New Lib Dem leader at Chichester District Council outlines his administration's priorities

The elections earlier this month saw the Liberal Democrats overturn years of Conservative control, and Adrian Moss officially took up his post as leader during a meeting on Wednesday (May 17).

Describing his position as a privilege, Mr Moss told his fellow councillors that he looked forward to ‘working together for the good of this district’.

He added: “This will be a different council – a more diverse council that reflects, I hope, our communities.

“This is a council where we will put our communities at the forefront of our thoughts and deeds.

“This new council will do everything we can to reflect the change that our residents have clearly called for.

“For us, there must be a focus on ensuring that we put the environment and nature recovery at the centre of our ambitions while supporting the need for housing for our local people.

“We will be fiscally robust in our actions and will be a careful administration. But we will be supporting investment in regeneration and across our communities.”

The six members of the Green Party and the Local Alliance teamed up to form the opposition, leaving just five Conservative councillors.

The Tories had 17 before the elections.

Timothy Johnson, who represents Selsey South, said: “We look forward to working with him and his council for the good of our residents.”

Mr Moss told the meeting that he hoped there would be ‘strong opposition and strong challenges’ from the other groups.

Looking to the future, he said he wanted to see Chichester become a more vibrant community – one that would attract young people to to the area to study, live and ‘enjoy what this area offers’.

He also said he looked forward to ‘reinforcing’ relationships with other local councils as well as the schools, colleges and university.

Mr Moss’s seven-strong cabinet will be made up of:

• Jonathan Brown (deputy leader/cabinet member for the environment strategy)
• Mark Chilton (finance, corporate services & contract services)
• David Betts (housing)
• Bill Brisbane (planning)
• Tracie Bangert (communities and wellbeing)
• Jess Brown-Fuller (culture and events)
• Harsha Desai (growth and place)