I wish all residents a very happy new year and one that brings you everything you would wish for yourself.

It has been an eventful year for the council and for the councillors who work tirelessly, without an pay, to make this town a good place to live.

There are vacancies, by the way, and we would welcome hearing from anyone who would like to join us.

2018 saw Aspatria win the Cumbria in Bloom Best Small Town Gold Award for the first time ever, this followed two years of winning silver. What an achievement for our small town, being the best in category brings pride in the town and great recognition for our devotion and hard work.

The marking criteria carried out by the Cumbria in Bloom external judges is extremely strict and based upon many categories, one of the main ones being community involvement. A folder giving details of this will shortly be displayed in the library.

So many of our local businesses stepped up to the mark including our schools, volunteers from Aspatria Station Adopter Group and Sealy to name but a few. However, we do need continual effort and involvement from everyone to clean, tidy and weed around your properties.

Thanks to my fellow councillors and especially deputy mayor Alan Reay and the clerks. And thank you to the people of Aspatria who participate in events such as the Christmas lights switch-on and the volunteers who help in so many ways.

Happy new year to all.