A FAMILIAR face is back on the town council and representing the Middlewich community in the Cledford ward.

Labour member Cllr Rachel Pendleton has been co-opted onto Middlewich Town Council to fill a vacancy left by fellow Labour member David Williams.

Mr Williams stepped down from the council in March citing inaccessible meeting times.

Middlewich First decided not to put forward a candidate as they said a by-election would cost the council £10,000.

Cllr Pendleton was previously on the town council but failed to win re-election in 2015.

Cllr Pendleton said: “I’m honoured to be back on the council. The only thing that’s disappointing is that David Williams had to go for me to get back on the council. He was a great councillor and hopefully I can be half as good as him.

“I want to be known for my good public engagement – I think the council needs to be more facilitating in meeting with people in Middlewich.

“Ultimately last time we started up the residents action group for the parks around town and that’s something I want to get going again. When finances aren’t great, going to the park is a great thing to do to spend time with your family without having to spend a lot of money.

“Other than that, it’s the same issues such as facilities and infrastructure that I’ll be fighting for.”

Fellow Labour member for the Cledford ward, Cllr Jonathan Parry, has welcomed the new addition to the council and is happy to hear that Cllr Pendleton plans to work with the public.

Cllr Parry said: “I’m absolutely delighted that she’s on the council, she’s a fantastic addition.

“Rachel’s been on the council before and she’s very orientated around working with the public, which is very much where I’m coming from as well.

“Obviously, there’s not been an election but I think the public will be very happy with Rachel representing them.”