Kensington and Chelsea elected its new ceremonial mayor on Wednesday 24 May who is excited by the borough’s future.
A retired banker and community worker, Councillor Preety Hudd has lived in Kensington and Chelsea for 35 years, becoming a councillor in May 2022 before her appointment as Mayor last month.
The borough of Kensington and Chelsea contains many well-known London areas including Notting Hill, Knightsbridge, and Ladbroke Grove.
Cllr Hudd said: “It is a very proud moment and I feel incredibly honoured and grateful.
“We have amazing services in Kensington and Chelsea and I am optimistic about the borough’s future.”
The new mayor has long held an interest in community projects, volunteering at a hospice for six years from 1990 and teaching at Holland Park Comprehensive School, among other roles.
“My parents were both teachers and they aimed to instil community values in us.
“We have always been brought up with giving back to the community,” she said.
Hudd pointed out that one of her goals is to make the area more inclusive.
“Despite what people may think, on the street where I live we do have a community – people have lived there for many years.”
The role of mayor in Kensington and Chelsea is a ceremonial one meaning that although Hudd is a Conservative councillor, she must be apolitical in her mayoral capacity.
There is scope for the mayor to give back to the community beyond simply cutting ribbons such as in acknowledging the hard work of community members and through selecting a mayoral charity.
Cllr Hudd chose The Felix Project as her Mayoral Charity, ‘London’s leading food redistribution charity’, partly in memory of Felix, her godson.
While Hudd is optimistic about the mayoralty’s future, she recognises a special role for community work in light of the Grenfell Tower tragedy back in 2017.
She said: “We are all very much aware. It will never leave any of us.
“All the Grenfell community will always have moral support in everything they do.
“It is incredibly moving and touching to see the whole community has come together.”
Bringing the community together is among Hudd’s biggest goals for her upcoming mayoral term, along with raising awareness about what the mayoralty is.
“I want to make the mayoralty very accessible to all members of the community.”
More information about the Felix Project can be found here.
Featured image credit: RBKC
