THE mayor of Cheshire East will spend a little while longer in the role as coronavirus continues to disrupt our lives.

Cllr Barry Burkhill, independent member for Handforth, has held the position since last May's mayor-making ceremony at Tatton Park.

His successor, the mayor elect Cllr Sarah Pochin, would ordinarily have been voted in to replace him this month.

But with that meeting cancelled, she will wait a little while longer for her turn with the chains.

Brian Reed, head of democratic services and governance, said: “While Cllr Pochin was appointed by council in February as mayor elect, a formal resolution of full council is still needed to elect her to the mayoralty.

"Until such time as this happens, the existing mayor of Cheshire East, Cllr Burkhill, continues to hold the office of mayor by virtue of urgent legislation introduced by the government.”

Cllr Pochin's appointment as mayor elect in February proved a controversial one.

In line with convention, deputy mayor Cllr Steve Edgar was expected to be appointed as mayor elect.

But the Conservative failed to win enough votes for the role in February, and Cllr Pochin was then nominated for the role and won enough votes to become mayor elect.

It led to Cllr Pochin, a senior figure in the Eddisbury Conservative Association, being ousted from CEC's Tory group – although she remains a member of both the party and association.

Knutsford Town Council has also opted to keep Cllr Andrew Malloy in post as town mayor until November as a result of the coronavirus crisis.

Neither Middlewich nor Wilmslow has a town mayor.