SEDGEMOOR District Council has a new chairman, with Councillor Alan Bradford being sworn in at the council's annual meeting.

Cllr Bradford is also the mayor of North Petherton, and he will be assisted by Cllr Mike Facey - mayor of Burnham-on-Sea and Highbridge - as the vice-chairman of the council.

The outgoing chairman, Cllr Peter Clayton, thanked all councillors for their cross-party support, especially during the pandemic and while dealing with virtual meetings, and for the great amount of community support that has been achieved.

Seven Conservative councillors were named as portfolio holders, with shadow portfolio holders from Labour and the Liberal Democrats, as follows:

Leader - Cllr Duncan McGinty (Cllr Brian Smedley, Labour; Cllr Bill Revans, Lib Dems)

Deputy leader - Cllr Gill Slocombe (Cllr Kathy Pearce, Labour; Cllr Phil Harvey, Lib Dems)

Inward investment and growth - Cllr Gill Slocombe (Cllr Alex Glassford, Labour; Cllr Mike Murphy, Lib Dems)

Infrastructure and transport - Cllr Mike Caswell (Cllr Leigh Redman, Labour; Cllr Nick Bayliss, Lib Dems)

Customer access and digital delivery - Cllr Lance Duddridge (Cllr Kathy Pearce, Labour; Cllr Lisa Methley, Lib Dems)

Housing - Cllr Andrew Gilling (Cllr Graham Granter, Labour; Cllr Charlie Riches, Lib Dems)

Commercial and asset management - Cllr Mark Healey (Cllr Tony Heywood, Labour; Cllr Phil Harvey, Lib Dems)

Communities and wellbeing - Cllr Janet Keen (Cllr Alexia Bartlett, Labour; Gary Wong, Lib Dems)

Burnham and Highbridge Weekly News:

VICE-CHAIRMAN: Mike Facey

The following councillors were named as chairmen and deputy chairmen of committees:

Audit and standards - Cllr Julie Pay (chairman), Cllr Will Human (deputy)

Community scrutiny - Cllr Hilary Bruce (chairman), Cllr Liz Scott (deputy)

Corporate scrutiny - Cllr Brian Smedley (chairman), Cllr Rachael Lilley (deputy)

Development - Cllr Bob Filmer (chairman), Cllr Tony Grimes (deputy)

Grants panel - Cllr Janet Keen (chairman), Cllr Liz Perry (deputy)

Licensing and general purposes - Cllr Polly Costello (chairman), Cllr Barrie Crow (deputy)

Property investment board - Cllr Duncan McGinty (chairman), Cllr Gill Slocombe (deputy)

The political composition of Sedgemoor District Council is 29 Conservatives, 11 from Labour, seven Lib Dems and one Independent.