New county council role to lead on economic development

Lancashire County Council has appointed a new Lead Member for Economic Development and Cultural Services.

This new role aims to support the work of Cabinet members covering council services including economic development and regeneration, strategic planning, tourism, libraries and museums.

The new post has been taken up by Aidy Riggott, who has represented Euxton, Buckshaw and Astley since May 2017.

Before his election to the county council, Aidy was previously head of operations for a toy company and an electronics company.

With a commercial business background before going into politics, Aidy is looking to bring a new perspective to how the council works with the private sector.

Aidy said: “I’m from a private sector background, so I’m looking forward to using my knowledge and expertise to help the county council to encourage inward investment, create new jobs, and continue to develop and grow the Lancashire economy.

“This important role also includes cultural services. We’re currently in the process of re-opening libraries and it’s clear they’re seen by people as a key part of community life. We’ll continue looking at ways to develop our library service for people in Lancashire and as chairman of Friends of Euxton Library, I am keen to develop the friends network and establish this as part of our wider library offer.”

Born in Chesterfield, Aidy now lives at Buckshaw Village with his wife and their two children. His wife is originally from Chorley and they decided to move from Manchester to be closer to family.

Elected onto the county council for the first time last year, Aidy has served on Euxton Parish Council since 2013 and he is the secretary of the Friends of Euxton Library.

Aidy is also the chairman of the Buckshaw Village Youth Association, which runs Friday activities for 60 to 80 local young people. The club encourages young people age 14 and over to get involved in volunteering.