MELANIE Magee has been appointed the new chairman of Cherwell District Council for the coming year.

Mrs Magee, who has been a Cherwell district councillor since 2011 and was mayor of Bicester in 2013, stood as the Conservative parliamentary candidate for Oxford East in the May 7 General Election, losing to Labour’s Andrew Smith.

A meeting of the full district council agreed on Tuesday that Mrs Magee would take over the role from former chairman Alastair Milne Home.

A human resources worker, Mrs Magee said: “Through my role as councillor and in my day job I want to engage both residents and the business community to ensure apprenticeship opportunities continue to expand throughout our district.

“During my year as chairman I will focus on helping job seekers and in particular young unemployed people.”

The newly-appointed chairman has lived in Bicester for 14 years with husband David and daughter Dannie.

She announced her chosen charity for the year was SeeSaw, which provides grief support for young people across Oxfordshire.

This year’s vice-chairman will be Chris Heath .

The district council’s executive has been revised, although Barry Wood remains leader with George Reynolds as his deputy.