I’d like to take this opportunity to wish everyone in Watford a very happy New Year as we enter 2020.

It’s such a privilege to be the Mayor of our fantastic town. In my role, I am lucky enough to meet so many unsung heroes who always go above and beyond for others in our community every day. One of our town’s great strengths in our sense of community and the generosity of the people who live here. I hope that community spirit is something that will always stay with us.

Since being elected nearly two years ago, I have got on with the job I am here to do, delivering for our town. I have helped nearly 3,000 local residents with their problems, supported our fantastic charities and community groups and am delivering on the promises I made to people in Watford. I have helped make Watford a Dementia Friendly Town, extend support for local rough sleepers and championed much needed investment in Watford General Hospital.

This year will be an exciting and a challenging one for our town. More and more people are wanting to live in Watford, which is a good thing, but with that comes challenges. We need to make sure that our roads, buses, trains, schools and health services can keep up with this growth. As much as possible, we must shape the future of our town and not lose the things that make this a great place to live. That’s why this spring I’ll be launching a brand new cycle hire scheme and an On Demand Bus service, which is run successfully in cities such as Liverpool. This should make it easier, greener and quicker to get around our town and reduce congestion on our roads.

This year will also see new facilities at Oxhey Park and the start of a major scheme at Watford Junction to improve capacity and bring the station into the 21st Century.

I hope 2020 will be a year of progress for our town. Happy New Year Watford!

  • Peter Taylor is Elected Mayor of Watford