Mayor Making Ceremony 2014 - Councillor Carol Wardle is the new Mayor

Mayoress Beverley Place and Mayor of Rochdale Councillor Carol Wardle

Councillor Carol Wardle was sworn in as the new Mayor of Rochdale at the Mayor Making Ceremony this evening (Wednesday 4 June) at Rochdale Town Hall.

Local councillors, former mayors and distinguished guests were amongst those in attendance at the ceremony to watch former Mayor Peter Rush hand over the chain to Councillor Wardle.

Carol was born in Stockport and is the youngest of three children to a trade union shop steward in the steel industry and a master confectioner.

As a councillor, Carol was first elected for the former Heywood South Ward in 2002 and retained her seat in the new Hopwood Hall ward after boundary changes.

Carol has been married to her husband Chris for 44 years and has four daughters, three sons in law, one grandson and two granddaughters. She enjoys crosswords and quizzes, foreign travel, country pursuits and spending time with her grandchildren.

Carol said: “It is an immense privilege to have been sworn in as the Mayor of Rochdale I must thank all of my fellow councillors for giving me this opportunity.

“I look forward to meeting the people of this borough and going out to a lot of events and ensuring that Rochdale is promoted.”

Carol's daughter Beverly will be taking on the role of Mayoress for the upcoming year.

Councillor Surinder Biant was sworn in as Deputy Mayor for the year and will be joined by his wife, Councillor Cecile Biant as Deputy Mayoress.

Surinder was born in Nairobi and moved to Rochdale in 1969 where he taught at the English Teaching Centre and Greenhill School before becoming the Acting Deputy Director of Education at the Council.

Deputy Mayor Surinder Biant and Deputy Mayoress Cecile Biant

Surinder has represented Spotland and Falinge Ward since 2010 and has served on several committees within the council.

His appointment as Deputy Mayor was welcomed by Leader of the Council, Councillor Richard Farnell. This was seconded by Councillor Ashley Dearnley and was supported by Councillor Alan Brett.

The Mayor’s Charity Appeal for 2014-2015

This year the Mayor’s Charity Appeal will raise money for Springhill Hospice, Moorland Home Rochdale and Heywood Youth Link as well as other local charities.

Donations can be made direct to:

The Mayor's Office
Town Hall
Rochdale
OL16 1AB

Cheques should be made payable to ‘The Mayor’s Charity'.