On a gloriously sunny, warm day in Cornwall, the people of Launceston gathered at the Town Hall to celebrate a new era and to give thanks to retiring Mayor, Cllr Helen Bailey, for all she had done for the community.

With the ceremony underway, the guests heard that Cllr Gilbert first joined the town council in 2019 and is an active member of the community, being a trustee of Coronation Park, a member of the Twinning Association and a regular player at Kensey Vale Bowling Club, amongst other endeavours. In the words of Cllr Dave Gordon, Cllr Gilbert is ‘a proper Lanson maid’. 

Cllr Gilbert stood for an address that reflected her diligent, humble, and humorous nature. She thanked her fellow councillors for their support, acknowledged the support of her sister, fellow councillor and former Launceston Mayor Margaret Young, and quipped about the tradition of ‘keeping it in the family’, with granddaughter Abigail Stringer becoming her standard bearer, and son-in-law Jonathan Stringer taking on the role of mace bearer alongside Steve Lankston. She will also be joined at various local events by husband Peter, as Mayor’s Consort.

Cllr Gilbert was keen to point out Launceston’s strong sense of community, and that it can only remain so if people get involved and communicate with the council. 

She said: “We all voluntarily become councillors because we love our town, and we want to be involved and contribute towards preserving and enhancing all that is good about it and creating opportunities for everyone who lives and works here.
“We are here to represent and support the views of our community, who elected us, but we can only do this if we know what those views are. It remains the responsibility of everyone in our community to take an interest in what is going on, find out what is proposed, take part in consultations, form a view and make it known. This is the only way that we can work together to make our town the place we want it to be.”

While Cllr Bailey can now enjoy a well-deserved rest from Mayor’s duties, the work doesn’t stop - even now! As she was presented with the Past Mayor’s Badge, she was given the opportunity to note some of the highlights of her time as Mayor, and the main focuses of the council going forward, which include the return of the National Rail Network to Launceston. Cllr Bailey will remain a driving force in the team who are working to make this vision a reality.

She said: “I think the most challenging project the Council agreed to work towards, and this will take many years, but is something our town needs and so does North Cornwall is to return us back to the National Rail Network. The public questionnaire continues and is nearly complete, the positive feedback to this is overwhelming and is definitely something wanted by our residents.

“Hopefully we will have passenger and freight calling a Launceston Station in less than ten years if we keep working hard at this, despite the government decision to leave Cornwall out of any transport funding recently – even if it means we have to go to London and lobby ourselves.”

As her time as Mayor drew to a close, Cllr Bailey took on the challenge of abseiling from Meldon Viaduct in order to give her chosen charities, Man Down Launceston and Launceston Youth Music Theatre a funding boost. 

While a representative of Man Down Launceston sadly could not be there that day, Sarah Bradley and Amy Hodgson of Launceston Youth Music Theatre were invited to accept a cheque from Cllr Bailey. The theatre group works with 90 young people aged 6-19 in our community, helping them to explore their creativity and take risks, improve their skills, boost their confidence and giving them the opportunity to perform, kickstarting a passionate career in performing arts for many. They will be working on various new performances over the coming months, including School of Rock, Into the Woods, Peter Pan, plus workshops for the school holidays. 

The ceremony also elected Cllr John Conway as deputy mayor, who noted the importance of supporting Launceston’s local businesses, and reducing carbon emissions. He also recognised some of the ongoing projects the town council is working on, including the new Launceston Library building, which will ‘revitalise our town’, plus the skatepark and exciting improvements to be made to Priory Park.

The audience heard that Cllr Gilbert’s chosen charities to support for 2025/26 are Launceston Town Band, whose musical talents can be heard far and wide at community events; and Launceston in Bloom, a volunteer group who work hard planting flowers, providing flower baskets and troughs, and generally help to keep our town a much tidier and brighter place to live. 

Three members of the community also received a well-deserved mention during the Mayor’s speech, accepting Awards of Appreciation for their work. 

Over the last 45 years, Jenny Worth has dedicated many hours to coach children and adults in a variety of sports, including table tennis, badminton and tennis. In addition to this, Jenny regularly gives up her time to play the organ for Launceston Central Methodist Church, as well as volunteering to be part of a group who take elderly members of the church on outings. 

Seventeen-year-old Lowenna North was recognised for her sheer determination and resilience in the world of swimming. Last September, she stepped into the chilly waters of the English Channel, swimming for 14 hours and 56 minutes until she reached the shores of France. But this wasn’t her first challenge. At just 15, Lowenna swam from Eddystone Lighthouse to Plymouth Hoe, a total of 13.7 miles in 11 hours and 37 minutes. She remains the youngest person to date to complete this swim. 

Gareth Lancaster was diagnosed with Sarcoma ten years ago, turning his life upside down. With the support of his wife and three children, and despite regular trips to Bristol and London for treatment, Gareth has been raising awareness of Sarcoma cancer, as well as fundraising for Sarcoma UK. He and some friends cycled all the way to London, raising £21,000, and many more fundraising events have been organised to raise a current total of £29,900 - an incredible achievement. 

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