Waverley Borough Council has a Caribbean queen as a woman born in Jamaica has been elected mayor.

The compliments flowed at the council chamber when Cllr Penny Rivers became WBC’s civic figurehead after making the jump from deputy mayor.

The ward member for Godalming, Farncombe & Catteshall replaced Cllr John Ward as mayor on Tuesday, May 20, at the Annual Council meeting.

She said: “It is an honour to represent Waverley at mayor and I look forward to sharing community celebrations and supporting volunteers and organisations in the borough who care for others.”

Cllr Rivers confirmed at the Godalming meeting that Skillway and The Meath will be the charities she will champion for her mayoral year.

She added: “The Meath provides care and support for those who live with complex epilepsy and Skillway teaches and trains young people in crafts and life-skills.

“But both these charities carry out such amazing work in the borough.”

Penny was born in the Jamaican capital of Kingston but moved to England in 1974, eventually settling in Farncombe after previously residing in Godalming.

She is a four-time mayor of Godalming, having served on five administrations since being elected to its town council in 1995, and elected to WBC in 2019.

Her deputy will be the ward member for the Western Commons, Cllr David Munro, the former Police & Crime Commissioner for Surrey who was elected to WBC following a by-election in May 2022.

He has lived in the ward for more than 30 years while his long career includes a spell as a councillor in Farnham and time as chair of Surrey County Council.

Leader of WBC, Cllr Paul Follows, congratulated Penny on her election while also paying tribute to her predecessor Cllr Ward, calling him a “fantastic representative for the borough over the last year.”