A new chairman has been elected to Buckhurst Hill Parish Council after one of the biggest upsets in the May local elections.

On May 7, council chairman Aniket Patel lost his Buckhurst Hill West seat by just seven votes out of 7,020, being pushed out by former Conservative colleague Sylvia Watson.

Mr Patel has now been replaced by councillor Neville Wright as chairman, with Bobby Nagpal vice-chairman.

Cllr Wright said: “I am delighted to have been elected chairman and I am relishing the challenge of leading the parish council going forward.

“There are some key issues coming up in the shape of the local plan and the review of the green belt, to name just two, and I am looking forward to tackling these on behalf of residents.”

He added: “I would like to thank councillor Aniket Patel for all his hard work in leading the parish council over the last few years and wished him continued success in his role as a district councillor.”

Cllr Wright lost his Buckhurst Hill East seat on Epping Forest District Council in the recent election.

Mr Patel said it was “an absolute honour” to chair the parish council for three years.

He said: “My personal passion was developing the library as a community hub and how we could offer additional services from these premises.

“The Stack [a space behind the library] has the potential to accommodate, child, youth and elderly services and I hope the accommodation committee continues to take this project forward.

“The council is in an extremely strong position with a number of exciting projects in the pipeline.

“Over the last four years not only has the reserve position increased by approximately £500,000 but the council has increased its services whilst freezing its proportion of council tax."

He thanked councillors and staff for their support and added: “Collectively we have achieved a huge amount for the Buckhurst Hill community and I hope, whatever your allegiance, that you all work together to continue the good work.”