CELEBRATING diversity and building on community spirit will be high on the agenda for Milford Haven’s newest town councillor.

Forty-eight-year-old Colin Sharp was welcomed into the role this month, and attended his first town council meeting on Monday (January 20).

Cllr Sharp narrowly missed out on a position at the council last April, when fellow north ward candidate Matthew Norman beat him to the post by just 18 votes.

As a former Mayor’s consort, a member of Milford Haven’s Chamber of Trade and Round Table groups, a volunteer with PATCH and the Talking Mercury newspaper, and a trustee and secretary for the Pill Social Centre, Cllr Sharp said he has met a “diverse range of people”, and is now looking forward to representing them.

“One of the best things about Milford Haven is its great community spirit, and I’d very much like to build on that,” he said.

Originally from London, Cllr Sharp moved to Milford Haven seven years ago, and has said previously that it was this ‘spirit’ that made the move to Pembrokeshire an easy one.

“When I lived in London I didn’t even know my neighbour's name,” he said.

He said that his first step will be to get out and about with fellow east ward representative Cllr Guy Woodham and Cllr Mathew Rickard, to find out what issues local people have.

“This is a very diverse area,” he said. “I’m interested in making things as fair as possible for everybody.”

Cllr Sharp said he believed roads, lighting, access to healthcare, and continuing improvements to the town centre would be among the points raised.

And looking to the future, Cllr Sharp said attracting more people to the town should also be a priority.

“I think we need to look at building up the marina and Charles Street, and attracting more people to shop locally,” he said.

“We need people to stay in Milford and put money back into our town."

He added that he was also looking forward to getting involved in the this year’s carnival celebrations and “anything that can highlight Milford as the great town it is”.