Councillor Cherry Beath is to become the city’s new Mayor today, at a ceremony being held at Bath Abbey making her the 787th Mayor of the City of Bath.
New Mayor Cllr Cherry Beath and Deputy Cllr Lisa Brett
Cherry was Deputy Mayor 2011 -12 and also served as Chairman of The Standing Committee of Charter Trustees. She was elected to Bath & North East Somerset Council in 2007 representing Combe Down Ward. She has held a number of positions in the Council, including Cabinet Member for Sustainable Development.
Currently Vice Chair of the Economic and Community, and Health and Wellbeing, Policy Development and Scrutiny panels, Cherry is also Council Champion for Culture (including Digital and Creative Sectors) and Spa. She sits on the Boards of the Bath Festivals and the Cultural Forum.
Her background is in the Criminal Justice System, working as a Probation Officer, and with Prisons and Drug Dependency issues in London, Bristol and Bath. She has worked in the Divorce Courts, and in the field of Fostering and Adoption reports in the Crown Court. She was involved in teaching professional training and mentoring, as a Director, and as a Community Co-ordinator.
Cherry set up community initiatives and ran projects in the community, and is keen to support independent local businesses.
Cherry has exhibited work in London and Bath, and was one of the artists in The King Bladud Pigs public art project, having created “Piggles” a Pig with a flying theme. She gained a Fine Arts Masters Degree at University College London and maintains an interest in the Arts, Music, Theatre and Film.
She has travelled abroad including Romania, Indonesia, Jamaica and Tanzania to assist various Charitable Projects. A trustee for two charities, one being The Genesis Trust in Bath, Cherry also sits on a grant making board supporting local Christian Projects.
Cherry has lived in Bath since the mid 1980’s and is married to Richard, who will be her Consort. They have two sons.
The new Mayor’s theme will focus on Bath as a Creative Community.
Councillor Lisa Brett will be Deputy Mayor. Having studied Electronics in the eighties, Lisa worked in manufacturing before joining Voluntary Service Overseas in 1989 to become a teacher of technology in Northern Nigeria.
From 1994 to 2000, Lisa lived in Latin America where she was a founding member of a charity to support victims of Hurricane Mitch. She was appointed to its Executive Board.
Returning to UK, Lisa worked for Victim Support’s National Office, sitting on international project steering groups and working closely with the European Forum for Victim Support Schemes and with the European Commission. Lisa has also worked as Business Development Director for two commercial companies.
In the 2011 local elections Lisa topped the poll in a four way marginal ward and today she remains focused on delivering the promises made during election.
Lisa is Vice Chair of B&NES Planning, Transport and Environment Committee; she also sits on the Night Time Economy Group, the Responsible Authorities Group, the Health & Wellbeing Committee, the West of England Joint Scrutiny Committee and Avon & Somerset Police & Crime Panel, both of which scrutinise regional decisions that impact on Bath.
Lisa is also Deputy Chair of the Local Government Association’s Stronger & Safer Communities Programme Board, a member of the Liberal Democrat Executive at the LGA and sits on the Liberal Democrat’s Parliamentary Backbench Committee for Home Affairs, Equalities and Justice.
