At last night’s Council meeting (10 October 2022), Leader of New Forest District Council Cllr Edward Heron announced his decision to step down as Leader.

Thanking fellow councillors and officers, he explained his decision, “This evening I want to share with you my decision to step down as Leader from this Council, and not to stand for re-election at the May 2023 district elections. After what is almost 16 years on the Council, most of which has been serving on the cabinet, the time is right for me to look forward to new challenges. 

It is also the correct timing to ensure a new Leader has the opportunity to set out their vision for the Council until 2027, and time to prepare the budget in February.  And therefore the Conservative group will be nominating Cllr Jill Cleary as Leader at the next Council meeting on 14 November.”

In an email to staff, Cllr Heron said, “It has been a great privilege to lead the Council over these past near couple of years, the highlight being the dedication of officers and all staff to the service of our community. This has been my inspiration for all that we have achieved and I am confident the Council is in a good place to continue to deliver for our residents.”

Cllr Heron will continue as Leader until a new Leader is elected at the November Council meeting, and as a councillor until the May 2023 elections. 

Leader of New Forest District Council steps down

At last night’s Council meeting (10 October 2022), Leader of New Forest District Council Cllr Edward Heron announced his decision to step down as Leader.

Thanking fellow councillors and officers, he explained his decision, “This evening I want to share with you my decision to step down as Leader from this Council, and not to stand for re-election at the May 2023 district elections. After what is almost 16 years on the Council, most of which has been serving on the cabinet, the time is right for me to look forward to new challenges. 

It is also the correct timing to ensure a new Leader has the opportunity to set out their vision for the Council until 2027, and time to prepare the budget in February.  And therefore the Conservative group will be nominating Cllr Jill Cleary as Leader at the next Council meeting on 14 November.”

In an email to staff, Cllr Heron said, “It has been a great privilege to lead the Council over these past near couple of years, the highlight being the dedication of officers and all staff to the service of our community. This has been my inspiration for all that we have achieved and I am confident the Council is in a good place to continue to deliver for our residents.”

Cllr Heron will continue as Leader until a new Leader is elected at the November Council meeting, and as a councillor until the May 2023 elections. 

New Forest District Council (NFDC) has set up a specific grant scheme where local groups and organisations can apply for one-off funding to offer a warm welcoming space this winter.

Ryan Stevens, service manager at NFDC, said, “These are being referred to nationally as ‘warm spaces’ or ‘warm banks’, and we know that there are already places in our community who run sessions and activities.  The idea of our funding is to support a safe place where people can go to get warm, access food, chat over a hot drink, or learn about support available to them. If local groups want to set up sessions or activities, or want to put on existing activities for longer, or more frequently, then we want to hear from them as this funding could help them do that.”

Grants of between £200 – £1,000 are available by completing an online form at www.newforest.gov.uk/warmspacesgrant .  Applications will be assessed taking into account the community reach and impact and will also consider the spaces already identified by our partner organisations to ensure we support a spread of warm spaces across the district.

Cllr Edward Heron, NFDC Leader said, “Services across the council are working with our many partners as part of a cost of living group to build on the range of support available. This includes promoting what we are doing, what help there is from other organisations we are working with, and providing advice and information on a variety of topics such as food, claiming benefits and energy.”

The council’s website has information on cost of living support at www.nfdc.gov.uk/costofliving