Bracknell Forest’s new mayor has said she wants to make the borough ‘a place that people can be proud to live in’.

Labour councillor Jenny Penfold was elected as Bracknell Forest’s new mayor for the coming 12 months by all councillors on Wednesday, May 15.

She told councillors she wants Bracknell to ‘grow as a diverse and vibrant town'. And she said she had ‘learned so much’ about the borough in her first year as councillor and deputy mayor.

Councillor Penfold said: “I’ve lived in Bracknell for 40 years when myself, my husband and two small boys moved here.

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“I thought I knew Bracknell well and made good use of the opportunities provided. However last year taught me otherwise – I’d only seen the tip of the iceberg.”

Councillor Penfold replaces outgoing mayor Naheed Ejaz, who completed her year in office on Wednesday.

Councillor Ejaz spoke of the ‘excitement’ and ‘euphoria’ of Labour’s first year in charge of the council – as well as the challenges. She said: “It has been an epic journey of one year for all of us.

“It was excitement, it was euphoria, it was hard work and it was knuckling down. Some of us cried, and there were a lot of inductions and meetings but we got the hang of it.”