June 2019
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25
News
Meet the new mayor: Cllr Tom Aditya
C
ouncillor Tom Aditya has been elected as the new mayor of Bradley Stoke. He was formally handed the chain of office on Wednesday 15th May at Bradley Stoke Town Council’s annual general meeting, held at the Jubilee Centre. Tom, who represents the Bradley Stoke South ward, has been a councillor since 2011. He has served on various committees of the council and has chaired the Planning, Transport and Environment Committee and served as deputy mayor. Cllr Aditya takes on his new role, not only as the first Asian mayor in Bradley Stoke, but also in South Gloucestershire. He is also understood to be the first person of Indian origin to be elected to such a role in South West England. Tom, a management consultant and financial advisor, is originally from Kerala, South India. He has studied at various places including the USA. He moved to the UK in 2002 and settled in Bradley Stoke. His wife works for the NHS (Renal Transplant) and his children attend local primary and secondary schools. Tom is a passionate community campaigner and his interest in advocating social harmony stretches beyond the boundaries of Bradley Stoke. Since 2007, Tom has
been involved with South Gloucestershire Council’s Equalities Forum, which enabled him to reach out to various communities in the region. He was also a trustee of the Southern Brooks Community Partnership. Currently, Tom serves as vice-chairman of the Police Strategic Advisory Group, the Community Engagement Forum and as a member of the Avon and Somerset Police Scrutiny Panel. Tom is also the chairman of the Bristol Multi-Faith Forum. He told the Journal that he sincerely hopes his time in office as mayor will allow him to promote more community cohesion and he is keen to involve a wider sense of inclusion for all residents. “I always admire diverse viewpoints on issues and wish to engage everyone interested in community matters.” When asked about his vision for engaging a wider range of residents to become more actively involved in their community, Tom stated: “I believe politics should be first and foremost about getting things done for the people and not petty party politics. My approach has always been to provide excellent amenities for the residents and to deliver better quality services, whilst ensuring lower taxes, value for money, good governance and fairness for all. My aim is to make our town a better place to live
Newly elected mayor Cllr Tom Aditya (left) is congratulated by the previous year’s mayor, Cllr Ben Randles, after receiving the chain of office
and for the community to have a stronger voice.” One of the areas Tom will be hoping to address is the continuing frustration residents face regarding the traffic issues in the town. The traffic congestion with the planned closure of Gipsy Patch Lane is likely to increase significantly and Tom is hoping to continue to campaign for bus lay-bys to help maintain the traffic flow and reduce some of the congestion. Like many of our residents, Tom stresses how fortunate we are to have so many beautiful outdoor spaces, particularly natural wild spaces, to enjoy in Bradley Stoke. He will be actively campaigning to have the lake and streams of the Three Brooks
Nature Reserve dredged to remove the build-up of silt and so help reduce the levels of flooding in the vicinity and improve the year-round access for all. Tom is also full of admiration for the work done by community volunteers such as Bradley Stoke in Bloom who work tirelessly to keep our town an attractive and pleasant environment in which to live. Tom wishes to have his mayoral charities benefit the local residents and the town. He has requested that any interested voluntary organisations contact him before his final decision is made. We wish Cllr Tom Aditya a very happy and successful time in office as mayor.
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