COUNCILLOR Tom Rounds has been voted the new mayor of Calne after the town council held its annual general meeting on Monday.

Coun Rounds, 67, of Honeysuckle Close, has been a councillor for three years and steps up from his position as deputy mayor.

The former RAF pilot retired in 2005 after 45 years’ service and is originally from Fiji, having moved to Calne as a concierge when he was 17.

“I am looking forward to serving as mayor but I have already served as deputy which means that you are pretty much primed to take on the role,” he said.

“We have got several big issues that are running right now. The first is to fight a residential home application in the centre of the town.

“We are also promoting our neighbourhood plan and want people to get involved in the consultation. For that, we want input from the people on what they want for the town. It is a bottom up approach, not a top down.

“The third is the rejuvenation of the town and we are going to be applying for heritage funding. I remember the closure of the Harris pork pie factory. That not only spiritually but also economically ripped the heart out of the town.”

Coun Rounds spent 15 years at RAF Lyneham, where he flew Hercules aircraft and will now serve alongside Coun Tony Trotman, who was elected as deputy mayor.

For his chosen charities he decided to support the Calne branch of the Royal British Legion and Revival, a charity helping survivors of rape and sexual abuse.

He has been married to Rachel Rounds since 2011 and has a three-year-old son, Tanoa.

He added: “Given I have only been a councillor for three years it is maybe a little unusual that I have been elected mayor.

“It is about being a leader of your community and you are described as the first citizen of your community. It is about providing leadership.

"It is nice to be sworn in but the important point about the mayor is that he stays above party politics and above the fray to remain neutral to what is going on in debates."