Councillor Crouch will hold the post for the next 12 months and his consort for his Mayoral year will be his wife, Heather Robbins. He is a trained demonstration chef who travels the world to cook for different audiences, having recently held a Cumbrian cooking demo at the World Trade Centre in Mumbai. He also spends a lot of time working in the local community, holding fundraising dinners for a number of different causes and visiting schools where he carries out themed demonstrations for school children.

John’s chosen charities for the year will be Amy’s Care, an organisation based in Ireby that supports people with dementia, and COSC in Maryport, which is a centre that provides activities to help people with disabilities. In addition, the Mayor will be raising money for the Sid8 Foundation, to help contribute towards the cost of having 100 local sportsmen screened for any health problems that may be going undetected.

At the Mayor Making ceremony Councillor Neil Schofield, ward member for Workington St Michael’s, was also installed as Deputy Mayor. His wife, Kate, will be the Deputy Mayoress.

Councillor Crouch was voted as Mayor at the Council’s annual general meeting with a unanimous vote. He will be the successor to the previous Mayor, Councillor Mary Bainbridge, who raised a total of £4,461 for her chosen charity, Allerdale Disability Association, during her year as Mayor.