Bridport Town Council has appointed Will Austin as its new Town Clerk, to succeed Bob Gillis who retires in July.
Will is currently Town Clerk at Barnstaple Town Council, prior to that was Town Clerk at Haverhill Town Council and has extensive experience in local government. He has previously lived in Bridport and has family in the area. Will’s start date will be 16 July.
Councillor Sarah Williams, Leader of the Town Council said: “ We were very pleased to be able to appoint Will, who has such an impressive track record of local government and town council management. He has a great deal to offer the Council and the town and will be joining us at an exciting and challenging time, with the new unitary council being set up. We look forward to welcoming Will to the Town Council in July”.
Will Austin said that he was “humbled and honoured to have been invited to serve as Town Clerk for Bridport and West Bay. I lived in Bridport before leaving in 2011 to become a Town Clerk, and am truly blessed to be able to come home to combine living in a town and community that I love, with a job that I love too! It’s a challenging time for the Town Council, but having met some of the committed town councillors and staff, I am confident that we can work together to protect and improve local services. Retiring Clerk Bob Gillis has been a marvellous asset to the community and I wish him well for the future.”
