Councillor Noel Bayley was born in Withington, Manchester and grew up in Wythenshawe, where he went to school. After leaving sixth form college, he started work with the Keep Britain Tidy Group before moving to London to work at the Ministry of Defence, and has mainly worked in the Civil Service and Local Government ever since.
He moved to Bury in 1991 and has lived in both Radcliffe and Whitefield.
The Mayor came to local politics through the Trade Union movement. He was first elected to Bury Council as a Labour Councillor for St Mary’s Ward in 2011 and now serves as a ward Councillor in Besses Ward, where he has lived for over 20 years.
The Mayor has served on a number of Committees including Licensing & Safety, Health Scrutiny and Overview & Scrutiny and has previously been a deputy cabinet member for the environment.
Councillor Bayley has also been a governor at two primary schools in the Borough and was a governor at Cloughside College, Prestwich for ten years. Other appointments have included being a board member at Six Town Housing and the East Lancashire Railway, a member of the Transport for Greater Manchester Committee, and he recently chaired the local Walking & Cycling Forum.
He will be supported in his year by the Mayoress, Gill Campbell and Consort, Councillor Elliot Moss.
The Mayor’s Chaplain is Canon Steven Parkinson of St Michael’s & St Bernadette’s Parish in Whitefield.
The Mayoral Charities this year will be Bury Blind Society and Early Break.
The position of Mayor
The Mayor is the borough's First Citizen.
The Office of Mayor is the highest honour the Council can bestow upon a Member and reflects a high level of public service and the esteem, respect and regard in which the holders are held.
The Mayor holds a position of precedence over all persons within the borough, except in the direct presence of His Majesty The King, Members of the Royal Family or His Majesty's Lord Lieutenant.
The role and duties of the Mayor, which are undertaken on behalf of the borough are varied and cover many aspects, but include:
- acting as an ambassador for the borough
- upholding civic pride
- promoting the borough
- encouraging and supporting local industry, business and commerce
- supporting local charities and community groups
- representing the Council at civic, social, cultural, charitable, religious or faith and many other wide ranging functions and events
- chairing Council meetings
- receiving official visitors.
Attendance of the Mayor and the Consort or Mayoress at functions
Enquiries are frequently received regarding the procedure to be adopted at functions which the Mayor and Mayoress are attending. With a view to enabling suitable arrangements to be made, the following information may be of assistance:
Description
The correct description for the purpose of printing is 'The Worshipful the Mayor of the Metropolitan Borough of Bury, Councillor Noel Bayley' and when the Mayoress/consort is also present 'The Worshipful the Mayor and Mayoress/Consort of the Metropolitan Borough of Bury, Councillor Noel Bayley and Mrs Gill Campbell/Mr Elliot Moss.
Method of address
Speakers should refer to the Mayor as 'Mr Mayor' and Mayoress as 'Mayoress'.
Arrival
The Mayor and Mayoress should be met immediately upon arrival and escorted, as soon as convenient, to the places reserved for them. If the Mayor and Mayoress are asked to take part in a reception prior to the commencement of the function, then the organisers should vary the arrival time accordingly.
Precedence
The Mayor shall have precedence over all persons within the borough except in the presence of His Majesty The King or a Representative of His Majesty. Accordingly, the place reserved for the Mayor should be on the immediate right of the Chair or other person presiding. The Mayoress should be seated on the immediate right of the Mayor or on the left of the Chair or person presiding.
When the Mayoress is attending unaccompanied by the Mayor, her seat should be in the position as indicated for the Mayor.
If the Mayor and Mayoress are to be asked to speak at any function, particulars should be furnished in advance.
The Mayoral Charity Appeal
During their term of office the Mayor and Mayoress/Consort have chosen Bury Blind Society and Early Break as the main beneficiaries of the Mayoral Charity Appeal.
Throughout the mayoral year fundraising events will be held and all the proceeds from these occasions will be donated to charitable causes.
If you wish to donate to the Mayor's Charity fund you can donate online.
Invite the Mayor to an event
The Mayor welcomes invitations from local organisations to attend events held within the borough or related to Bury.
The Mayor will endeavour to attend all events to which he is invited, but unfortunately, due to the high demand, this may not be possible.
A minimum of two weeks' notice of invitations to attend events is requested.
If you wish to invite The Mayor to attend an event, please email democratic.services@bury.gov.uk, providing as much detail of the event as you can.
Recognising groups, businesses and individuals
Part of the Mayor of Bury’s role is to champion and support local community groups, business, and individuals in the excellent work they do across the borough.
To support recognition, the mayor encourages groups and individuals to be nominated either for the Kings Award for Voluntary Service (KAVS) or to nominate an individual for a personal honour such as an CBE, MBE or OBE. Nominating a group or individual is easy and any one can be nominate or be nominated. Information to nominate can be found here:
The mayor’s role is also to raise the profile of local outstanding businesses and recognise innovation and enterprise. To do this, the mayor also encourages businesses within Bury to nominate themselves for the Kings Award for Enterprise (KAE). This award is split into four categories: innovation, international trade, sustainable development and promoting opportunity through social mobility. To check eligibility or to nominate your business, follow this link: