DORCHESTER Poundbury councillor Richard Biggs is to become Dorchester's next mayor.

He will be sworn in at a ceremony in the Corn Exchange tonight.

The former Liberal Democrat county councillor has just become the first Dorset Council member to represent the new Poundbury ward.

Mr Biggs has served on both the County Council and Dorchester Town Council before standing for the new Dorset Council Poundbury seat which was created in the recent Boundary Commission review.

He has lived in the county town most of his life, was elected to the town council in 1993 and gained a county council seat in 1997.

Taking on many roles over the years, Mr Biggs says that being vice chairman of the Corporate Parenting Board overseeing Dorset’s care of ‘looked after children’ has been his most rewarding.

He also helped set up the charity that runs the new Dorchester Youth Centre and is currently a trustee.

He was previously mayor in 1997-98 and again in 2005-06 with wife Carolyn who will again be the mayoress. She recently stood down as a councillor after 20 years.

Mr Biggs said: ''I'm delighted and honoured to become mayor for the coming year.

"Carolyn and I very much looking forward to it.

"It is an exciting time with a newly elected town council with lots of new faces as well as the the new unitary council offering both challenges and opportunities.

"Dorchester is  a busy and growing town so I'm sure I will be kept very active."

He added: "(Former mayor) David Taylor has done such a good job; I know it will be a hard act to follow.”

Mr Biggs describes himself as a keen walker and cyclist, and says he would like to make the town more accessible for these activities.

“I am also interested in local history and passionate about the environment and want to minimise the impact that the town council have on it as well as the improvements that we can all make together," he added.

Between 1995 and 2003 he was a West Dorset councillor and from 1997 to 2019 on Dorset County Council. He was one of the two longest serving members on the last day when the council ended at the end of March.