertainment from local artists and a choir from RAF Valley.
As part of the event, a pop-up museum arranged by Wales for Peace will also be open from June 12-18 at St Mary’s Church in Caernarfon, which will include an exhibition about iconic Welsh poet, Hedd Wyn, the centenary of whose death will be marked this summer.
The Mayor, who is also leading on the day’s arrangements for Gwynedd Council, said: “There are a large number of individuals who serve or who have served in the armed forces in the North Wales area. The Armed Forces Day event will be a fitting way to pay tribute to them and their families.”
Caernarfon’s waterfront will also see adrenaline-fuelled action as the ThunderCat Racing tour visits the area for the first time on June 17/18.