THE creation of a business group in Pickering and the expansion of the Pride in Pickering campaign are two of the priorities set by the town’s new mayor Coun William Oxley.

He said he also wants to see further growth and influence of the Pickering Town Youth Council and “ensure that Pickering punches above its weight in Ryedale and Yorkshire”.

Coun Oxley, who was born in Barnsley, moved to Pickering in 2004 after a career spanning 17 years in senior management.

He and his wife Pat have been married for 32 years and she will be the new mayoress. The couple refurbished and developed the Five Rise Locks Hotel in Bingley before moving to Pickering and opening their award-winning boutique hotel, 17 Burgate, in 2005.

Coun Oxley is chairman of Pickering Town Team and vice-chairman of Ryedale’s Tourism Advisory Board.

He told the town councillors: “Pickering is a fantastic place to live and visit founded on a great community spirit and the work of countless volunteers with many diverse organisations.

“It is a town which is holding its own in difficult economic times. Businesses are staying open and we very rarely have an empty shop.

“However, this does not mean businesses are booming and there is a need to try to get the business community working more closely together.”

He said the town had many significant tourist attractions and the Town Team’s bid for Heritage Lottery Funding to develop a Living History Trail was key to linking them together and progressing the development of the town.