The district council successfully re-appointed their chairman and a new vice-chairman despite facing technical issues on the night.

Cllr Richard Bassett as was re-elected as chairman for the second consecutive year whilst Cllr Helen Kane will take on the of vice-chairmen.

Cllr Bassett took on his first Cabinet role in 2010 before accepting the role of Vice-Chairman in 2017.

Both councillors appointed Cllr Chris Whitbread as Leader of Council for a further four-year term at the Annual Council meeting on Monday, May 20.

Following the retirement of Cllr Anne Grigg, Cllr Whitbread added Councillors Nigel Bedford, Aniket Patel and Holly Whitbread to his Cabinet.

In a tweet posted by Cllr Bassett said: “I was delighted to be asked if I would be Chairman of Epping Forest for another year.

“A great honour for Sue and I and we promise to do the best we can to serve all the residents of Epping Forest. Congratulations to Helen Kane who is my Vice Chairman.”

Cllr Sam Kane also offered his congratulations to Cllr Helen Kane on her new role on Twitter, saying: “So proud to see my good lady Helen Kane being sworn in as Vice Chairman of Epping Forest District Council.”

The formal event however did not run as smoothly as expected, with a sudden power cut left the Council Chamber pitch black minutes before the meeting commenced.

Despite getting the power up and running shortly after, the webcasting computers were corrupted and the first part of the live webcast was cut.

The full line-up for the 2019/20 term for Epping Forest District is listed below:

• Leader – Councillor Chris Whitbread

• Deputy Leader and Business Support Services – Councillor Syd Stavrou

• Community and Partnership Services – Councillor Nigel Bedford

• Commercial and Regulatory Services – Councillor Aniket Patel

• Housing and Property Services – Councillor Holly Whitbread

• Planning Services – Councillor John Philip

• Contracts and Technical Services – Councillor Nigel Avey

• Customer Services – Councillor Sam Kane

• Strategic Projects – Councillor Alan Lion

• Chairman Plans Sub Committee East – Councillor Paul Keska

• Chairman Plans Sub Committee West – Councillor David Dorrell

• Chairman Plans Sub Committee South – Councillor Gagan Mohindra

• Chairman District Development Management Committee – Councillor Brian Sandler

• Chairman Overview and Scrutiny Committee – Councillor Mary Sartin

Cllr Bassett also announced his chosen Chairman’s Charity for 2019/20 is Young Carers and invited fellow councillors to support the charity.