WHITTLESEY now has a town mayor – completing a quadruple line up for the Fenland towns. Just months after Chatteris fell into line and switched to a mayoralty, Whittlesey has followed and rescinded the title of town council chairman in favour of a mayor.

WHITTLESEY now has a town mayor - completing a quadruple line up for the Fenland towns.

Just months after Chatteris fell into line and switched to a mayoralty, Whittlesey has followed and rescinded the title of town council chairman in favour of a mayor.

First Mayor of Whittlesey, Councillor Pam Potts, believes the title will "lift the profile of the town."

Although not a unanimous decision by the town council, Cllr Potts believes it is the right decision.

"I just said it was time we did have a mayor," she said. "We were the only town in the county without a mayor and I think we were slowly losing our identity."

The town's proximity to Whittlesey was a recurring problem, she said, with many believing Whittlesey "as a village on the outskirts of Peterborough. We are very much aligned to Peterborough but we do need our own identity."

She added: "It will put Whittlesey to the forefront. This is the key to it. It will be good to promote Whittlesey."

Cllr Potts said there would be no additional cost to the town since the chain of office remains that of the chairman of the council.

"I may well look to put a bar on the chain saying 'mayor' but that will be at no cost to the council tax payer," she said.

Whittlesey people can meet their new mayor on July 1 at manor Leisure Centre during a veterans' day parade.