Town Mayor
The Chairman of Tavistock Town Council is the Town Mayor, who precides over Council Meetings and represents the Town at Civic and other events.
The Mayor and Deputy Mayor are elected by the Town Council at the Annual General Meeting in May each year.
The current Mayor is Councillor David Whitcomb. The Deputy Mayor is Councillor Philip Sanders.
The Mayor can be invited to functions and events in and around the town and a booking form is available via this website (see links on this page).
For enquiries regarding the booking of the Mayor for an event, or for a version of the booking form to complete and return by e-mail, please contact the Mayor's Secretary at the Town Council offices (01822 613529).
The address for invitations and completed booking forms is:
The Mayor's Secretary
Tavistock Town Council
Drake Road
TAVISTOCK
Devon PL19 0AU
Tavistock Town Mayor Cllr David Whitcomb
To download a PDF version of the Mayor's attendance form - click on the appropriate link below.
Attendance Form - Mayor
Attendance Form - Deputy Mayor
Forthcoming engagements for the Mayor (or Deputy Mayor) include the following:
- Tavistock Hospital Afternoon Cream Tea - 30th July
- Contemporay Art Tavistock: Private View - 30th July
- Reception in Town Hall for Visitors from Celle - 1st August
- Civic Service in St Eustachius' Church - 5th September
- Opening of new unit at Chollacott House - 9th September
- Inauguration of Co-op in High Street - 23rd September
- Great Courts of Devon Tinners Anniversary - 24th September
- Lions Event for Worls Sight Day - 16th October
- Opening of Inner Wheel Bazaar in Town Hall - 23rd October
- Reception & Concert: Boyan Ensemble of Ukraine - 6th November
- Tavistock Tennis Club Annual Dinner - 20th November
- Salvation Army Christmas Carol Service - 12th December
Recent News
The Mayor has recently returned from a weekend visit to Celle for their 30th Niedersachsentag (Lower Saxony Day) which was a massive celebratory event for the town and its surrounding area and to which a delegation from each of Celle's ten twin towns around the world were invited and represented.
The Mayor of each twin town gave a short speech to an audience in excess of six thousand people. Over the three days of the Festival, the attendance reached 320,000. A highlight of the Festival was the culture: arts and music bringing together people of all ages with families coming together. Each region in Germany has its own National Costumes (or "Tracht") and these were much in evidence at this event.
The new Bürgermeister (German Mayor), Dirk-Ulrich Mende, is passionate about the ten twin towns exploiting their common interests, such as music and other arts in all its variety. The link with Tavistock is the first one of Celle's ten international links, and thus they have a special relationship with us, even though we are the second smallest of them - our twinning has now reached 33 years.
The hospitality provided by Celle was exceptional; our Mayor was overwhelmed by the generosity and kindness of the hosts. Highlights included the Festival Procession in traditional costumes, which included all ten twin towns, and the massive street party, for which the town itself closes down. It is held once every five years and is televised throughout the country.
The Mayor is planning to invite Herr Mende and his Civic Delegation to the Civic Ball next year.
Update from the Mayor
At long last the summer is here. I have many events to attend as your new Mayor and I look forward to meeting as many people as I can.
I have been invited to our twinning town of Celle and send all our good wishes from the people of Tavistock.
I also would like to start monthly surgeries to be held in the Mayor’s Parlour on a regular basis, meeting on a Friday afternoon to discuss any other business. I hope anyone who feels that this Council can help in any local problem, also to meet the people from outside of the town. If people are able to come, I encourage residents to contact me or the Town Council by letter, telephone or by any of the other new ways of communication that we are trying out.
Finally, I’d just like to say a few words on this exciting international event, which is the Tour of Britain Cycle Race, which will start in Tavistock later in the year. You can be assured that this will put Tavistock well and truly on the map and we are more than ready and capable of putting on this kind of event.
The BMX Track
Another exciting development for the youngsters of Tavistock is the new BMX track due to be constructed shortly in the old putting area of The Meadows.
We’re also investigating the possibility of introducing a ‘Mayor’s Monthly Concert’ in The Meadows, which will be free for all the community and visitors to come and enjoy (and have a picnic).