MINEHEAD will have a new mayor next Tuesday, March 28, when town councillors meet to receive the resignation of Cllr Andrew Kingston-James who stood down three weeks ago, and elect his successor.

 Since the resignation, deputy mayor Cllr Toni Bloomfield has taken on the mayor’s duties. Traditionally the appointment is made at the council’s annual general meeting in May.

The Free Press revealed last week that Cllr Andrew Kingston-James had notified the town council of his resignation in an email circulated to councillors, but asked for the decision to be kept confidential.

He declined to comment when approached by the Free Press, but his partner, town councillor Mark Kingston-James, said the reason for the resignation was strictly private and confidential.

At Tuesday’s meeting, councillors will also be asked to approve the planting of a memorial hedge in Queen Elizabeth Memorial Garden by local school children to celebrate King Charles’s coronation, and to approve plans for celebrations.