The Mayor
This section is about the Mayor, Councillor Roger Newstead.
At the Annual Council Meeting on 24 May 2012, Councillor Roger Newstead was el
ected as the Mayor of the Borough of Reigate & Banstead for the 2012-13 Municipal Year.
Biography and background
Councillor Roger Newstead is Mayor of Reigate & Banstead for the second time, having previously held the office in 2008-9. As a Councillor, he has represented Reigate Hill Ward since 2001. He was a member of the Borough’s Executive from 2002 until 2007, and again from 2009 until 2012.
Initially he was given responsibility for the Projects and Performance portfolio in which he was involved in changing the organisation and philosophy of the Borough council, and for the introduction of new technology which enabled it to face the challenges of the twenty first century.
From May 2003 until May 2007 he held the Local Economy portfolio and led the project to refurbish the Old Tow n Hall in Reigate and bring it back into use from near dereliction. This iconic building was sensitively restored by a commercial tenant at no cost to the Council Tax payer.
In May 2009, Councillor Newstead was given responsibility for Personnel and Organisational Change. In this role he chaired the Employment Committee who recruited a new Chief Executive, and co-ordinated discussions with a number of other Councils to see if savings could be achieved by sharing services. Most recently he has held Partnership and Property portfolio. He has also served on the Council’s Planning, Licensing and Standards Committees.
A local family
Roger Newstead and his wife Mary have lived in the Borough since 1968, and have been involved in the grass roots politics for almost all of that time. Through their three children – Julia, John and Clive, they took an interest in education and both Roger and Mary became school governors. Roger was a governor of Reigate School for 17 years of which 15 were spent as Chairman. He was also a governor of Reigate College.
Roger was born and bred in Ely in the Cambridgeshire Fens where he went to The King’s School. He went on to Reading University where he obtained a degree in Geography before completing two years of National Service in the Army. During his time in the Army he was introduced to the delights of The Tower of London, Aldershot, Beaconsfield and the North German Plain.
He joined the oil and gas industry in 1961 and worked for four of the world’s largest companies in a career embracing supply and distribution, shipping, economics, information technology, personnel and public affairs. He was a committee chairman for two of the UK oil industry’s trade associations.
Busy retirement
Since retiring, he has worked briefly as an administrator for St. John Ambulance and then as a consultant in public relations and emergency planning – mainly in the electricity generating industry. He is also a volunteer pensioner visitor for one of his previous employers.
Roger’s recreational interests include most sports, concerts, theatre, steam railways and family history. He enjoys cruising and following the activities of his three grandchildren, Oscar, Harvey and Holly who live in Melbourne, Australia.
Nominated charities
The Mayor's nominated charities are:For more information about these worthy causes please click on the above links.
Deputy Mayor
See the Deputy Mayor page for more about Councillor Alex Horwood.
Last updated : 12/06/2012
