A LONG-TERM Clevedon resident has been appointed as the chairman of North Somerset Council for the coming year.

A LONG-STANDING Clevedon resident has been appointed as the chairman of North Somerset Council for the coming year.

Colin Hall, a Clevedon town councillor and North Somerset councillor for the resort’s Yeo ward, will represent the unitary authority at functions, events and gatherings across the district.

During his year as chairman, the 63-year-old, who has lived in Clevedon for 30 years, says his main aim is to further encourage residents and the good work they carry out in their communities.

He will also visit a number of organisations and businesses to find out about the work they do.

Councillor Hall said: “I want to promote, encourage and motivate residents by showing the council has a civic presence.

“It is motivational to people if they know you are interested in what they do.

“In times like these, you have to be more and more aware of the need to support the people of North Somerset.”

Councillor Hall has been a Clevedon town councillor for six years and a North Somerset councillor for four.

He is now retired but in his early career he was a professional footballer. He went on to work for the coffee company Douwe Egberts, and eventually set up his own coffee company called Drury-Collingwood.

As chairman, Councillor Hall has been asked to nominate a charity that he will support throughout the year.

It will be a charity for terminally ill children but he has yet to nominate a specific hospice.