THE forthcoming Kennet district and Marlborough and Devizes town council elections promise far-reaching changes, with many long standing councillors not seeking re-election.

Marlborough Town Council will be losing a wealth of experience at the local elections in May, with no fewer than six former mayors standing down.

Coun Stewart Dobson and Coun Maurice Cooper are the only two former mayors seeking re-election.

In total, half of the existing 16 town councillors will not be seeking re-election, including the present mayor, Coun Margaret Boulton (Lib Dem). The other five ex-mayors are Joan Evans, Ian Perryman (Lib Dem), Joyce White (Lib Dem), Derek Smithers (Con) and David Watson (Con).

Just as Devizes has witnessed the emergence of a new pro-town group, the Devizes Guardians, Marlborough is seeing the birth of a group calling itself Marlborough First.

It has put up three candidates for the town council, all in the west ward. Those standing include former mayor Nick Fogg, Merchant's House administrator Michael Gray, and mother-of-two Kate Twisk.

Marlborough First has been formed, to put the town first and not engage in party politics.

Mr Fogg and Mr Gray are also candidates in the Marlborough west ward district council elections on May 1, but both are standing as independents for Kennet.

Coun David Watson, a retired cement works manager, is retiring from local government altogether. He has decided not to seek re-election to either the town council or Kennet.

Also quitting the town council are Coun Audrey Peck (Lib Dem) and Margaret Rose (Con).

There are new faces for the two Kennet seats in Marlborough.

Opposing David Parker (Con) and Bill Cavill (Lib Dem) who are seeking re-election in the east ward, are Graham Francis (Lib Dem), Marian Hannaford (Con) and Brian McClintock (Lab).

For the west ward, Kennet seat Hilary Cripps (Con) and Tony Skittrall (Con) are seeking re-election but are opposed by Tricia Cavill (Lib Dem), Bryan Castle (Lib Dem), Nick Fogg and Michael Gray, who both stand as independents for Kennet.

There will be no parish elections in Pewsey because there are insufficient candidates to fill the 21 seats.

There are eight candidates for the ten seats in Pewsey's north ward and nine for the 11 seats in the south ward, meaning there will be no contest. Among councillors not seeking re-election to the parish council are Jerry Kunkler, licensee of the Moonrakers pub.

Mr Kunkler (Ind) is seeking re-election, however, as one of Pewsey's two district councillors, together with long-serving John Cooke (Con) and parish councillor Anne Hayhoe (Ind).

Kennet's longest serving member Patricia Courtman (Ind, Ogbourne) is being opposed by Adrienne Francis (Lib Dem).

The recently elected KDC leader Chris Humprhies (Con) faces a fight for his Aldbourne seat with two opponents, Peggy Dow (Lib Dem) and former Devizes Constituency Labour candidate Frank Jeffrey.

For the West Selkley seat the Avebury parish clerk Gretchen Rawlins (Con) is fighting Stephen Pascall(Lib Dem) who is the retiring chairman of West Berkshire unitary authority, who has moved to live in Marlborough.

At Ramsbury, which now has two seats, former Kennet chairman Susan Findlay (Ind) will battle it out with former Marlborough town councillor Margaret Rose (Con), Brian Twigger (Con) and Nicholas Winch (Lib Dem).

Six of the existing 16 Devizes town councillors are not seeking re-election. Former mayor Ian Hopkins (Lab) will be standing down, together with Hugh Burn, Thelma Carr, Peter Cousins, Adrian Mills and Theo Williams.

But there will be an extra councillor to elect this time as the number of wards has been increased to 17.

The Devizes Guardians, set up in the wake of the controversial felling of the historic plane trees in the Market Place, has two candidates contesting town council seats. The Guardians also has three candidates standing for Devizes wards in the Kennet District Council elections.

For the first time the district council has its first UK Independence Party councillor.Alan Wood, the member for Netheravon, was unopposed and so he has been returned to the seat.

Kennet District Council will have 43 councillors after the election, an increase of three. Extra seats have been created including one in Roundway.