A sum of £300,000 earmarked for resurfacing Ross roads was announced by Mayor John Winder, at the town council’s Annual Parish Meeting on Monday (April 25).

The speech was opened with remarks on the noticeable increase in the number of people visiting the town on the weekends, with an “awful lot of people looking to move to the area”. He thanked the deputy mayor Cllr Driscoll and Jane Mainey for encouraging the vibrate state of tourism.

One of the most well-received parts of the address was the news that the roads around town will be resurfaced. Much to the delight of many town residents, a grant of around £350,000 has been received from the Extraordinary Market Town Fund, and £300,000 of that has been earmarked for road resurfacing for roads around Ross. Cllr Winder added that as a cyclist himself he’s particularly sensitive to the effects of pot holes on road users and is glad to see improvements coming down the pipeline.

The new town maps on the noticeboards were also praised as well as the newly rejuvenated website with a promise of the digital notice board soon to come. The yarn bombing, which decorated the town in knitted and crocheted decorations was also mentioned. The first equinox festival was put on last year and promised to return, as well as an initiative called Music in the Marketplace. Cllr Winder added: “As a guitarist and singer myself I may go along and busk, if I can.”

The mayor added that jubilee celebrations are “well in hand”, and that there are still a number of grants still available for people who wish to put on a street party for the jubilee—however, the deadline for grant applications is this Friday (April 29). Primary and nursery school children in Ross will also be receiving a souvenir as part of the celebrations.

A good deal of work has been done on the play parks in Ross, residents may have noticed swings at the Ropewalk, which is part of the council’s efforts to bring in play facilities for older kids. The council are also investigating the possibility of a new play area in North Ward.

Grant funding from Great places to Visit has allowed the council to have the Town and Country Trail partly resurfaced, where it was muddy and the buggy route is due an extension down to Wilton.

New Christmas lights are also coming to Ross later this year, which will be in the shape of hedgehogs.

Reviewing the past year, Cllr Winder mentioned that the stone wall on Gloucester Road, outside the Chase Hotel was to be rebuilt and that works on it have been completed. He added that the war memorial has been restored in time for Armed Forces Day on June 25, this was also the result of a successful grant application for the restoration of war memorials of nearly £1,800.

Speaking on the mayor’s own projects he said: “You may struggle to recognise the dapper individual who sits before you, compared to the scruffy hippy who sat in the same place last year, I had my head shaved in the marketplace last June and raised over £1,000 on the day in cash and about £800 in the Gofundme all for EnviroAbility.” He added: “Now that I’ve been told that I look more handsome and younger with my hair cut, it’s gone to my head a bit and I’ve decided to keep it short.”

The mayor closed his address by saying that rather than a formal civic service or ball, he hosted a pub quiz and a fish and chip supper at the sports centre.