Newark Town Council selected Beacon Ward councillor Dawn Campbell as new leader at annual Mayor Making Ceremony

A ‘meticulous and detail oriented’ councillor has stepped up to become the new leader of a council.

During the annual Mayor Making ceremony on Sunday, members also voted to accepted Dawn Campbell as the new leader of Newark Town Council.

It comes after former leader Neil Ross chose to step down from the role and nominated her as his replacement.

Neil said: “Dawn is always very detail oriented, she is meticulous, she is prepared and ready to ask questions.

“Those are really good qualities to have as a leader and I know she has the determination to do well.

“We have got a lot done, but we are ready to move on to a new phase.”

Dawn Campbell joined the council in 2023 as part of a new wave of town councillors when Independents for Newark unexpectedly swept the polls in the local election and became the majority party.

In that time she has committed herself to her role as a councillor, representing the Beacon Ward.

On accepting the role, Dawn said: “Neil’s shoes will be very hard to fill, he is a man of such integrity.

“I look forward to working in cooperation with all other councillors, regardless of party, to make the big decisions.

“Everybody has something to offer, we have a great mix of people on the council and I hope to establish a good foundation.

“It’s an interesting time to be a councillor and I’m looking forward to the challenge.”

At the meeting members voted for Dianne Ledger to become the new Mayor of Newark and Barbara Corrigan was selected as the new deputy mayor.

Barbara Corrigan was also chosen to remain as chairman of the finance and general purposes committee, joined by Susan Crosby as vice chairman.

Lisa Geary will also remain as chairman of the planning committee, with Tom Collier selected as her vice chairman.

The make up of the personnel sub-committee will be decided at the next finance and general purposes committee meeting.