Moorside councillor Sandra Walmsley to become next deputy mayor

Councillor Sandra Walmsley is set to become the next Deputy Mayor – and ultimately the Mayor – of the borough of Bury.

She has been nominated by the council’s ruling cabinet to take up the ceremonial post in May this year, subject to approval by the full council next week.

Under council protocol, the deputy mayor becomes mayor the following year. The current deputy mayor is Cllr Shaheena Haroon.

Cllr Walmsley has represented Moorside ward in Bury since 2010 and is currently chair of the licensing and safety committee. She has held a number of senior roles at the council and served on the Greater Manchester Fire Authority and Greater Manchester Housing Commission.

She attended local schools - Radcliffe Hall primary and the Derby High school - before going to Holy Cross College and later Bury College.

She worked at O2 in Bury from its opening in 1999 for 18 years, where she was the lead CWU trade union official. A Labour councillor, she also worked as a parliamentary assistant to Bury North MP James Frith from 2017-19.

Most recently, Cllr Walmsley studied as a mature student at the University of Salford and graduated with a First Class honours in Criminology and Sociology. She is now studying at the University of Manchester doing a postgraduate Masters degree in Criminology.

She is a governor at Chesham Primary School and regularly volunteers with local groups such as The Attic Project, Keep Bury Clean, Chesham Fold TRA and the Friends of Clarence Park.

She lives in Moorside with her partner James Bentley, a local author, who will serve as her consort.

Cllr Walmsley said: “It is a great honour and a privilege to serve Bury, a town I love, in this role. Bury is a fantastic borough in which to live, work and socialise and I look forward to fulfilling my duties and to meeting people, groups and businesses during my time in office.”

ENDS

Press release issued: 13 January 2022.

Picture: Councillor Sandra Walmsley.