Councillor Helen Whitcroft was chosen as the 50th Mayor of Surrey Heath at the Annual Meeting of Surrey Heath Borough Council on 11 May 2022.
Cllr Whitcroft has been a councillor for Mytchett and Deepcut ward since 2019.
At the Mayor-making ceremony, Cllr Whitcroft was sworn in as Mayor of Surrey Heath for the forthcoming year, receiving the Mayoral chain of office.
Cllr Whitcroft succeeds the previous Surrey Heath Mayor, Cllr Sarah Jane Croke.
Cllr Pat Tedder, who represents Windlehsam and Chobham ward, was elected Deputy Mayor.
Cllr Whitcroft has lived in Surrey Heath for most of her life, and has worked as a legal secretary and also been a foster carer in that time.
Since her election in 2019, Cllr Whitcroft has served on various committees including Planning Applications, Licensing and External Partnerships.
She has also represented the Council on a number of Outside Bodies including Basingstoke Canal Joint Management Committee, Farnborough Aerodrome Consultative Committee, Parity for Disability, and Surrey Heath Local Area Committee.
Cllr Whitcroft said: “Since being elected in 2019 I have absolutely loved being a councillor. For the past year, I have had the honour and privilege of being Deputy Mayor of Surrey Heath and I have enjoyed the role immensely. To be able to serve my community in this way has been incredible and I have met so many residents and attended some incredible events.
“Both of my parents were councillors in Surrey Heath and I’m proud to be able to continue in this family tradition. I look forward to serving as Surrey Heath’s Mayor in the coming year, and meeting even more of our amazing community.”
Cllr Whitcroft, who lives in Frimley Green, is married to Campbell and has three children, Adam, Josh and Madison. Madison will be accompanying Cllr Whitcroft during her Mayoral term of office.
Cllr Whitcroft has chosen three local charities to support during her Mayoral year:
Chloe’s and Sophie’s Special Ears Fund(link is external) is passionate about ‘brightening the lives of deaf children’. They specialise in breaking down barriers for deaf children to improve their wellbeing and mental health, and ensure they have the best learning environment.
Connect Counselling Service(link is external) was established 27 years ago to meet a recognised need within the local community for easier access to counselling. Connect provides a professional service to clients irrespective of their ability to pay.
Parity for Disability(link is external) offers excellence in services and support for people with multiple disabilities, their families and carers. Their specialist staff, flexible transport, dedicated space, equipment and technologies provide a vital lifeline to their students.
Mayoral Engagements
Please complete the Mayoral Invite Form(link is external) if you would like the Mayor to attend an event you are organising.
Please submit your request at least 3 weeks before your event.
Please note that this is a request form for the Mayor to attend your event and not a booking form.
You will be notified within 10 working days whether the Mayor is able to attend.
All other mayoral enquiries should be detailed in an email to mayor@surreyheath.gov.uk(link sends e-mail).
Visit the Mayoral Engagements webpage to see a list of events that the Mayor will be attending over the coming weeks.
Armed Forces Day 2022
I presented Camberley Heroes with awards to thank them for their service to our community. They included the organiser of VFLP, veteran’s support group and the Security Team at The Square. A huge thank you to all Surrey Heath’s Community Champions, your giving and generosity makes this community special! Armed Forces theme continued into Monday when I raised a flag at Surrey Heath House.
I went to a women’s group English lesson arranged by SMEF. The organisation provides tuition to ethnic minority women wishing to develop their English. They have recently began helping Ukrainian women who have moved to Surrey Heath.
I was invited to Stihl’s new site on Watchmoor Park for their ‘breaking-ground ceremony’. With their board members I was seen holding a spade!
At Moorlands Resident’s Home in Lightwater I met Carol to see her paintings exhibition. They included pictures of the Shard and countryside images from Devon, all so carefully and beautifully done!
Finally, I took a gift along to Gordons School to say thank you to Lucy Massie who played the pipes for us on Jubilee Day.
Mayor’s Diary – Frimley Green Carnival
We judged the best overall and most imaginative floats. Frimley C of E School and Sandringham First School took those but all the floats were amazing as always.
A huge thank you to the organisers! They helped us with the Jubilee event in June so a busy and successful summer! On Monday I opened Emma’s Kiddicare.
Emma has been a local childminder for many years. At Community Centre in Deepcut, they have opened as a small nursery. Frimley Tennis Club has reopened with new resurfacing and lighting installation at their tennis courts. Finally, yesterday we joined the Nepalese Community for their summer party.
For the first in three years, we were treated to traditions, being presented with and presenting sashes, we lit candles, joined in dancing and tried beautiful traditional food. As always, it has been an incredible week!
Collectively Camberley Car Show 2022
The Car Show arranged by LoveCamberley was yesterday. Hundred’s of classic and other cars descended on the town centre. I was part of the judging team for the various categories. I hate that job, they are all amazing! Edd China joined in the fun along with many other familiar local faces! A lovely day!
