The new Lord Mayor of Chester and chairman of Cheshire West and Chester Council is Garden Quarter Councillor Bob Rudd.

Cllr Rudd took up the posts following a special council meeting last night, Thursday, May 15.

The new Deputy Lord Mayor and deputy chairman is Cllr Hugo Deynem and the new Sheriff is Cllr Herbert Manley, executive member for growth and innovation.

Councillor Bob Rudd was made Chester's Lord Mayor on Thursday, May 15
Councillor Bob Rudd was made Chester's Lord Mayor on Thursday, May 15

Cllr Rudd was born in Horley, Surrey and moved to Chester with wife Sandra in 1990.

He went to school in Horley, and on leaving became an apprentice with a local engineering company, the Monotype Corporation, joining a trade union in his first week at work and he is still a member.

Cllr Rudd then worked at a number of engineering companies in the south east before becoming a sales engineer for a company in Bromborough.

In 1970 he married and has two sons, Stephen who is married to Maria and Anthony who is married to Roberta.

In 1972 Cllr Rudd was first elected as a councillor for Burgess Hill Urban District Council and his first committee was housing.

1975 he was elected to West Sussex County Council and served on every major committee, all of which permanently curtailed his degree studies with the Open University.

1979 saw him elected to Crawley Borough Council, in 1981 he was appointed chair of housing and was a member of the management board, during which time he was proud of Crawley Borough Council's achievement of building 500 council houses a year for five years.

Cllr Rudd married Sandra in 1985 and has stepson Nick who is married to Maria and stepdaughter Gaynor. He has five grandchildren - Joseph, Aimee, Chloe, Alfie and James.

In 1988 he was appointed Mayor of the Borough of Crawley where he served on every council committee.

Cllr Rudd’s career as an engineer with several international companies in Sussex culminated in his relocation to Chester in 1990 as sales director with a hydraulic engineering company in North Wales.

In 1991 he was elected to Chester City Council for the Boughton ward where he served on the housing and the highways committees.

In 1996 Cllr Rudd became a board member of local charity Chester Aid to the Homeless -his charity for the year- and still serves on the board as chairman.

In 1999 he became a member and first chairman of the board of trustees of Chester and District Housing Trust, a housing association set up to improve the quality of Chester City Council’s housing stock.

Between 2001–2007 Cllr Rudd was an executive member of Chester City Council cabinet, initially for community leadership and latterly for community safety - successfully introducing to Chester the community safety wardens.

In 2003 he served as consort to Sandra when she was Sheriff of Chester, in 2005 as her consort when Deputy Lord Mayor and in 2006/7 as Lord Mayor's consort.

In 2009 he was appointed an Honorary Alderman for Chester on the demise of Chester City Council after serving for 18 years as local councillor for the Boughton ward.

After a two year break from local government, Cllr Rudd was elected to Cheshire West and Chester Borough Council for the Garden Quarter in 2011 and to Cheshire fire authority where he still serves as a member.

Cllr  Rudd said: “I have always had an interest in housing and homelessness since first becoming involved as a member of the council housing committee in 1972 and not surprisingly my chosen charity for the coming year is CATH, Chester Aid to the Homeless.

“2014 will be a very special year remembering those who sacrificed their lives 100 years ago in the First World War and I am sure there will be many occasions to honour them.

“I am also looking forward to getting involved in local events to celebrate art, culture and sport in Chester and across the Borough.”

Cllr Hugo Deynem who will be new Deputy Lord Mayor of Chester from May 15
Cllr Hugo Deynem who will be new Deputy Lord Mayor of Chester from May 15

Cllr Deynem was born in the British Overseas Territory of Bermuda and moved to Ashton Hayes in 1970 attending local schools in Tarporley and Upton. He has since both lived and worked in the Kelsall and Tarvin ward he currently represents.

He married his wife Deb in 1995 and has three children. Cllr Deynem works as a safety health and environment advisor for a national energy supplier. He previously ran a number of small companies for himself for some 16 years prior to joining his present company.

Cllr Deynem was first elected to represent the old Kelsall ward on Chester City Council in 1993 following a number of years as a parish councillor for Ashton Hayes.

He has served the residents of the Kelsall and Tarvin ward as a councillor on the new Cheshire West and Chester Council since its inception following the disbanding of the two tier system abolished in 2009.

Following re-election on to the newly formed Cheshire West and Chester Borough Council in May 2011 he holds a chair on the public rights of way committee and the corporate scrutiny committee. He is also member champion for climate change.

Cllr Deynem is a member and chair of a number of outside bodies and charities including The Tarvin Educational Foundation and a local Scout Group.

Cllr Deynem said: “I am extremely pleased and honoured to be elected to be the Deputy Lord Mayor of Chester and deputy chairman of Cheshire West and Chester Council for 2014/15.

“One of my key points of focus during this term of office will be to raise the profile of Chester, Northwich, Winsford and Ellesmere Port and indeed the whole of the Borough in relation to its potential for business investment.

“I see the civic roles of Lord Mayor, Sheriff and Deputy Lord Mayor being closely aligned and look forward to working with councillors Rudd and Manley in promoting Chester as being one of the UK’s top tourist destinations.

“I hope very much to be able to maintain as visible a civic role as possible and if you see me out and about please come up and say hello.”

Cllr Herbert Manley who will be the new Sheriff of Chester from May 15
Cllr Herbert Manley who will be the new Sheriff of Chester from May 15

Cllr Manley represents Hartford and Greenbank. He and his wife Margaret have four children, five grandchildren and one great grandchild.

He was employed for many years by Imperial Chemical Industries and worked on many of the sites within Cheshire and Merseyside.

During this time he was a member of both the British Standards Committee and the European Standards Committee dealing with safety equipment.

Cllr Manley was elected to Vale Royal Borough Council in May 2003 and served on the executive committee during his time as a councillor and was also involved as a member of several North West regional committees.

Elected to Cheshire West and Chester Borough Council when it was first formed, Cllr Manley, executive member for growth and Innovation, continues to work on regional committees involving European funding and strategic transport.

He is a member of the committee of the regions for Europe and also a member of the European Congress and has been involved in helping to shape some of the legislation that has been presented to the European Parliament for ratification.

Away from civic duties, Cllr Manley has been part of the team at St Mary’s Weaverham as a lay reader for more than 20 years.

Cllr Manley said: “My wife and I are really looking forward to my duties as Sheriff of Chester.

“I will enjoy being part of the city’s traditions and it would be great if I could play a role in enhancing the city as a destination for tourism and history.”